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Academic Loan Group (ALG) values its relationship with you and respects your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy provides information on our current privacy policies and practices in connection with the financial products or services you have been offered, applied for, or are currently receiving from ALG. We want you to understand what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and how we protect your information. This policy applies to all parties selected to receive ALG marketing materials or submitting information via ALG’s official website, all ALG loan applicants, as well as all current and former ALG customers.
This policy is effective as of August 6, 2009, and the practices described in this document replace all prior policies issued by ALG.
ALG reserves the right to change this policy at any time. We will communicate any changes to you, as required by law.
Information We Collect
"Nonpublic personal information" is confidential information about you that we obtain in an attempt to provide you with financial products or services. ALG may collect nonpublic personal information about you from the following sources:
- Information we receive from you on applications, other forms, or through phone calls (such as your name, social security number, address, e-mail address and phone number);
- Information about your transactions or experiences with us through our affiliates (such as account balance(s) and payment history);
- Information we receive when you visit our website, such as cookies, IP addresses, pages visited, length of visits and similar information;
- Information we receive when you participate in any ALG sponsored promotion;
- Information we receive about you from third parties such as consumer reporting agencies, list vendors, schools, and guaranty agencies when/after you apply for a student loan or other financial products and services (e.g. credit relationships, credit history, etc.), as well as information provided through referrals from friends, family members and/or other associates
Why We Collect Information
We collect your information to identify you as a customer, to manage your account(s), to offer you better or additional products and services, and to provide exceptional customer service. With this information, we can determine your eligibility for ALG’s financial products or services. Your information is also used to protect your account(s) from unauthorized access, to process your account transactions, and, where necessary, to comply with any legal and regulatory requirements.
Information We Share
ALG does not sell our mailing lists or our customers' personal information to any company that is not an ALG affiliate1. This personal information includes, but is not limited to:
- Your name and address
- Information about our experiences and transactions with you or your account(s)
- Information you give us, such as income and payment history
- Information we receive from third parties, such as employment status and credit history
- Other identification information
ALG reserves the right to share some or all of the information we collect, as described herein, with non-affiliated third parties as required by law. When sharing nonpublic personal information with third parties, ALG requires these companies to keep your information secure and confidential. Examples of how we may share this information are, but are not limited to, the following:
- With third parties who assist us in servicing your loan(s) or account(s) with us
- With companies that perform marketing services on our behalf
- With other financial institutions with whom we have joint marketing arrangements
- With other lender/service institutions that we contact in order to retrieve loan payoff information
- When required or permitted by law, such as in response to subpoenas or to credit reporting agencies
ALG reserves the right to share public information, such as the name and city of residence of customers who may participate in any ALG sponsored promotions. We also reserve the right to share this information about those who provide testimonials and give us permission to do so.
ALG may share nonpublic personal information as necessary whenever you opt in to our sharing of said information. As our customer, you may choose to opt out at any time.
ALG does not share any nonpublic personal information about its former customers to anyone, except as required by law.
How to Limit the Sharing of Your Personal Information
Federal law gives you the right to limit the personal information ALG shares with its affiliates and non-affiliated third parties by opting out of such sharing. Opting out will only limit information sharing in the following manner:
- With affiliates for the purposes of marketing ALG products and services except as it may pertain to the proper servicing and administration of your existing ALG account(s)
- With non-affiliated third parties for the purpose of marketing their products and services to you
You may exercise your right to opt out in writing, via telephone or e-mail at any time. Your request will remain in effect until otherwise specified by you. Please see the contact information below.
Protecting Information
ALG works hard to maintain the confidentiality of your personal information, and complies with Federal regulations to safeguard your information. We maintain electronic, physical and procedural safeguards to protect the privacy of your nonpublic personal information.
ALG restricts access to your nonpublic personal information to those employees who have a need to know such information to provide products or services to you. We use multiple firewall layers and encryption technology, as well as set and maintain strict controls to limit and track employee access to accounts for your protection.
Important Information About Credit Reporting
We may report information to credit bureaus about your account(s), including late payments, missed payments or other defaults. This information may be reflected in your credit report.
Questions & Privacy Policy Updates
As required by law, ALG will provide you with an annual notice of our Privacy Policy as long as you maintain an ongoing relationship with us. To view the most up-to-date Privacy Policy, you may visit our website at www.academicloangroup.com/privacy. Questions regarding this policy can be directed to any of the following:
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