Connect With Life Car Price Quotes

Free Automotive Price Quotes With A Hidden Agenda

 

Pasch Consulting Group alerts online car shoppers of the existence of  another third party automotive lead collection website, going under the name of “Connect with Life”. The website located at “www.connectwithlife.com” has been designed to display a unique automobile website page for most every town in the USA. In addition to each town, the website uses dealer brand names to create web pages that appear to supply local car information.

Consumers are encourages to read carefully the privacy policy of lead collections websites, like Connect With Life, to understand how your information is distributed or sold to third party sales organizations. A free price quote can open up your information to be distributed to third parties without your control.

There is no clear warning displayed on ConnectWithLife about their data collection and distribution practices. If you read their privacy policy, a small link at the bottom of a long page, they claim that by using their website you give them implied permission to distribute or sell your data to third party companies. Here is their statement:

By using Site and providing us with your information, you agree to this Privacy Policy.
If you do not agree to this policy, please do not use the Site.

I wonder how many consumers read a privacy policy, a link at the bottom of a page,  before asking for a free price quote?  I would guess less than 1%.

Capturing Car Leads by Appearing Local

 

The clever design of the website is that they have create a web page for practically every town in the USA making their site look local. For example, the website has a page called: http://www.connectwithlife.com/infiniti-dealers/in-absecon-nj.html  which shows information about Infiniti cars in Absecon New Jersey.

The website page has a call to action to lure consumers into asking the website to prepare an independent Infiniti price quote. The company does not own or operate an Infiniti dealership in Absecon New Jersey nor do they list the closest Infiniti dealers to that city.

The website design has basically the same Infiniti car information for other towns in New Jersey, with just the town name changed. See http://www.connectwithlife.com/infiniti-dealers/in-estell-manor-nj.html  for another example that implies local price quotes for residents in Estell Manor New Jersey.

Capturing consumer car leads is a multi-million dollars business. Consumers should be aware that providing their personal information to websites offering free price quotes, other than local car dealers, can come at a risk. Consumers are advised to review website privacy policies to understand that lead collection websites make their money by selling consumer information to companies who want to solicit consumer goods and services.

Connect with Life has a posted Privacy Policy; here are some excerpts:

 

The collected personal information is used primarily to route your request to the appropriate service provider and to allow Site and selected third-party companies to contact users for marketing purposes in the future.
As the service provider may keep and use your information whether or not you purchase their products or use their services, your personal information will be subject to their privacy policies, and you should contact them directly for more information about their specific privacy and opt-out policies.

The Site may provide personal information to other third-party companies that it believes will be able to provide you with valuable products, services, or other information that may be of interest. As such third parties may keep and use your information whether or not you purchase their products or use their services, your personal information will be subject to their privacy policies, and you should contact them directly for more information about their specific privacy and opt-out policies.

In its sole discretion, Site may transfer, sell or assign your personal information collected on and through the Site to one or more third parties, as a result of the sale, merger, consolidation, change in control, transfer of substantial assets, reorganization or liquidation of Reply, Inc.

These excerpts from the Connect with Life Privacy Policy indicate that collected consumer information can be distributed to third parties the company thinks with benefit consumers . How they determine what third parties will benefit consumers is not stated. It indicates that the third parties can keep consumer information regardless if you purchase from them. This implies, consumer information can be distributed to any number of third parties and they do not have control where their information goes. Consumers in practice really don’t have a way to contact the 3rd parties they give their information to, as suggested by their privacy policy. And, at any time consumer collected data can be sold, with no time limit in effect.

The website design and architecture that is being utilized by "www.ConnectWithLife.com" does not violate any laws that PCG is aware of and this commentary is not made to imply any wrong doing. This press release is a consumer advisory to remind Internet car shoppers to be aware of whom they are providing their personal information to and to verify that their information is not being sold to third party services.