Personal Information Protection

Private Sector Privacy Legislation

Personal Information Protection Policy

DogSport Gear

 Personal Information Protection Policy

At DogSport Gear, we are committed to providing our customers with exceptional service.  As providing this service involves the collection, use and disclosure of some personal information about our customers protecting their personal information is one of our highest priorities. We will never sell, distribute or rent your personal information in any form.

While we have always respected our customer privacy and safeguarded their personal information, we have strengthened our commitment to protecting personal information as a result of British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).  PIPA, which came into effect on January 1, 2004, sets out the ground rules for how B.C. businesses and not-for-profit organizations may collect, use and disclose personal information.

We will inform our customers of why and how we collect, use and disclose their personal information, obtain their consent where required, and only handle their personal information in a manner that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances.

This Personal Information Protection Policy, in compliance with PIPA, outlines the principles and practices we will follow in protecting your personal information.  Our privacy commitment includes ensuring the accuracy, confidentiality, and security of our customer personal information and allowing our customers to request access to, and correction of, their personal information.

Policy 1 – Collecting Personal Information

1.1  Unless the purposes for collecting personal information are obvious and the customer voluntarily provides his or her personal information for those purposes, we will communicate the purposes for which personal information is being collected, either orally or in writing, before or at the time of collection.

1.2  We will only collect customer information that is necessary to fulfill the following purposes:

·         To verify identity;

·         To verify creditworthiness;

·         To identify [client, customer, member] preferences;

·         To understand the [financial, banking, insurance] needs of our [clients, customers, members];

·         To open and manage an account;

·         To deliver requested products and services

·         To contact our [clients, customers, members] for fundraising;

·         To ensure a high standard of service to our [clients, customers, members];

Policy 2 – Consent

2.1  We will obtain customer consent to collect, use or disclose personal information (except where, as noted below, we are authorized to do so without consent).

2.2  Consent can be provided or it can be implied where the purpose for collecting using or disclosing the personal information would be considered obvious and the customer voluntarily provides personal information for that purpose.

2.3  Consent may also be implied where a customer is given notice and a reasonable opportunity to opt-out of his or her personal information being used for mail-outs, the marketing of new services or products and the customer does not opt-out.

2.4  Subject to certain exceptions (e.g., the personal information is necessary to provide the service or product, or the withdrawal of consent would frustrate the performance of a legal obligation), customer can withhold or withdraw their consent for DogSport Gear to use their personal information in certain ways.  A customer’s decision to withhold or withdraw their consent to certain uses of personal information may restrict our ability to provide a particular service or product.  If so, we will explain the situation to assist the customer in making the decision.

2.5  We may collect, use or disclose personal information without the customer’s knowledge or consent in the following limited circumstances:

·         When the collection, use or disclosure of personal information is permitted or required by law;

·         In an emergency that threatens an individual's life, health, or personal security;

·         When the personal information is available from a public source (e.g., a telephone directory);

·         When we require legal advice from a lawyer;

·         For the purposes of collecting a debt;

·         To protect ourselves from fraud;

·         To investigate an anticipated breach of an agreement or a contravention of law

Policy 3 – Using and Disclosing Personal Information

3.1  We will only use or disclose customer’ personal information where necessary to fulfill the purposes identified at the time of collection

·         To insure that they products correctly from any outside supplier

3.2  We will not use or disclose customer’s personal information for any additional purpose unless we obtain consent to do so.

3.3  We will not sell customer’s lists or personal information to other parties

Policy 4 – Retaining Personal Information

4.1  If we use customer’s personal information to make a decision that directly affects the customer’s we will retain that personal information for at least one year so that the customer’s has a reasonable opportunity to request access to it.

4.2  Subject to policy 4.1, we will retain customer’s personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the identified purposes or a legal or business purpose.

Policy 5 – Ensuring Accuracy of Personal Information

5.1  We will make reasonable efforts to ensure that customer’s personal information is accurate and complete where it may be used to make a decision about the customer or disclosed to another organization.

5.2  customers may request correction to their personal information in order to ensure its accuracy and completeness.  A request to correct personal information must be made in writing and provide sufficient detail to identify the personal information and the correction being sought.

 A request to correct personal information should be forwarded to the Privacy Officer

5.3  If the personal information is demonstrated to be inaccurate or incomplete, we will correct the information as required and send the corrected information to any organization to which we disclosed the personal information in the previous year.  If the correction is not made, we will note the customer’s correction request in the file.

Policy 6 – Securing Personal Information

6.1  We are committed to ensuring the security of customer’s personal information in order to protect it from unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification or disposal or similar risks.

6.2  The following security measures will be followed to ensure that customer’s personal information is appropriately protected:

·         Secure online Shopping cart

·         Secure online storage of Names, address and phone numbers

·         No Credit Card information is kept on file

·         Secure File system holding any hard copies of information

·         Daily intrusion scans of all PC related systems

6.3  We will use appropriate security measures when destroying customer’s personal information such as

·         All paper files containing personal information is shredded when no longer in use

·         All PC deletions have multiple scrubs

6.4  We will continually review and update our security policies and controls as technology changes to ensure ongoing personal information security.

Policy 7 – Providing customer’s Access to Personal Information

 7.1  customer’s have a right to access their personal information, subject to limited exceptions.

 A full listing of the exceptions to access can be found in section 23 of PIPA.  Some examples include:  solicitor-client privilege, disclosure would reveal personal information about another individual, health and safety concerns]

7.2  A request to access personal information must be made in writing and provide sufficient detail to identify the personal information being sought.  A request to access personal information should be forwarded to the Privacy Officer

7.3  Upon request, we will also tell customer’s how we use their personal information and to whom it has been disclosed if applicable.

7.4  We will make the requested information available within 30 business days, or provide written notice of an extension where additional time is required to fulfill the request.

7.5  A minimal fee may be charged for providing access to personal information.  Where a fee may apply, we will inform the customer of the cost and request further direction from the customer on whether or not we should proceed with the request.

7.6  If a request is refused in full or in part, we will notify the customer in writing, providing the reasons for refusal and the recourse available to the customer.

Policy 8 – Questions and Complaints:  The Role of the Privacy Officer or designated individual

8.1  The Privacy Officer is responsible for ensuring DogSport Gear compliance with this policy and the Personal Information Protection Act.

8.2  customer’s should direct any complaints, concerns or questions regarding DogSport Gear compliance in writing to the Privacy Officer. If the Privacy Officer is unable to resolve the concern, the customers may also write to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia.

Contact information for DogSport Gear Privacy Officer:

Ralph Gilby

Phone – 604.532.5770 or 888.856.2076.

Email – dogsportgear@telus.net