Privacy Policy

Alliance Credit Counseling is committed to fully protecting and preserving the privacy of its clients and the users of its website. Accordingly, we have developed this Policy in order for you to understand how we collect, use, communicate and make use of personal information. To clarify the information collected and how it is used, we have separated it into two categories, Website Users and Counseling, and Service Program Clients.

Website Users

When accessing our Website, will learn certain information about you during your visit.

Similar to other commercial Web sites, our Web site utilizes a standard technology called “cookies” (see explanation below, “What Are Cookies?”) and Web server logs to collect information about how our Web site is used. Information gathered through cookies and Web server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at our Web site, and the Web sites visited just before and just after our Web site, your IP address.

What Are Cookies?

A cookie is a very small text document, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier. When you visit a Web site, that site’s computer asks your computer for permission to store this file in a part of your hard drive specifically designated for cookies. Each Web site can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser’s preferences allow it, but (to protect your privacy) your browser only permits a Web site to access the cookies it has already sent to you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites.

IP Addresses

IP addresses are used by your computer every time you are connected to the Internet. Your IP address is a number that is used by computers on the network to identify your computer. IP addresses are automatically collected by our web server as part of demographic and profile data known as “traffic data” so that data (such as the Web pages you request) can be sent to you.

Email Information

If you choose to correspond with us through email, we may retain the content of your email messages together with your email address and our responses. We provide the same protections for these electronic communications that we employ in the maintenance of information received online, mail and telephone.

How Do We Use the Information That You Provide to Us?

Broadly speaking, we use personal information for purposes of administering our business activities, providing customer service and making available other items and services to our customers and prospective customers.

will not obtain personally-identifying information about you when you visit our site, unless you choose to provide such information to us, nor will such information be sold or otherwise transferred to unaffiliated third parties without the approval of the user at the time of collection.

We may disclose information when legally compelled to do so, in other words, when we, in good faith, believe that the law requires it or for the protection of our legal rights.

A Special Note About Children

Children are not eligible to use our web site and services and we ask that minors (under the age of 13) do not submit any personal information to us. If you are a minor, you can use this site only in conjunction with permission and guidance from your parents or guardians.

How Do We Protect Your Information and Secure Information Transmissions?

Email is not recognized as a secure medium of communication. For this reason, we request that you do not send private information to us by email. However, doing so is allowed, but at your own risk. Some of the information you may enter on our Web site may be transmitted securely via a secure medium known as Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL. Credit Card information is never transmitted via email.

may use software programs to create summary statistics, which are used for such purposes as assessing the number of visitors to the different sections of our site, what information is of most and least interest, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas.

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, uses software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.

Policy Changes

We reserve the right to amend this privacy policy at any time with or without notice. However, please be assured that if the Privacy Policy changes in the future, we will not use the personal information you have submitted to us under this Privacy Policy in a manner that is materially inconsistent with this Privacy Policy, without your prior consent.

We are committed to conducting our business in accordance with these principles in order to ensure that the confidentiality of personal information is protected and maintained.

Contact

If you have any questions regarding this Policy, or your dealings with our web site, please contact us.

,

policy@knowdebt.org

 

Counseling and Service Programs Clients:

This statement applies to those individuals who have applied for credit counseling, bankruptcy counseling, housing counseling, foreclosure counseling, reverse mortgage counseling, debt management programs or other assistance or have gone through an initial consultation, or to clients, with whom there is a continuing relationship.

Information Collected

Through telephone, fax, mail, and electronic communication, personal information will be gathered, including address, social security number, telephone number, email address, and demographic information.

Through the aforementioned channels, financial information will also be collected, including information related to your debts, income, expenses, and checking/savings account as needed.

Alliance will not distribute client information to third parties, except where it is necessary to perform quality services for clients, as described below.

Internal Sharing

Information will be shared within Alliance as is needed to communicate with you, manage your accounts, and properly handle disbursement.
For the purpose of marketing research, portions of your information may be used to build an internal statistical report on our client base. This will not reveal any personal information.

External Sharing

A necessary portion of your personal and financial information will be used to communicate with your creditors and/or bank to perform disbursements.

Information will not be shared with corporations other than with Alliance, your creditors, and your bank as needed. Alliance does not report any information to credit bureaus.

By law, third party financial institutions receiving information from Alliance may only use it in the ordinary course of business to carry out the activity for which it was received, and can only disclose it to affiliates of the originating institution or its own affiliates.

Protections for Information Privacy & Security

Physical and electronic files are only kept within the confines of the Alliance corporate offices and approved secure backup sites. Access is restricted to authorized personnel. Electronic security is maintained through the use of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption and firewalls.

Information Storage

The information you supply Alliance will remain in corporate files for as long as is necessary to provide services, and for a reasonable period of time following the completion or termination of services.

Opt-out

Alliance fully complies with federal regulations regarding opting out in that disclosure is “made only in connection with servicing or processing a financial product or service that a consumer has requested or authorized.”

If your account is active, and you are not comfortable with this level of information sharing, please contact us to inactivate your account.

If your account is inactive, your information is no longer used internally or externally, except for record keeping and audit purposes.

Contact

If you have any questions regarding this Policy, or your dealings with our web site, please contact us.

,

policy@knowdebt.org