On January 1, 2004 the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) came into force. This act governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in commercial activities. At Southbrook Accounting, we consider the protection of the personal information of each customer to be of paramount importance. Accordingly, we have developed a Privacy Policy built around the ten personal information privacy principles stated in the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information.
1. Accountability
We have created the post of Privacy Officer, who is specifically responsible for our compliance with PIPEDA. The Privacy Officer can be contacted by e-mail, or in writing as noted in (8) below.
2. Purpose of Collection
We will only collect and use the personal information about our customers that is necessary for us to have in order to carry on business with them i.e. credit information to open a charge account, credit card details for processing payments, e-mail addresses for on-line ordering and communication. Whenever we ask for personal information, we will clearly state why we need the information and how we will use it. We will not disclose any personal information concerning our customers to anyone else without the customer’s consent.
3. Consent
Before using any personal information about any individual, we will ensure that we have the individual’s express consent in an appropriately signed form. We will not disclose any personal information to any third party without the customer’s prior consent.
4. Collection Limits
We will limit the collection of personal information to only that which is necessary as stated above.
5. Use and Disclosure Limits
We will use and disclose a customer’s personal information only for the purposes for which we have received the customer’s consent. We will only keep personal information about customers for as long as we need it to fulfill our stated purposes or comply with government legislation. When the information is no longer needed it will be destroyed.
6. Safeguards
We will protect all personal information in our possession from unauthorized access, from both inside and outside the company. Whether in electronic or paper format, the information will only be available to employees who need it to fulfill their job functions. All of our employees have received a copy of the company’s privacy rules.
7. Accuracy
We will maintain all personal information in our possession in as accurate, complete and up-to-date form as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used. Customers are encouraged to keep us informed of any changes that may occur.
8. Openness
We have posted this Corporate Privacy Statement in our stores and on our web-site. Individuals may make inquiries about personal information privacy issues by e-mail to jordan@southbrookaccounting.ca, or by mail to The Privacy Officer, Southbrook Accounting, 282 Province St. S. Hamilton, ON L8K 2L7
9. Individual Access
We have posted this Corporate Privacy Statement in our stores and on our web-site. Individuals may make inquiries about personal information privacy issues by e-mail to jordan@southbrookaccounting.ca, or by mail to The Privacy Officer, Southbrook Accounting, 282 Province St. S. Hamilton, ON L8K 2L7
Challenging Compliance – Should any customer have a concern or complaint about the collection, use or disclosure of their personal information by Southbrook Accounting, they should contact the Privacy Officer as stated above.