Keeping client information confidential is a paramount concern at American Consumer Credit Counseling ("ACCC"). We, ACCC, fully believe that in order to provide quality service to our clients, we must first have our clients’ full trust. One way to gain full trust is to safeguard confidential client information at all times.
The following is our pledge to our individual clients:
1. Client information will be strictly safeguarded and stored in a safe manner.
2. We will limit the collection of client information to the minimum we require in order to deliver superior service to our customers, which includes counseling clients on debt management issues, preparing a household budget and gaining acceptance of proposed payments to clients' creditors. We believe these services are the hallmark of our counseling services here at ACCC and are necessary for the administration of the debt management program.
3. We will not reveal client information to any creditor except for the sole purpose of having a proposed payment arrangement accepted by a client’s creditor. The information revealed will be limited in scope and will be exclusively the information that the particular creditor requires in order to accept a proposal.
4. We will permit only authorized employees, who are trained in the proper handling of client information, to have access to that information. Employees who violate our Pledge will be subject to an internal disciplinary process.
5. We will attempt to keep customer files complete, accurate and up to date. We will allow our clients to view their individual account information on demand via the Internet.
6. Any client has the right to terminate voluntarily from ACCC’s debt management program for any reason at any time without any further financial expense to ACCC.
If clients have questions or concerns regarding this statement, they should first contact Director of Quality Assurance by: help@consumercredit.com, toll free at 1-800-769-3571, American Consumer Credit Counseling 130 Rumford Ave., Suite 202 Newton, MA 02466. If they do not receive acknowledgement of their inquiry or their inquiry is not satisfactorily addressed, they should then contact TRUSTe through the TRUSTe Watchdog Dispute Resolution Process (http://www.truste.org/users/users_watchdog.php. TRUSTe will serve as a liaison with the Web site to resolve users concerns.
The following is the plain language of ACCC’s privacy policy:
American Consumer Credit Counseling is committed to assuring confidentiality of individuals and/or families who have contact with this agency.
We realize that the client’s concerns are of the utmost importance. We can assure the client that all information shared both orally and in writing will be managed within legal and ethical considerations. The following are examples of how this data may be used:
All Clients:
To assist us in our work, our staff may seek supervision/consultation with professional colleagues within the agency and, where appropriate and necessary, with other resources in the community. For the purpose of evaluating our services, gathering valuable research information and designing future programs, we may use aggregate case file information. The client’s anonymity will be maintained through the use of the client number or by using aggregate data in all circumstances.
Counseling Only:
For counseling only clients, we will confirm with their creditors if asked:
- Verification of appointment
- Date of counseling
- Disposition: i.e. (example - will handle affairs on their own)
Debt Management:
For clients needing our intervention through Debt Management, ACCC will disclose the following to your creditors:
- Total debt information
- Income, net and gross
- Living expenses
- A list of your creditors
- Personal information concerning your financial circumstances as needed, but not lifestyle or personal habits
- Place of employment.
In other situations, the information may be released to governmental agencies upon written request if judged by senior management, to appropriate governmental agencies and only to comply with law enforcement efforts.
Our agency will provide confidential counseling and will not discuss information obtained in the counseling process except as necessary to obtain acceptance of the debt management program with creditors.
In order to ensure confidentiality, all clients will be asked to sign an agreement allowing information to be shared with the creditor.
The agency will share with creditors only pertinent financial or personal information necessary for providing agency services. General disclosure of this exchange of information will be included in agency client intake materials.
In cases of subpoenas and/or court orders for disclosure of client information, ACCC personnel will refer to senior management for consultation with legal counsel and consequently personally identifiable information may be disclosed.
Log Files
Like most standard Web site servers we use log files. This includes internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement in the aggregate, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses, etc… are not linked to personally identifiable information.
Communications from the Site
Special Offers and Updates
We occasionally send established clients information and updates on our services. Out of respect for the privacy of our client we present the option to not receive these types of communications. Please see the Choice and Opt-out sections.
Newsletter
If a client wished to subscribe to our newsletter, we ask for contact information such as name and email address. Out of respect for our clients privacy we provide a way to opt-out of these communications. Please see the Choice and Opt-out sections.
Customer Service
We communicate with clients on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regards to issues relating to their account we reply via email, live chat or phone, in accordance with the clients wishes.
Choice/Opt-out
Our clients are given the opportunity to "opt-out" of having their information used for purposes not directly related to our site at the point where we ask for information. For example, our Email newsletter has an ‘opt-out’ mechanism so clients who do not want to be contacted via email will be taken off of our lists.
Links
This Web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we, ACCC, are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our clients to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every Web site that collects personal identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to the information collected by this Web site.
Tell-A-Friend
If client elects to use our referral service for informing a friend about our site, we ask them for the friend’s name and email address. ACCC will automatically send the friend a one-time email inviting them to visit the site. ACCC stores this information for the sole purpose of sending this one-time email and tracking the success of our referral program. The friend may contact ACCC at help@consumercredit.com to request the removal of this information from our database.
Clear Gifs (Web Beacons/Web Bugs)
We employ a software technology called clear gifs (a.k.a. Web Beacons/Web Bugs), that help us better manage content on our site by informing us what content is effective. Clear gifs are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies, and are used to track the online movements of Web users. The main difference between the two is that clear gifs are invisible on the page and are much smaller, about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. Clear gifs are not tied to users’ personally identifiable information.
In addition, we use clear gifs in our HTML-based emails to let us know which emails have been opened by the recipients. This allows us to gauge the effectiveness of certain communications and the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns. If users would like to opt-out of these emails, please see the Opt-out section.
Security
This Web site takes every precaution to protect our clients’ information. When clients submit sensitive information via the Web site, their information is protected both online and offline. When the online-application/get started form asks clients to enter sensitive information (such as social security number, checking account number, and total amount of income, total amount of unsecured debt), that information is encrypted and is protected with the best encryption software in the industry – SSL. While on a secure page, such as out Online-Application, the lock icon on the bottom of Web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator becomes locked, as opposed to un-locked, or open, when clients are just ‘surfing’.
While we use SSL encryption to protect sensitive information online, we also do everything in our power to protect client-information off-line. All of our clients’ information, not just the sensitive information mentioned above, is restricted in our offices. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, our disbursement clerk or a client services representative) are granted access to personally identifiable information. Our employees must use password-protected screen-savers when they leave their desk. When they return, they must re-enter their password to re-gain access to user information. Furthermore, ALL employees are kept up-to-date on our security and privacy practices. Every quarter, as well as any time new policies are added, our employees are notified and/or reminded about the importance we place on privacy, and what they can do to ensure our clients’ information is protected. Finally, the servers that store personally identifiable information are in a secure environment; behind a password protected locked facility.
If clients have any questions about the security at our Web site, clients can send an email to help@consumercredit.com
Notification of Changes
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, the homepage, and other places we deem appropriate so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected.
If, however, we are going to use users’ personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection we will notify users via email and/or by posting a notice on our Web site for 30 days.
Contact Information
If clients have any questions or suggestions regarding our privacy policy, please contact us at:
By Phone: 1-800-769-3571
By Fax: 617-244-1116
By Email: help@consumercredit.com
Postal Address:
American Consumer Credit Counseling
130 Rumford Ave. Suite 202
Newton, MA 02466
Web site: http://www.consumercredit.com
