Jun 13, 2008 0
Chase’s (lack of) privacy policy
Ugh. (You just know a post is going to be good when it starts out that way.) In sharp contrast to the great experience I had recently with American Express, the email I received today from Chase (the holders of the key to one of my Visa cards and purveyors of all things evil, apparently) is rather disconcerting. The email was about updates to their privacy policy, and here’s exactly what set me off:
Third party sharing: You may tell us not to share information about you with non-financial companies outside of our family of companies. Even if you do tell us not to share, we may do so as required or permitted by law.
As required or permitted by law? So it doesn’t matter if you opt out—as I promptly did—because Chase is going to share your information with third parties anyway. Third parties! As the policy spells out, these are non-financial companies outside of the other companies they own. Let’s see… that narrows it down to… anyone!
To recap, Chase is saying: We’re going to share your information with companies that pay us enough to make it worthwhile. You can opt out over the phone, and we’ll use the recordings for training purposes and for amusement at company parties, but here’s the deal: We don’t really care. Our ethical standard ends at the law, so for the time being, our name is Ruby and your name is Inmate #8826104.
My goodness. Chase makes Comcast look like Salvation Army volunteers. Good thing I’ll be closing my account with them as soon as I pay off this month’s balance.
