Cal Feminist FCU  

PRIVACY POLICIES:

Far too many "privacy" policies might better

be termed "violation of privacy policies." 

  Since we first opened in 1975, we've had members who have 

been hiding savings from an abusive spouse or partner.   We 

have always taken our obligation to safeguard our members' 

funds, credit, and privacy  seriously.     To this end we take 

numerous steps that create extra work--and inconvenience--

for our members (and staff).   

a. We do  not  trade or exchange our members' names 

and addresses for advertising purposes,  period.   

This reduces our income, but it's worth it.

 

b. When we "pull" credit reports, we have to provide 

identifying information from your application and our 

records, such as your name, address, and so on.  

Although the credit bureaus  also  ask for our applicants' 

phone numbers; we intentionally omit them

 

c. Many institutions offer on-line access to your accounts.  

We do not.  On-line security is not fool proof.  We don't 

want your data where a hacker--or a friend or ex- or 

family member who knows where you keep passwords

--could gain access to your account.

 

d. Many institutions are on-line with their software 

provider or with other branches.  We are not.  We've set 

up our office so that the PC that contains our members' 

savings and loan data is separate from the one that

handles e-mail--and seldom online.    

 

e. Most financial institutions use mailing houses to stuff 

their statements and newsletters in envelopes and mail 

them.  We stuff our own statement envelopes. Then we 

hand-carry them to a mailbox.

 

f. We require "wet-ink" signatures for changes in mailing 

addresses; we do not accept address changes by phone, 

e-mail, or fax.

 

g. We ask for more than the usual identifying info when 

our members phone to request info about their accounts.   

We've caught more than one person masquerading 

as a member.

 

h. Naturally, we receive lots of postal mail from our 

members.  Before we put their envelope in the recycling, 

we trim their names off of the envelopes, snip them into 

little pieces and dispose of them in a separate container.

 

i. Unfortunately, we can't be as protective as we'd like to 

be. The IRS forces us and other savings institutions to 

report accounts that earn $10 or more in dividends per 

year.  (If we don't, they can fine us  and  you $50 per 

year!)

 

j. Social security #s:   We use software to print your 

statements.  In  June 2001  we sent the company that

provides the software a tidy sum.  That was to pay

them for the  custom  work of removing our members'

social security numbers from their printed statements.

That was  years  before they adopted that practice as 

standard procedure at no charge to  other users of their

software.  (Once again, our credit union blazed a trail.)