Privacy Policy
Why do we have a Privacy Policy?
We have developed this Privacy Policy because we want you to feel
confident about the privacy and security of your personal information.
We are registered under English data protection laws and takes all
reasonable care to prevent any unauthorised access to your personal
information.
When we refer to 'personal information' in this Privacy Policy,
we mean information which identifies you as an individual, or is
capable of doing so. Accordingly, we may hold and use data about
you in your capacity as a consumer, a business customer, or as an
individual acting on behalf of a business customer.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. If you are visiting
our web site or using our services, by continuing to do so, you
indicate your agreement to our use of your personal information
as set out in this Privacy Policy.
What does this Privacy Policy cover?
This Privacy Policy only applies to our web sites and services.
It does not apply to any third party services, or to any third party
sites even if we host them or you access them from our web sites.
If you disclose your personal information directly to other companies,
your personal information will be dealt with according to their
privacy practices.
What personal information do we collect about
you, and when do we collect it?
When you register to become a customer, we may ask you for information
such as your name, address, contact telephone numbers, email address,
credit card details, gender, date of birth and other (optional)
information. We may also ask you for personal information if you
enter one of the competitions or promotions on our web sites.
We may receive personal information about you from third parties.
Except in the cases where we are merely processing such information
for them, we rely on third parties to obtain your consent for us
to use this information.
What do we use your personal information
for?
If you register to become a customer, we may use your personal
information to:
• let you know (by post, telephone or email) about any changes/additions
to our services or our web sites or partner sites
• contact you to ask whether you would like to join in one
of our research groups to help us improve our services to you
• improve our understanding of the type of customers we're
attracting to our services and how they use our services
• provide a personalised experience,
• generate your personalised ID,
• subject to your agreement, provide you with information
about our and/or third party products and services
• manage our network
• prevent and detect criminal activity, fraud and misuse of
or damage to our network, and to prosecute those responsible.
If you enter one of our competitions or promotions, we use the personal
information you provide to manage the competition or promotion you've
entered.
We may also ask other companies to provide any of the above services
on our behalf. When we do this, we share your personal information
with these companies to enable them to provide the service on our
behalf. Please see 'Do we share your personal information with anyone
else?' for more information on this.
What other information do we collect?
We may also use this information for marketing our services. We
do not disclose this information to anyone other than to our agents
who process it on our behalf. Your decision on whether you want
to receive details of other products and services which is made
when you register for or order a service, also applies to this information.
Consequently, if you do not wish us to use this information for
marketing purposes but during registration elected to receive details
on other products and services, you need to complete an opt-out
form.
As with most (if not all) web site operators, we also collect information
from visitors to our web sites and registered customers to help
us improve our web sites and the services we make available. This
information tells us, for instance, how many visitors there were
to our web sites, when they visited, for how long, which areas of
our web sites they went to and which web site they go to when they
leave our web sites. This information helps us to assess which parts
of our web sites are popular or need improving. We may share this
aggregate, anonymous data with advertisers and other companies which
offer their goods or services on our web sites so that they can
see how effective our web sites are as a sales channel for their
goods and services. We also share it with companies which we use
to provide some of our services, for instance to provide reports
to us on the use of our web sites.
Do we share your personal information
with anyone else?
We sometimes use other companies to provide some of our services,
or to provide services to us, and we share your personal information
with these other companies. However, these companies can only process
this information according to the instructions we give them, may
only do things with your personal information that we are entitled
to do, and may only act on our behalf. In addition they are required
to meet the requirements of the Data Protection Act to keep the
information secure.
We also share your personal information with other parts of our
group or other companies so that they (or we, on their behalf) can
contact you with details of other products or services you may be
interested in. We'll only do this with your agreement. During your
registration to become a customer, or if you enter a promotion or
competition on our web sites, you can decide whether you would like
to receive such information.
If you agree to receive information about other companies' products
and services, we'll only share your personal information with those
companies if they agree to use your personal information only for
that purpose.
If you're a registered customer, you can change your mind at any
time about receiving information about other products or services
from us or other companies. Please see 'How can you change the personal
information we hold about you?' for more information on this. However,
if you had previously agreed to receive information about products
and services from other companies, you will need to contact those
companies yourself.
We'll also disclose your personal information when required to
do so by law, for example under a Court Order, or in response to
properly made demands under powers contained in legislation. If
there is a change (or prospective change) in the ownership or any
of its assets, we may have to disclose personal information to the
new (or prospective) owner.
For how long do we keep
personal information?
The time period for which we keep information varies according
to what the information is used for. In some cases there are legal
requirements to keep data for a minimum period. Unless there is
a specific legal requirement for us to keep the information, we
will retain it for no longer than is necessary for the purposes
for which the data was collected or for which it is to be further
processed.
How can you find out what personal
information we hold about you?
If you want to know what personal information we hold about you,
please write to the following address, enclosing a cheque for the
administration fee of £10 made payable to “Internet
Services” and post to the address on our website:
If you want specific information, please tell us, because this
will speed up our reply. Please also give us any relevant details
to help us find the information you're looking for. Please also
note that in some instances, we may be able to provide the information
you want without you having to make a formal request as described
above.
How can you change the personal information
we hold about you?
If the information we hold about you is inaccurate, please let
us know and we will make the necessary amendments and confirm that
these have been made.
How can you manage our contact with you for marketing purposes?
If you'd like to stop unsolicited telemarketing calls from us and
other companies, please contact the Telephone Preference Service
on 0845 0700707 and register your telephone number(s). Direct marketing
calls should stop after 28 days.
If you'd like to stop unsolicited direct marketing mailers from
us and other companies, please contact the Mail Preference Service,
following the link at http://www.fpsonline.org.uk. Direct marketing
mailers should stop after 3 months. (Remember to re-register if
you change your address.)
How do we protect your personal
information?
We're serious about guarding the security of your personal information
and the details of any transactions made. We take appropriate organisational
and technical security measures to protect your data against unauthorised
disclosure or processing. We use a secure server to store the information
you give us when you register or order (including your credit card
details and your password). Any personal data you send us is securely
encrypted.
Over and above what we do to safeguard your privacy and security,
there are a number of things you can do to protect yourself from
internet fraud:
• choose a password you can remember but others will not guess,
change it regularly and, if you do write it down, keep it somewhere
safe and secure
• when you have finished your session on our web sites, make
sure you prevent your details being seen by anyone that you do not
wish to see them. So, if you've registered and logged in, remember
to log off. Clear any cache so there is no record of any transactions
left on screen - both Netscape and Internet Explorer let you do
this. We also recommend you then close your browser so any history
of the session is cleared
When do we use cookies?
A 'cookie' is a text file which is allocated by our server to your
PC. The text file contains a random number which, unless the cookie
is deleted, allows your PC to be identified if you visit our web
sites again.
For other customers and visitors to our web site we use cookies
to collect information. Our servers use two different types of cookies.
The first type is known as a 'session-based' cookie and is allocated
to your PC only for the duration of your visit to our web site.
It helps you to move around the web site faster and, if you're a
registered customer, it allows us to give you information relevant
to your selected service. This cookie automatically expires when
you close down your browser.
The second type of cookie known as a 'persistent' cookie is allocated
to your PC only if you agree by selecting the 'Remember Me' function.
This cookie, if chosen, will remain on your PC for a period of time.
This cookie allows us to:
• welcome you as an individual when you log on to our web
site
• limit how often you see particular advertisements or announcements
on our web site
• identify your defaults if you have set up a customised homepage
• provide you with relevant self-help information
• track where you have come from if you have come to our web
site from another web site
• track how many times you visit a page or advertisement
Other companies which advertise or offer their products or services
on our web sites may also allocate cookies to your PC. The types
of cookies they use and how they use the information generated by
them will be governed by those companies' Privacy Policies, not
ours.
All types of cookies can be removed from your PC. However, if you
do his there is likely to be a deterioration of your experience
of our web sites (e.g. you may end up being shown endless numbers
of pop up boxes containing the same advertisements or not being
able to see a personalised page). Your browser lets you choose whether
to accept, not to accept or to be warned before accepting cookies.These
settings can be found in the advanced preferences -
In Internet Explorer select : Tools menu > Internet options >
Security > Custom Level In Netscape 4.x select: Edit menu >
Preferences > Advanced
For removing the 'Remember Me' cookie, just untick the box when
you sign in.
Are third party sites covered
by this Policy?
Third party internet sites that you can link to from our web sites
are not covered by our Privacy Policy, so we urge you to be careful
when you enter any personal information online. We accept no responsibility
or liability for these sites.
How do you find out about
changes to our Privacy Policy?
We may change our Privacy Policy from time to time. If you are
a registered customer, we will notify you of the changed Policy.
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