Rant: Update on Gap Brands

(see Original Post)

So I sent Gap Brands an email demanding that they delete my online account. Their response:

Thank you for your inquiry about your gap.com online account.
Unfortunately, we are unable to delete your online account.

However, we recommend deleting your account information directly from
our website to ensure your account is set up exactly the way you want
it.

I found this email infuriating because it is so stupid. They have no mechanism to delete an account – so they tell me to change my personal information so they don’t know who I am anymore. How moronic is that? As long as their “member count” doesn’t decrease they have no issues with data accuracy. Essentially – statistics on the Gap membership database are useless.

On top of that, with no mechanism to delete an account, they actually still have all of my data. Unless they are an abysmally stupid web development shop, they have a recoverable audit log that logs every change, including the original value and the new value. That means that somewhere in their system, they have all of my original information.

Additionally, when I logged into my account, as I suspected, they had saved both my niece’s address AND My credit card information. Without asking me if that was OK. I can forgive saving a ship-to address only because most organizations don’t really understand how that can be truly sensitive data.

But to save my credit card without prompting me for permission? Unforgivable.

Think about that, people. Think about the audacity of this company – they are so brazen that they force membership on you AFTER they take your credit card number and then they save it without asking you if it is OK.

I know, for my part, I will never again shop online or in a brick/mortar Gap Brand store. Ever. They have committed the most heinous and unforgivable sin in my opinion. They compromised my security, they deceived me, and they have bad business practices.

Gap Brand stores don’t deserve my patronage or yours either. They need to clean house and get responsible and intelligent people behind their website. This is ridiculous.

I’m angry now. Very angry.