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Client Privacy A Serious Matter At Dealerships - August 19, 2006
In the past two months, I have received numerous pieces of direct mail pieces trying to sell me everything from credit cards to phone services.
This mail is addressed to me, personally, although I have never conducted business with any of these companies. I also frequently receive telemarketing calls, at home, trying to sell me doors, windows, vacation packages and home alarm systems.
In this age of heightened security and privacy concerns, I have to wonder how these companies acquired my personal information in the first place. Was it sold to a marketing company?
Did they acquire it illegally?
It's unnerving enough to think that companies have access to my personal information and are using it to try to sell me products.
But what if that same information is used to defraud me? How can I be assured that it won't?
When you buy a car at a dealership, you are required to submit certain information about yourself.
Credit and employment history, proof of income, address, phone number and social insurance number are just some of the data that we collect to sell you a car.
All sales and lease agreements used by members of the Toronto Automobile Dealers Association have privacy clauses included in the agreements.
These clauses state how a customer's personal information will be used by the dealership. Do dealerships with whom you have no affiliation ever contact you to buy a car?
No. That's because dealers don't sell your information to other dealers or to third parties.
Most dealerships and manufacturers have strict privacy policies that forbid dealers from sharing, disclosing or selling information about their customers.
There are federal laws that forbid it, too. In January 2005, the Canadian government passed a law called the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
The act is aimed at protecting the privacy of personal information in the marketplace.
It stipulates that all personal information must be collected with consent and for a reasonable purpose.
The information must be accurate and used and disclosed for the limited purpose for which it was collected. It must also be accessible for inspection and correction, and stored securely.
Some months ago, our service department mailed marketing brochures to our customers, notifying them about service maintenance specials.
One of the recipients, a newer customer, contacted us when she got the brochure. She wanted to know who gave us the permission to send her the marketing piece.
The sales rep explained that we frequently send direct-mail letters and service reminders to our customers, as a courtesy.
The rep also explained that all customers have the right to be removed from our dealership's mailing list at any time.
It is the customer's choice.
Our client seemed satisfied with that explanation and opted to be removed from the list. We immediately complied.
Most customers appreciate that we contact them about service promotions, as they are often too busy and don't always remember when it's time to service their vehicles.
Dealership direct-mail letters and brochures should not be confused with unaddressed ad mail (bulk mail).
Unaddressed ad mail is a legitimate form of marketing for dealerships, which takes the form of a printed flyer or glossy brochures distributed to homes and businesses. These are not addressed to specific individuals.
Dealerships don't want to contact customers against their wishes.
But there are exceptions where we are obliged to do so.
For instance, dealers and manufacturers are required by law to contact customers with recall notices on their vehicles.
If you receive a recall notice, don't ignore it.
Such notices are usually concerned with mechanical or safety issues, which should be addressed as soon as possible.
As technologies become more advanced and sophisticated, there will always be new opportunities for businesses to collect and exploit information about private citizens.
New-car dealerships have a right and a need to collect information about their customers, but they will always vigilantly protect that information and ensure that it's not used inappropriately.
Dealerships are interested in forming long-term relationships with their customers based on trust and loyalty. They aren't going to jeopardize those relationships by compromising their customers' information in any way.
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