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Financial companies share information for many reasons: to offer you more services, to introduce new products, and to profit from the information they have about you. If you like to know about other products and services, you may want your financial company to share your personal financial information; in this case, you dont need to respond to the privacy notice. If you prefer to limit the promotions you receive or do not want marketers and others to have your personal financial information, you must take some important steps.
First, it is important to read these privacy notices. They explain how the company handles and shares your personal financial information. Keep in mind that not all privacy notices are the same. This guide tells you about the other steps you can take to help protect the privacy of your personal financial information. What Can You Stop--and What Cant You Stop?Federal privacy laws give you the right to stop (opt out of) some sharing of your personal financial information. These laws balance your right to privacy with financial companies need to provide information for normal business purposes. (For more information on these laws, see the appendix.) You have the right to opt out of some information sharing with companies that are:
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If you want to opt out of information sharing, you must follow the directions provided by your financial company. For example, you may have to call a toll-free number or fill out a form and return the form to the company. In some cases, your financial company may give you the choice to opt out of different types of sharing. For example, you could opt out of certain categories of information the company provides to other companies but allow the company to share other kinds of information. Privacy Notices You May ReceiveInitial Privacy Notice. You will usually receive a privacy notice when you open an account or become a customer of a financial company. If you open an account over the phone, however, and you agree, the company may send you a notice at a later time. Annual Privacy Notices. Each financial company you have an ongoing relationship with--for example, the bank where you have a checking account, your credit card company, or a company that services your loan--must give you a notice of its privacy policy annually. Notice of Changes in Privacy Policies. If a company changes its privacy policy, it will either send you a revised privacy notice or tell you about the changes in the companys next annual notice. A privacy notice may be included as an insert with your monthly statement or bill, or it may be sent to you in a separate mailing. If you agree to electronic delivery from an on-line financial company, the notice may be sent to you by e-mail or it may be made available to you on the companys web site. If you have more than one account with the same company, the company may send you only one privacy notice for all of your accounts or it may send you separate notices for each of your accounts. If you have a joint account with another person (for example, a joint checking account or a mortgage loan), the financial company may send a notice to one of you or to each person listed on the account. If the company provides an opportunity to opt out, it must let one of the account holders opt out for all joint account holders. What to Do When You Receive Your Notices
Where Else to Turn for HelpIf you have questions or concerns about a companys privacy policy, first contact that company directly. If you still have questions about your privacy rights in dealing with a financial company, you can contact the federal or state agency that oversees that type of company: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Regulates state-chartered banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System, bank holding companies, and branches of foreign banks
Federal Reserve Consumer Help
PO Box 1200 Minneapolis, MN 55480
888-851-1920 (Phone)
877-766-8533 (TTY) 877-888-2520 (Fax) Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Regulates commodity brokers, commodity trading advisors, commodity pools, and introducing brokers
Division of Enforcement
1155 21st Street, NW Washington, DC 20581 866-366-2382
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Regulates state-chartered banks that are not members of the Federal Reserve System
Consumer Response Center
2345 Grand Boulevard Suite 100 Kansas City, MO 64108 877-ASK-FDIC (877-275-3342)
Federal Trade Commission
Regulates any financial company not covered by the other federal regulators such as mortgage brokers, tax and investment services, finance companies, credit bureaus, nonbank lenders, auto dealers, leasing companies, appraisers, real estate settlement services, credit counseling services, and collection agency services
Consumer Response Center - 240
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20580 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357)
National Credit Union Administration
Regulates federally chartered credit unions
Office of Public and Congressional Affairs
1775 Duke Street Alexandria, VA 22314-3428 800-735-1030
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Regulates national banks, District of Columbia banks, federal branches and federal agencies of foreign banks, and subsidiaries of such entities. These typically include banks with "national" or "N.A." in their names.
Customer Assistance Group
1301 McKinney Street Suite 3450 Houston, TX 77010 800-613-6743
Office of Thrift Supervision
Regulates federal savings and loan associations and federal savings banks
Consumer Programs
1700 G Street, NW, 6th floor Washington, DC 20552 800-842-6929
Securities and Exchange Commission
Regulates brokerage firms, mutual fund companies, and investment advisors
Complaint Center
100 F Street, NE Washington, DC 20549 202-551-6551
Appendix
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PDF file for printing booklet
(78 KB PDF) |