[rocky777]

Are Car dealers allowed to pull out your file and show other people what you paid for your car, how much your got on your trade, and how much you financed? I ask because this happened with me, today. My lovely Mother In Law went to my dealer today because she wanted to buy the same car...for some reason she got it into her head that I paid a lot less than I did. To my surprise though, she got home and told me that my salesperson pulled out my file, and she then proceeded to quote me my exact cost, my exact trade value, and the exact amount that I financed (7 days ago). This salesperson actually showed her my contract with all of my information on it.

It's my Mother In Law, so, not a huge deal, but what if someone who works for me goes in, or someone I don't even know, but who saw my white SKY sitting in their show room last week? She and I have different last names so there is no possible way that my salesperson could have been sure this person was who she said she was.

Does anyone know if this is illegal? These docs have my social security number on them, as well as how much I make per year, and a lot of other incredibly personal and confidential information. I'm furious.

 

[seal9]

Any docs That have a social security number on them are covered under the Priv act of 1976, look up the Act on the internet and see...Seal9:cheers:

 

[GMguy]

It's obvious the salesman was showing your MIL that she was mistaken
and it required showing her the proof. I doubt that he realized that it may have been technically illegal as I'm sure he was probably emotional by that
time. I don't know whether, technically, the SS number has to be visible to
the person being shown the document or simply contained within the document.
I wouldn't make it an isue at this point, but after you take delivery I might mention it to the sales manager. As a potential danger, I'd say this isn't a big deal - it's not as though anyone being shown the document would be able to copy down your personal information.

 

[triple black]

It is illegal to show another person any private information about you.

 

[dmbdlatc]

It is illegal to show another person any private information about you.

Could you point me to that law please?

 

[rocky777]

I'm going to sleep on it before I decide what I'm going to do about it. The salesperson had no right to give out my information to anyone. My deal was done...I wasn't on a waiting list, I got my car on 4/22 and I have no ties to them any longer. She showed them the contract with all of my financing info on it, which contains so much personal information...how much I make a year, how much savings I have, debt, credit cards, etc. This is for me alone to decide who gets to see, not some worker at a dealership. The more I think about it, the more mad I become. I'll see how I feel tomorrow and then decide how to proceed.

 

[MOMDRAE]

I'm going to sleep on it before I decide what I'm going to do about it. The salesperson had no right to give out my information to anyone. My deal was done...I wasn't on a waiting list, I got my car on 4/22 and I have no ties to them any longer. She showed them the contract with all of my financing info on it, which contains so much personal information...how much I make a year, how much savings I have, debt, credit cards, etc. This is for me alone to decide who gets to see, not some worker at a dealership. The more I think about it, the more mad I become. I'll see how I feel tomorrow and then decide how to proceed.

I wouldn't sleep on it!!! I would definitely talk to the GM who should hold a training session with ALL the sales people. Actually, the salesperson shouldn't have much access to that information, either. They have a financing person to deal with that. I worked in a profession that was adament about confidentiality issues. It gets my blood boiling.:brentil:

 

[SaturnSkyDude]

When you purchased your car you should have signed a privacy policy because the dealership is collecting your personal info from you and they must disclose who they share your info with. Sharing your personal info with another customer is definetly violating your rights under the privacy act. I would talk to the General Manager and she what he/she has to say. More than likely you have legal recourse and the ball is in your court as far as how far you want to pursue it. :nono:

 

[rocky777]

I think I'm going to start with Saturn Corporate, as the GM will probably just blow smoke up my *ss. I am going to do something though, its completely ruined my experience with Saturn. In one week I went from falling in love with this company who gave me the best car buying experience ever, to not being able to sleep last night because I'm so mad. When dealing with the salesperson on my day of purchase though, she told me that I'll be receiving a survey in the mail to rate her, and how important that is that she receive good ratings...I can't wait to get that survey now.

 

[skywulf]

Ahmmm. I just cannot get over how silly some people are. First of all, there is all the folklore about meddling mother-in-laws that someone in the salesperson's position should have been on notice that what was done with your private info isn't kosher. Secondly, there is all of this info about identity theft and that alone would be enough common sense warning. What if this person just wanted a gander at the mother-load of private info --all you need to steal identity? That is outrageous.

 

[CdnSkyGuy]

That is 100% illegal in Canada. I would be all over a lawsuit if that happened to me. It is definately not my Mother In Law's business how much money I make in a year (although I am sure she would be impressed).
:cheers:

 

[skywulf]

That is 100% illegal in Canada. I would be all over a lawsuit if that happened to me. It is definately not my Mother In Law's business how much money I make in a year (although I am sure she would be impressed).
:cheers:

That is funny. I am not sure if this would be a lawsuit in MD, I think here you'd get very little unless you could show the inlaw used the informaton to physically intrude in your life...but they do that any way and someone could find that, yeah, the release was illegal, but you're the same as you were before because meddlesome inlaws are a fact of life. The problem would be proving the dealer knew this person was indeed the inlaw. You'd have to talk me out of a tree if this happened with MY Monster in Law. But then, she would tell the hubby's ex and she would be JEALOUS. :cheers: SO I couldn't look at a judge with a straight face and say this would damage me in any way.

 

[rocky777]

My mother in law is truly a monster, but, this didn't really hurt me in any way other than she tends to live in the 1960's still and thinks that $28K for a car is outrageously expensive so I had to hear the nagging about that for a while (to her, there are plenty of nice $14,000 cars out that are equally as nice as my SKY, lol), but no real harm done. I am just mad that this even happened and like I said in my original post, what if it was someone who worked for me, or just someone who saw my white SKY in the showroom the day I bought it? Ah well, I'm not going to pursue the legal end of this, I'm just going to write a nasty letter to Saturn and trash the salesperson in the survey I receive in the mail. After that, I'm going to be done with it, life's too short and as mad as I am, I need to let this go.

 

[CdnSkyGuy]

That is funny. I am not sure if this would be a lawsuit in MD, I think here you'd get very little unless you could show the inlaw used the informaton to physically intrude in your life...but they do that any way and someone could find that, yeah, the release was illegal, but you're the same as you were before because meddlesome inlaws are a fact of life. The problem would be proving the dealer knew this person was indeed the inlaw. You'd have to talk me out of a tree if this happened with MY Monster in Law. But then, she would tell the hubby's ex and she would be JEALOUS. :cheers: SO I couldn't look at a judge with a straight face and say this would damage me in any way.

The issue would not be proving that the dealer knew if it was your mother in law or not. if they thought it was a complete stranger that is EVEN WORSE! Imagine if someone has a photo memory and now has ALL your information.

They could call the DMV and say they lost their DL but that they moved since they last had it and all of a sudden they have new credit cards with their fake address on it. They could go buy another sky...assuming your credit was good enough and they could do it in days...meanwhile your wallet has not been stolen so you suspect nothing because the delinquent account mail is going to a house that does not exist. You don't even know until 5 years down the road when you go to buy another vehicle.

It is very serious business...they could mess up a person for life by showing that info even for a few moments...some people can memorize that stuff in the blink of an eye.

 

[skywulf]

Yep, you got it, all the reasons that this was a bad thing. But, life is short, and remedy is sometimes in the eye of the beholder.

 

[SSC_Summit]

Ah well, I'm not going to pursue the legal end of this, I'm just going to write a nasty letter to Saturn and trash the salesperson in the survey I receive in the mail. After that, I'm going to be done with it, life's too short and as mad as I am, I need to let this go.

FYI writing a nasty letter to Saturn is a waste of your time. You should write a letter to the owner and CC the general manager. As for the survey, well, I guess they derserve it.

 

[jrarant]

I just purchased a Relay yesterday. My salesman had me sign a confidentiality document that stated that none of my husband's or my information would be shared with anyone, but the salesman, the manager that qualified our financing, and the bank that financed the Relay. I would think that all Saturn Dealers would have this document. I would talk to the GM and have him show you your file and see if that document is in there. If so you definitely have legal recourse, if not I would check your local laws to see if there is anything about confidentiality. I would suspect there is as identity theft has become a real issue.

 

[GMguy]

Generally, I get the feeling that people these days are worried about a lot of things that have no danger and aren't worried about things that can be VERY dangerous. For example, I could care less whether some website tracks my
movements on his web pages. In fact, I could care less whether someone
tracks all of my movements on the web. Identity theft is something to worry about, but if you think that signing some document whereby the person holding
your personal info promises not to disclose it makes a difference, you'd better think again. It sort of like our weapons laws - those who are going to commit robbery or murder with weapons couldn't care less whether they kill someone with an illegal versus legal firearm. The security with your dealer is because you believe he's not a crook and isn't going to sell your personal info to a crook. That isn't affected in any way whether he has this here document ...

 

[Freakazoid]

this was definitely totally illegal, violates pretty much every security and privacy law out there. you can't really 'sue' persae, but you can make things very very painful for them, and call up saturn corporate and mention that. trust me I guarantee if you push the buttons hard enough you can get some nice fringe benefits from this escape.... free maintenance, extended warranty, etc etc.

 

[Chili Pepper Girl]

I would be FUMING MAD!!! No one has the right to give your personal info out, I don’t care if it is family or not!!!! I would be on the phone with the general manager giving them a peace of my mind!!!