yikes. is it me or are most institutions like this nowadays?

[gmacbank.com]
Overview

You take online privacy seriously and so does GMAC Bank. This statement is one way of sustaining your trust in our company, our products and our services. Our privacy statement describes how we collect, protect and use information about you during your visit on our web site.

What Personal Information Does GMAC Bank Collect Online?

We may collect personal information about you from the information you provide to us when you fill out an application or other forms on our site. We may also receive personal information about you from consumer reporting agencies, your transactions with us, our affiliates or others. This information may include:

Financial Information
Name
Address
Social Security Number
Account Numbers
Telephone Number
Email Address
Why Is Personal Information Collected?

If you fill out an application or other form on our site, we may ask for a variety of information to help us communicate with you, evaluate your eligibility and the product or services that may be right for you. We may also obtain other information about you, for example, your credit report. This information is used to determine your eligibility for our products and services.

Also, if you choose to share any personal information with us, we may store it and use it for our own marketing research and the marketing of our products and services to you.

When Is Personal Information About Me Collected Online?

We collect personal information about you when you fill out an application or other forms on our site, when you register through registration web pages and each time you update your personal profile.

Does GMAC Bank Use Cookies or Other Online Technologies to Collect Information About Me?

Some of our web sites may make use of “cookie” technology to measure site activity and to customize information to your personal tastes. A cookie is an element of data that a web site can send to your browser, which may then store the cookie on your hard drive. So, when you come back to visit us again, we can tailor information to suit your individual preferences. The goal is to save you time and provide you with a more meaningful visit.

When you visit our site, we may collect and store information about your visit on an anonymous, aggregate basis. We use this information to measure site activity and to develop ideas for improving our site. This information may include: time and length of your visit; web pages you look at on our site; the web site you visited just before coming to ours, and the name of your Internet service provider.

Do You Share Personal Information About Me?

In certain circumstances, we may share information about you with other companies so that we may provide you with the products and services you have requested. We may share information about you with our suppliers and service providers for their use in providing services, or within the General Motors family for market research and marketing purposes as allowed by law. Also, we may share information about you with credit reporting agencies when you complete an online form or application.

Any company with which we share information about you for the above purposes is contractually required to comply with confidentiality standards. We may disclose information about you as required or permitted by law. We do not sell information about you to anyone.

How Can I Review, Change or Correct Information You Collect?

We are committed to maintaining accurate and up-to-date information on all of our customers. We may provide you with access to account information in different ways, for example, over the telephone, online or on paper.

If you are a current customer and have registered for online access through one of our web sites, you may be able to update information such as: your address, telephone number, email address, user name, password and secret question online.

If you have completed and saved, but have not submitted, an online form or application you may be able to make certain changes to the information you have provided to us before it is submitted. If you are unable to make changes to the information you have provided to us online, you may contact us in order to do so.

How Do You Protect Personal Information?

We restrict access to the information obtained from our websites and web pages to our employees, agents and contractors. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards designed to protect personal information.

How Do I Contact GMAC Bank If I Have Questions About This Privacy Statement?

U.S. Mail:
GMAC Bank Customer Care Dept.
P.O. Box 951
Horsham, PA 19044
Email:
customercare@gmacbank.com
Telephone:
1-866-2GMBANK (1-866-246-2265)
Will GMAC Bank Make Changes To This Privacy Statement?

This statement is effective April 1, 2005 and remains in effect until amended. GMAC Bank reserves the right to amend this Privacy Statement or alter its privacy principles at its sole discretion without written notice to you. Any alterations to this Privacy Statement or our privacy principles will be posted on our web site in a timely manner.

When was the last time you read any other privacy policy?

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No kidding, they all pretty much say the same thing anymore.

we collect info, we mine info, we disclose info...

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Strength without compassion is brutality. Compassion without strength is weakness.

We must train our minds to desire what the situation demands.

I like the privacy policies on those mandatory "discount" cards they have at all the supermarkets adn electronics stores now...

"We will only share your information with partner companies... Subject to change wihout notice at our sole discretion."

As if "partner companies" wasn't already tenuous enough that it could apply to almost any business."

yup. it's that "subject to change without notice and we don't have to notify you" clause that keeps me from signing up.

but, it's true, "they're all doing it." i guess we just have to take it the hard way, eh?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/2006 08:14PM by mrbigstuff.

Quote
mrbigstuff
yup. it's that "subject to change without notice and we don't have to notify you" clause that keeps me from signing up.

Read it again. They're saying they don't have to provide *written* notice. I don't use GMAC so I can't speak to their online system, but all of my financial institutions have a system in place to get notices such as changes to privacy policies out electronically. It's a much faster and cheaper way to get the necessary info out to consumers when needed. Also, just because they don't *have* to provide written notice doesn't mean they won't. With my BofA accounts I get electronic notice of changes to policies and those are usually followed up with written notice in my next statement. GMAC may well do the same.

This is all standard, and by law you can opt out of them sharing personal info with 3rd parties for their own marketing purposes.

chupa, have you done that? i would do that in this case, esp. since they have a great MM interest rate now.

Unless you need the checking account feature, Emigrant Direct is paying 5.15% APY.