To protect your data from being shared with affiliates, opt-out

You would be surprised at how many people I meet at the settlement table who have never opted out of their information being shared with their bank’s or lending institution’s affiliates.

People often complain about solicitations via mail, email and phone. If you have a credit card, bank account or mortgage with a lending institution, they are often allowed to share your information with their affiliates unless you specifically ask them not to share.

I hear, “I don’t want to be on the phone for hours waiting to opt out.”

Most of the institutions allow you to set up an account online to handle payment and inquiries. Usually there are privacy settings in the same online account you can set up – opt out of their marketing to affiliates, sharing credit information, etc.

If you would rather be on the phone, you can certainly call and opt out of your information being shared with affiliates or used for marketing. Just a few minutes of your time may save you hours sorting mail and/or emails.