Flametoad

The other day I got an e-mail from Chase, with whom I have a credit card. It was a notification of their privacy policy. I’m reproducing select portions below for your entertainment and education.

Q| What information do you have about me?
A| To provide services and to help meet your needs, we collect information about you from various sources.

• We get information from your requests for our products or services. One example is income on loan applications.
• We get information about your transactions with us and with others. For example, we have your account balance information.
• We get information, such as your credit history, from credit bureaus.

Q| Is information about me shared within your family of companies?
A| Yes. We may share information about you within our family as required or permitted by law.

Q| Is information about me shared with service providers and financial companies outside your family of companies?
A| Yes, as permitted by law. We may share information about you with outside companies that work for us. These may include firms that assist in marketing our products. We may also share information about you with outside financial companies that have joint marketing agreements with us. These arrangements give you the opportunity to receive additional products or services.

Q| Is information about me shared with non-financial companies outside your family of companies?
A| Yes. We may share information about you with companies outside of our family as permitted by law, including retailers, auto dealers, auto makers, direct marketers, membership clubs and publishers.

Q| Is information about me shared in any other ways?
A| Yes. We may also share information about you in other ways, as required or permitted by law. Here are some examples of ways that we share information.

• To protect against fraud.
• To respond to a subpoena.
• To service your account.
• To report to a credit bureau.
• With your consent.
• Without your consent.
• When we need some fast cash.
• When a homeless guy approaches us at the smoking area outside the building and asks for spare change.
• When we feel like it.

Okay, so maybe the last few bullets were mine. Still, I think the take-home message is, “Chase values your privacy very highly. That’s why we always ask top dollar when we sell it off.”