Privacy Policy - Consumer
The following privacy statement is a sample of the written/posted joint privacy statement between the Homeownership Preservation Foundation and any one of its nine HUD-certified counseling agencies. Consumers receiving counseling from one of these counseling agencies can expect to receive a joint written privacy statement upon completion of counseling.
[NAME OF HOUSING COUNSELING PROGRAM]
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS
Privacy Notice
[NAME OF COUNSELING AGENCY]
AND
THE HOMEOWNERSHIP PRESERVATION FOUNDATION
Protecting your privacy is important to [AGENCY] ([AGENCY] is referred to in this notice as “Agency”) and the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (the “Foundation”)(collectively “we” or “us”). Agency and the Foundation are committed to assuring the privacy of individuals and or families (“you”) who have contacted us for assistance, housing education and counseling services. This notice explains what information we may collect about you, how each of us may use it and how we each protect it. Agency and Foundation are individually responsible for complying with their respective obligations under this Joint Privacy Policy.
A. How We Collect Nonpublic Personal Information
Agency and Foundation each collects and use various types of nonpublic personal information about you and your financial situation to provide you services, respond to your requests, and manage our own businesses. This information includes:
· Information you provide directly (either in-person, through the Internet, the phone or forms you complete), such as your name, address, social security number and real estate lender;
· Information about your transactions with us, your creditors, or others, such as your account balance, payment history, parties to transactions;
· Information from consumer reporting agencies (e.g., credit reports); and
· Information from your lenders.
B. Sharing of Your Nonpublic Personal Information between the Agency and Foundation
Because Agency and Foundation have a joint services agreement with each other, any information, as described above, that is collected by Foundation will be shared with the Agency and any information, as described above, collected by the Agency will be shared with the Foundation.
C. How We Use Your Nonpublic Personal Information
· Agency and Foundation may share all of your nonpublic personal information that we collect from you, as described above, with companies which perform services on our behalf. These companies are contractually obligated to keep the information we provide to them confidential, and to use the information we share only to provide the services we ask them to perform.
· Agency and Foundation do not disclose, nor do we reserve the right to disclose, any nonpublic personal information about our customers or former customers except as required or permitted by law. For example, nonpublic personal information, as described above, may be disclosed to provide you with housing counseling and education and other services that you request or authorize, including to mortgage lenders and servicers with whom you have loans, as part of our efforts to address your mortgage concerns.
· In addition, we each may also use and aggregate reports and anonymous case file information with government agencies, financial supporters, and nonprofit organizations to evaluate our services, to gather valuable research information, and to design future programs. We do not disclose identifiable personal information to these entities without your consent unless required or permitted by law.
D. How We Protect Your Nonpublic Personal Information
Agency and the Foundation each individually restrict access to nonpublic personal information about you to our employees and agents who need your information to provide services to you or for quality control and research purposes. Agency and the Foundation maintain physical, administrative and technical safeguards that comply with Federal regulations to protect your nonpublic personal information.
E. How We Treat Former Customers
Even if you are no longer our customer, the privacy practices described in this notice will continue to apply to you.
F. Relation to Other Privacy Policies
This privacy notice only pertains to the housing counseling services provided to you by us. Agency may provide other services that are not subject to this policy.
If you have any questions or concerns about this notice, please contact us at [TELEPHONE NUMBER] or [EMAIL ADDRESS].
