Philadelphia's 'Free' Online ID Service Includes Upgrade Come-On
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A "free" emergency identification program launched by the Nutter administration is actually helping a for-profit company get thousands of potential new customers.
Today, Mayor Nutter himself proudly launched the emergency service, which encourages Philadelphians to register personal medical information online, then print out the form and store it in their glove compartment:
"(We are) the first city in the United States of America to offer it for free to our residents,"the mayor said.
Brochures about the service will be stuffed into the water bills of thousands of city residents this month.
But the company offering this service, ICEdot.org, based in Tulsa, Okla., has a for-profit division. At the mayor's announcement, company president Chris Zenthoffer said Philadelphians who sign up won't be solicited:
"You are never solicited to participate in the for-profit side of it," Zenthoffer said.
But that's not the case -- Philadelphians who sign up online will get hit with a solicitation for the company's so-called "premium" service costing ten dollars a year. That service gets you a medical ID bracelet.
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Nutter says he doesn't have a problem with ads for the firm going out in Philadelphia water bills.
"From our perspective, people will ultimately make their own choice,"he said today.
The mayor admitted that he himself had not checked out the company's web site.
