Privacy statement

Budds' BMW Privacy Policy

Your privacy on the Internet is as important to us as your safety when driving a BMW, which is why we at Buddsí BMW believe in an active approach to safeguarding your privacy on-line. You can interact and remain assured that you are protected by confidentiality, security, and your individual right to change your mind. In this regard, any personal information that you provide to us through, or on, our websites will be governed by this privacy policy.

Buddsí BMW collects personally identifying information about you only when you specifically and knowingly provide it to us. Buddsí BMW is dedicated to providing you with a compelling service to help you make the most of your time on the Internet. The more we know about you, the better we can serve your needs.

We recognize that we need to earn your trust, and firmly believe that you should know exactly what personally identifying information we collect and how we're going to use it before you share it with us.

What is ìpersonally identifying informationî? "Personally identifying information" is information that can be explicitly used to identify and/or contact you as an individual. This includes information like your real name, e-mail address, mailing address, phone number, credit card number, etc. Information that, by itself, cannot be explicitly linked with your "real" identity is not considered personally identifying. Examples of this are favourite or bookmarked Web sites, or your preferences with respect to how you wish to see a given page or site set up according to the selections you choose.

Collection of Personal Information Within our websites, you may be asked to voluntarily provide certain information about yourself. Please be assured that all of the information you provide will remain confidential. The information collected will assist Buddsí BMW in providing products and services to you which will benefit you as a valued customer. Personal information may be requested for registration, booking appointments, subscribing to our mailing and/or emailing lists, for eligibility to participate in a contest or promotion, or simply for informing you of upcoming events or special offers. Any information that we may request, including your name, address or e-mail address, may be used for Buddsí BMWís own marketing, promotional or research purposes.

The information that you choose to provide will only be used by Buddsí BMW, our related companies or business partners who assist with our websites. It will not be shared, unless required by law, and will not be sold to any third party individual, company or group.

When we intend to use your personal information, we tell you up front. This way you can decide whether you want to give us the information or not.

Collection of Non-Identifiable Information

In order to allow you easy and convenient access to our websites, certain non-identifiable information is collected, as described below, which will allow us to continually improve our websites.

Site Traffic Monitoring

During each and every visit to our websites, we will collect non-identifiable information by tracking Internet Protocol (IP) addresses on an aggregate basis. IP addresses do not track personal information about you. They simply allow us to monitor how our sites are being used and what information is being accessed. Buddsí BMW will use this information to ensure its websites remain useful and convenient, in order to meet and satisfy your needs.

Use of Cookies

Cookies are pieces of information that a Web site transfers to an individual's hard disk for record-keeping purposes. Cookies can make the Web more useful by storing information about your preferences on a particular site, like what items you have in a "shopping cart" for an online store. The use of cookies is an industry standard, and many major Web sites use them to provide great features for their customers.

Buddsí BMW sometimes uses cookies to track user trends and patterns. This helps us better understand and improve areas of the buddsbmw.com website. Visitors to the buddsbmw.com website always have the option of disabling cookies via their browser preferences.

Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or indicate when a cookie is being sent.

E-Mail

Email is the preferred method of communication for many of our customers. It is timely, efficient, cost-effective and allows Buddsí BMW customers to receive communications targeted to their specific needs and interests.

If you so elect, Buddsí BMW will periodically send you email about our services, special offers, updates, and personalized service & maintenance information. Additionally, the email address provided by you may be used by Buddsí BMW to contact you regarding (1) customer account status (including confirmation of subscription), (2) major changes to the website and or to the Privacy Policy, and (3) participation in user surveys, asking for feedback on the website and existing or prospective products and services, as well as information to better understand our users. User surveys greatly help us to improve our website and our service offerings and any information we obtain in such surveys will not be shared with third parties, except in aggregate form.

Subscription to these emails is entirely optional and a service that we provide at no charge as part of our customer service efforts. A Buddsí BMW customer may choose which email services they wish to receive and may at any time choose not to receive email from Buddsí BMW.

We use e-mail in many areas of the website to allow you to contact us directly with any questions or comments you may have. We will use your email address to respond directly to these questions or comments. Except as permitted by this policy, Buddsí BMW does not send unsolicited e-mail.

Subscriptions

Removal or Modification of Information If you have provided information about yourself, in order to receive e-mails or product mailings, and would like to modify your information or would like to be removed from our customer database, please contact Buddsí BMW by calling (905) 845-3577 or by sending an e-mail to mgibson@buddsbmw.com.

We will do our best to correct, update or remove that information on a timely basis.

Data Security

To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the appropriate use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to protect the information we collect online.

The information on our server is protected behind a firewall and is only accessible by persons employed by Buddsí BMW who have special access rights to the system.

Third Party Links

Even though our websites may include links to other websites, outside of Buddsí BMW, we are not responsible for the content, links or privacy practices of those sites. We provide access to these linked sites for your convenience only and you access them at your own risk. However, we will welcome any comments you may have regarding these linked websites.

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act came into effect January 1, 2001. It gives you certain rights with respect to the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information by federally regulated organizations.

The Act applies to personal information collected, used or disclosed in the course of commercial activities, whether in the "real" world or on the Internet. It also applies to personal information disclosed to another province or country for profit or gain, where the information is the subject of the transaction.

In 2002, the Act will be extended to protect your health information. And in 2004, in addition to covering all interprovincial or international disclosures of personal information in the course of a commercial activity, the Act will extend to all provincially regulated businesses not covered by a provincial law judged to be substantially similar to the Act.

For further information you can visit the Privacy Commissioner of Canadaís website at http://www.privcom.gc.ca/index_e.asp.

How do I change or update my personal information?

A Buddsí BMW customer may request changes or updates to their personal information. Please contact privacy@buddsbmw.com or call 905-845-3577.

Changes to this Policy

Buddsí BMW has adopted a set of information management guidelines which serve as the basis for our customer relationships. These guidelines have been developed with the recognition that Internet technologies are rapidly evolving, and that underlying business models are still not established. Accordingly, guidelines are subject to change. Any such changes will be posted on this page. If the changes represent a material departure from our current practices with respect to the use of personal information, the changes will be posted on this page thirty days prior to taking effect and registered users will be notified via email.

From time to time, the Buddsí BMW may introduce new products and services to its users and members. Buddsí BMW reserves the right to modify this policy at any time by notifying customers, via the buddsbmw.com site, of a new privacy policy. You can send an e-mail (privacy@buddsbmw.com) to us with any further questions.

Compliance with Legal Process

We may disclose personal information if we are required to do so by law or we in good faith believe that such action is necessary to (1) comply with the law or with legal process; (2) protect and defend our rights and property; (3) protect against misuse or unauthorized use of Buddsí BMW websites; or (4) protect the personal safety or property of our users or the public (among other things, this means that if you provide false information or attempt to pose as someone else, information about you may be disclosed as part of any investigation into your actions).

Comments and Suggestions

We welcome your comments and e-mails but please note that any information including but not limited to suggestions, ideas or submissions you make through and onto any Buddsí BMW website will become the exclusive property of Buddsí BMW.

By visiting our websites you are agreeing to our privacy policy as outlined above. Should you have any questions about our privacy policy please contact us at (905)845-3577.

© 2003 Buddsí BMW