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 Beatties Office Products, 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.
- 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, fax or in writing as noted in (8) below.
- 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.
- 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.
- Collection Limits – We will limit the collection of personal information to only that which is necessary as stated above.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 privacy©beatties.com, by fax to the attention of The Privacy Officer at 905-688-6268 or by mail to The Privacy Officer, Beatties Office Products, 399 Vansickle Road, P.O. Box 3056, St. Catharines, Ontario L2R 7R3.
- Individual Access – We will give any individual access to any personal information about him or her in our possession, upon presentation of satisfactory identification. Individuals may request access to their personal information by contacting the Privacy Officer by any of the means noted above. A reasonable administration fee may be charged to supply the information. In the event that the individual identifies any inaccuracies, we will immediately make any appropriate changes.
- Challenging Compliance – Should any customer have a concern or complaint about the collection, use or disclosure of their personal information by Beatties, they should contact the Privacy Officer as stated above.
