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At Washington Mutual, respecting the privacy and security of your personal information is important to us. We know, however, that not everyone who takes their privacy seriously is necessarily well-versed in "legal or regulatory-ese." There are plenty of legal terms in Washington Mutual's own privacy policy, which you will find on the following pages. We urge you to read it carefully, and make note of your rights under this policy. We've tried to provide easy-to-understand explanations of the most frequently used legal terms—terms we are required to use to ensure clarity and consistency. We want to make sure that your personal information is protected, and that you understand the policies that protect you. You'll find the same terms used in many companies' privacy policies.
Washington Mutual, Inc. is the holding company for a group of companies which includes financial services providers such as depository institutions, insurance agencies, mortgage companies, consumer finance companies and securities broker-dealers. Any company that is owned or controlled by Washington Mutual, Inc. is an "affiliate" or an "affiliated company" of all of the other companies owned by Washington Mutual, Inc.Under the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, we are permitted to share your name, address and facts about your transactions and experience with us (such as your payment history and other transactions on your accounts with us) among our affiliated companies. That information is referred to in this Privacy Policy as "transaction information."Unless you request otherwise, we also share all of the other information we collect among our affiliated companies. This information-that is, information other than transaction and experience information-is referred to in this Privacy Policy as "other information." You have the right to ensure that other information is not shared among our affiliates. If you prefer that we not share other information among our affiliates, you may opt-out of those disclosures by following the steps in the "Your Opt-Out Choices" section. Once we receive your opt-out request, we will stop sharing this information as soon as reasonably practicable. Your opt-out will apply to all accounts you hold individually and to all accounts you hold jointly with other persons. Your opt-out will not apply, however, to any accounts your joint account holders hold individually or jointly with persons other than you. If your joint account holders wish to opt-out as to such other accounts, they will need to submit a separate opt-out request.
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We are permitted by law to share all the information we collect, as described above, with (1) companies that perform marketing services on our behalf and (2) with other financial institutions with whom we have joint marketing arrangements. For example, we may share information with financial services providers with which we offer products such as credit cards or accelerated loan payment programs.We may also share all the information we collect, as described above, with other nonaffiliated third parties that assist us with preparing monthly statements and with the processing and printing of checks. These other nonaffiliated third parties also include credit reporting agencies to whom we report information about your transactions with us.Please be advised that the opt-out rights described below will not apply to the sharing of information with these third parties or to the sharing of information with marketing service providers and joint marketers as described above.
If you prefer that we not share nonpublic personal information with these nonaffiliated third parties, you may opt-out of those disclosures (other than those permitted by law) by following the steps in the "Your Opt-Out Choices" section. We will stop sharing this information as soon as reasonably practicable. Again, your opt-out will apply to all accounts you hold individually and to all accounts you hold jointly with other persons. Your opt-out will not apply, however, to any accounts your joint account holders hold individually or jointly with persons other than you. If your joint account holders wish to opt-out as to such other accounts, they will need to submit a separate opt-out request.
If you engage in an insurance transaction with or through us, we may collect nonpublic personal health information about you. We do not share nonpublic personal health information with any nonaffiliated third party unless you have authorized the disclosure, the disclosure is made in connection with an insurance transaction that was initiated by you or the disclosure is otherwise permitted by law.
If you wish to direct Washington Mutual to stop sharing certain nonpublic personal information about you with nonaffiliated third parties or among our affiliated companies, please contact one of the following departments to opt-out:
If you have previously opted out, you will not need to do so again, unless you are establishing a new customer relationship with us. If you are calling to opt-out of a newly established WM Financial Services relationship, please wait 10 days before calling to give us your opt-out preferences. We will not share your nonpublic personal information (except as permitted by law) during this 10-day period.Option 1: Directs Washington Mutual not to share nonpublic personal information with nonaffiliated third parties, except as permitted by law.What this means:You direct Washington Mutual not to share nonpublic personal information about you with nonaffiliated third parties except as permitted by law. These exceptions include companies that perform marketing services on our behalf, other financial institutions with whom we have joint marketing arrangements, other nonaffiliated service providers (such as those that assist us with monthly statement preparation and check printing and processing), and credit reporting agencies to whom we report information about your transactions with us.Option 2: Directs Washington Mutual not to share certain nonpublic personal information among its affiliates, except as permitted by law.What this means:You direct Washington Mutual not to share nonpublic personal information about you among its affiliated companies except as permitted by law. You will continue to receive mailings and advertisements from the Washington Mutual company/companies with which you do business.Option 3: Directs Washington Mutual not to share nonpublic personal information with nonaffiliated third parties or among its affiliates, except as permitted by law.What this means:Washington Mutual will not share your nonpublic personal information with either nonaffiliated third parties or among its affiliates, unless permitted by law.Please note that, even if you opt-out, you may still receive advertising and other marketing materials if those materials can be provided without violating your opt-out instructions.
E-mail Preference Servicewww.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.html**
Experian (888) 397-3742 Equifax (800) 685-1111 TransUnion (800) 916-8800
Please note that this contact information is being provided as a service to you. Washington Mutual is not affiliated with any of these services and cannot guarantee their effectiveness.
*This Privacy Policy applies to the following Washington Mutual companies and divisions: Washington Mutual Bank; Washington Mutual Bank fsb; WMFS Insurance Services, Inc.; Home Crest Insurance Services, Inc.; WM Specialty Mortgage LLC; California Reconveyance Company; WaMu Investments, Inc.; WaMu Insurance Services, Inc.; WaMu 1031 Exchange.
**When you click this link, you will be leaving the wamu.com Web site. Please refer to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy of this outside Web site. Washington Mutual is not responsible for the quality, delivery or timeliness of goods or services of outside Web sites.
Online Privacy Policy (CP001 rev. 01-08)
