UPDATE 10/20 Census Bureau Just Left My House!! Letter from CENSUS Bureau; Wanting Me to Keep A Daily Journal of My Spending!!

UPDATE 10/20

Census Bureau just left my house, LOL. The guy hardly spoke a lick of english, his accent was so strong it was hard to tell what he was saying! He said,

"Ello, I em frum de Census Bureau, ju got ah ledder frum us say-ing dat ve be coming to talk wit ju."

ME: "Yeah, um i'm not interested."

Him: "Ven is a gud time fur me to come back?"

Me: "There is no good time, thank you but i'm not interested".

Him: "I jus have dis pack-ket to leave wit ju..."

Me: "I'm sorry, maybe you don't understand me, i'm not interested".

Him: "Okay den, dat is yur priv-e-lidge"

Then he went to his car that sported an El Salvador flag hanging from the rear view mirror and got his laptop out and started typing something. He sat in front of my house for about 7 minutes and only left after I went outside and turned the sprinkler on :)

I guess i'll just have to wait and see if he comes back another day, LOL.

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WTH is this? Today I got a letter addressed to "RESIDENT" from the Census Bureau in an envelope with a 41 cent stamp and 3 penny stamps, not the typical prepaid envelope government agencies use when mailing things.

Inside the letter said the following: (couldn't scan and import, sorry)

FROM THE DIRECTOR
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

We are contacting you to request your help with an important survey - the Consumer Expenditure Survey. The U.S. Census Bureau is conducting this survey for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Your responses help update the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI is the most important tool used to measure how fast prices are rising or declining. It already affects wages, pensions, and the cost of goods and services. Your response is a service to your community and the country.

Your participation in this survey is essential; however, you may choose to decline to answer any particular question. Federal law authorizes the collection of this information (Titles 13 and 29 of the United States Code), and Sections 9 and 214 of Title 13 require us to keep all information about you and your household strictly confidential, and to use that information for statistical purposes only.

Soon a field representative will contact you for an interview and show you an official identification card. Please welcome him or her.

On the back of this letter are answers to questions you may have about this survey. If you would like more information, please contact the following:

Regional Director
U.S. Census Bureau
15350 Sherman Way, Suite 400
Van Nuys, CA 91406
Telephone 1(1800)992-3530

Thank you for your cooperation in this important survey. We appreciate your help.

Sincerely,

Robert M. Groves


(some of what is on the BACK of the letter)

What kinds of question will I be asked?

We will ask you to record in a diary information about all the purchases you make. We will also ask the people who live in your household to record their purchases.

How long will the interview take?

We expect that it will take about 15 minutes to record your expenditures daily; in addition it will take about 25 minutes for each of our visits over this two week period.


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Anyone else get a letter like this? The paper is water marked and when held up to the light it has an eagle and the year 2009 so I think it's legit. I'll probably call my local Sheriff's department and Census Bureau to confirm it.

I've never heard of a survey like this and it is disturbing to think that they want me to keep a journal with my daily spending habits and purchases in it AND to take 25 minutes out of multiple days to entertain them by answering questions.

Any thoughts???

Thanks :)

Last Edited by TrixieMama on 10/20/2011 08:23 PM