Nearly every car dealership’s privacy policy agreement includes a line about “physical and electronic safeguards” put in place to protect customer information. These privacy policies might look good and put a customer’s mind at ease, but most of these dealerships have no idea what they have in place to safeguard customer information, if they even put anything in place at all.

Consumer protection groups and government organizations are starting to crack down on dealership privacy policies. If dealerships claim that they have safeguards but don’t actually have a system in place, they can be charged for deceptive trade practices and forced to pay settlements. Besides the cost of the settlements, dealerships will also lose business. Car shoppers will be less trusting, especially when it comes to sharing their personal information.

What can your dealership do to avoid these problems? We recommend sitting down and reviewing your dealership’s privacy policy. Is it an accurate reflection of what is currently in place? If someone asked you to specifically outline your system’s safeguards, could you and your staff answer the question? If the answer is no, then the first priority is deciding on reasonable safeguards and implementing them as well as updating the privacy policy if necessary.

Special Finance Group wants to give your dealership’s special finance department the tools it needs to succeed and exceed your expectations. To learn more about Special Finance Group’s Complete Special Finance Solution, go to http://www.specialfinancegroup.com, and connect with Special Finance Group on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

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