We don’t release your private information to 3rd parties except in the following circumstances:
¨ the law requires it, i.e. a closing statement to a real estate broker involved in the transaction (the statement may contain private information such closing costs and parties paid)
¨ a court orders us to do so (hasn’t happened yet)
¨ you directly ask us to do so
Note the absence of weasel language.
We treat your information the same way we want our personal information treated: Kept private and not sold.
Auditors who may chance upon some private information are required to certify compliance with our policy.
More information for people concerned about privacy.
Most privacy disclosures appear to impart great concern about your privacy using bold phrases such as “We Care About Your Privacy” , “We Are Committed to Safeguarding”, and “We Are Committed To Ensuring The Privacy And Confidentiality”. I encourage you to read the finer print. In virtually all of the 100’s of privacy notices I have read the weasel language exists.
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act does place some (arguably minimal) constraints on private information from being distributed quite so haphazardly. Information can legally and is still sold to parties for the purposes of marketing.
Financial institutions and insurance companies use all sorts of weasel language in their privacy policy. Selling information to 3rd parties is still legal. GLB merely requires that subsequent recipients not violate the constraints of the initiating party’s privacy policy.
The GLB “opt out” provisions restrict the flow of information to 3rd parties. Subsequent recipients of information must 3rd parties which provide ongoing services (i.e. independent check processing) will still receive your private information, however they have an obligation not to further disclose it to 3rd parties. They may forward it to parties .
The Federal Trade Commission has a helpful site at http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/glbact/glbsub1.htm
Eric T. Kreckman
President