LegalZoom and Password Resets

The other day I got an alert from LegalZoom telling me that I had some filing deadlines approaching for a company I have an interest in.  When I clicked on the link and went to log in, I had one of those moments where I just could not remember my account information.  I tried my usuals, and none of them worked.  So, I clicked the ‘Forgot Password’ link to get my password reset.

I filled out the form and, seeing the confirmation that my reset instructions would arrive within 15 minutes, waited for it to arrive.  I never got it.  I tried three more times.  No email.  No errors.

So, today, I called them.  I got someone on the phone who was very nice, but kept telling me that they could not see my password and could not tell me what it was.  I let them know that I was glad that they could not see my password, and would be even more joyous if they could reset it for me so that I could get logged back in.  This fun conversation repeated itself for about three or four minutes, at the end of which I was less joyous.  After repeatedly asking them to just reset my password, they finally agreed that this operation could be performed.  Yay!

About three hours later, I got an email WITH MY PASSWORD IN IT.  Now, I am no legal scholar, but I am guessing that sending passwords in clear text has to be some kind of privacy policy violation.  How can a site that handles sensitive legal documents send my account password in the text of an email?  How about a reset link?

I am not sure who needs to know about this at LegalZoom, but it’s just a tad disconcerting that they treat this sensitive information so casually.

UPDATE – 03/09/2011: 

Just got off the phone with one of the customer service managers at LegalZoom.  They are in the process of changing their internal processes and systems so that this won’t happen again.  This is a great example of a company paying attention to what their customers are saying and taking action.

Great job, LZ!

UPDATE – 03/08/2011:  

I got a note today from someone on the LegalZoom support team wanting to talk to me about their privacy.  I sent him an email, waiting to hear back.  I am glad that they are paying attention and reacting this quickly.  We will see what they have to say.