Banfield Charitable Trust Privacy Policy

 

Updated on May 15, 2012

We care about your privacy and know you do, too.  We promise that we will use information about you carefully and sensibly We want to tell you in detail about the policies and practices which we have adopted to protect your privacy so that you can feel confident about how we handle the personally identifiable information (‘personal information’) you entrust to us, and understand how we manage your personal information to offer you the best possible products, services and experiences.  The server(s) that make(s) this site available, and databases where information may be stored, may be located outside the country from which you accessed this site, but we will collect, process and use personal information only in accordance with this policy.  The personal information made available to us may, therefore, be transmitted abroad.  By visiting this site and submitting information, you consent to such collection, processing, transfer and/or storage of your personal information.

While we do not intend to make changes to our policies very often, it is always a good idea to double check when you visit our site to be sure that you have read and agree with our most current policy statement.  We will not make any changes that have retroactive effect unless legally required to do so. The date this Privacy Policy was last modified is set forth at the beginning of this Privacy Policy.

The content on our site may include, among other items of interest, pet health information, social networking opportunities, surveys, sweepstakes, and contests, and may also include advertising and opportunities to shop online.  We may also provide information on our company, pet health products, and our services.  We hope that you enjoy our site and will come back often to visit!

Please take a moment to review our policy in detail.  To assist you, we offer this short summary.

Policy Summary

1. We use your personal information to fulfill your requests and serve you better.
2. We do not share your personal details with outside third parties without your consent.
3. We will only send you materials you have indicated you want to receive according to your preferences, and we will honor your opt-out requests.
4. We use cookies and web beacons to help us understand the features that apply to visitors, provide better functionality, and offer you personalized content.
5. We adopt careful procedures to protect your personal information, and use special care to protect credit card data you give us when you shop online.
6. Our policy regarding children
7. We do reserve the right to use or disclose your personal information in certain circumstances, such as to satisfy a legal request or protect our property.

When do we collect personal information?

We collect personal information, such as names, addresses, e-mail addresses, pet information (names, birthdates, vaccination records, etc.), hobby or activity information, demographic information (age, gender, etc.), and the like, when voluntarily submitted by a visitor.  Visitors may choose to submit personal information online to enter contests, to obtain information or submit a comment, to register for a loyalty program or chat room, or to place an order.  We may also obtain contact lists, demographic, and other information from other sources.  For the convenience of our customers and to better serve you, we combine the data.  You can update or correct your contact information or change your preferences about receiving offers and information from us at any time.

We make a special effort to advise children to get parental permission before providing information or ordering anything online, and urge parents to supervise their children’s online use.  We may ask for age information from children so that we can provide age-relevant content and fulfill certain legal obligations; if we learn we are dealing with a child (as defined by local law, we may ask for the e-mail address of a parent and make an effort to contact them to determine if the child has permission to provide information to us.  In compliance with federal law, we do not knowingly collect information of any kind from anyone under the age of 13.  If we become aware of a user under the age of 13 providing information on our Site, we will terminate that account and purge our databases of all information provided by that user.

In addition to the information you provide, we also collect automatically generated information. Whenever you visit a Site, we receive and store information about that visit. For example, we obtain information about you and your Web browser, including:

• The Internet Protocol (IP) address that connects your computer to the Internet;
• Your email address and confirmation when you open an email sent from a Site;
• Your user name(s) and password(s);
• Your browser type and version, operating system and platform, and other computer and connection information;
• The date, time and full Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) of your clicks to, through and from a Site;
• Services you search for on a Site, view and/or use; and
• Sections of each Site you visit.

There are companies that provide tools that allow you to visit websites anonymously. While use of these tools may prevent us from providing you with personalized service, you should be aware that this option is available.

From time to time we purchase or otherwise acquire information about you from other sources and add it to our databases, including updated address information, customer lists, email address lists, etc.

Special Note on Personal Profiles. After you register with our site that allows for the creation of personal profiles, you are able to create a personal profile with information that you can make accessible to other users. Your profile can include a variety of information, including a name, e-mail address, physical location, occupation, or other information such as a photo, listing of recent posts you have made, a personal biography, or other personal information. Please be aware that we do not generally monitor or review the information in your profile and the information that you choose to provide will be publicly accessible. Please use caution when deciding on what information to include in your personal profile. We will maintain your personal profile on our servers until such time that you delete or modify that personal profile.

What do we do with your personal information?

We collect personally identifiable information to provide you access to your pet’s health records, to enter you in contests and notify you of results, to e-mail you with updates and news, to respond to your questions or comments, to register you for certain features, to provide personalized content, information, and/or to send out brochures, coupons, samples, offers and other information on our products, services or our company.  We ask visitors providing e-mail addresses to let us know if they would like further information or updates from us or our site; only those who request it will receive follow-up e-mail or other communications from us unless it is of a transactional nature and related to an action you peform on the siteWe also offer visitors an “opt-out” option at any time they wish to cease receiving promotional e-mails or other information from us.

Personal information is used solely by us, and our affiliates, agents or business partners who help make this site and its content and the products and services at this site, available to you in order to respond to your requests (like fulfilling online shopping orders, allowing you access to your pet’s records online, or offering a sweepstakes or promotion), and to better serve you, consistent with this policy.  Data may be shared or combined between current or future affiliates, subsidiaries or other related entities of our company to enhance efficiency and minimize duplication of contacts with you.  In addition, we may occasionally ask you if we may share information with other trusted third parties. We will let you know at the time the information is collected if such third-party sharing is anticipated, will identify the types of businesses at the area of collection, will describe the information we will share (like your mail or e-mail address) and will only share data if you agree.  We will share personal data only with those who have agreed to follow careful policies.

How do we use “cookies” and web beacons?

What are cookies?

“Cookies” are data files that a web site sends to your computer while you are viewing the site.  These data files include information that allows our site to remember important information that will make your use of the site more efficient and useful to you.  Our site use cookies for a variety of purposes.  We use cookie technology and IP addresses to obtain non-personal information from online visitors, and also to provide registered visitors with the best possible personalized online experience.

How do we use cookies?

Visitors to our site use different web browsers and different computers.  To make your visits as easy as possible with the technology you use, we automatically keep track of the type of browser (e.g., Internet Explorer, Netscape) and operating system (e.g., Windows, Macintosh) used by a visitor, and the domain name of the visitor’s Internet service provider.  We also track the total number of visitors to our site in an aggregate form to allow us to update and improve our site; personally identifiable information is not extracted in this process.  This data tells us if more visitors prefer certain features or areas to others, which helps us keep our site fresh and interesting to the majority of our visitors. We also use cookies to help prevent children from entering certain areas or features intended only for adults or older teens.

How do we use cookies to personalize your experience at our sites?

Cookie technology helps us deliver content tailored to a visitor’s interests, and allows us to make ordering products, and offering other functions at our site easier for our visitors. Sites that offer online shopping use cookies to remember and process the items in your shopping cart.  Where permitted, we may associate personal information with a cookie file in such instances.

What if you don´t want cookies?

If you don’t want cookies, you can set your computer to warn you each time a cookie is being sent or turn off all cookies through your browser (e.g., Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator). (Check your browser HELP menu to learn the correct way to change or update your cookies.) If you disable cookies, you may be unable to access some of the features noted above.

What are web beacons and how do we use them?

Some of our web pages and e-mail updates may contain electronic images called web beacons, sometimes known as one pixel GIFs, clear GIFs or pixel tags. On web sites, these allow us to count visitors who have viewed our pages.  In promotional e-mail messages/newsletters they allow us to count how many subscribers have read them.  Web beacons allow us to develop statistical information about the activities and features that most interest our consumers for the purpose of providing more personalized content. They are not used to access personally identifiable information without your consent.

What about chat rooms, message boards, or other interactive forums?

We may offer blogs, message or bulletin boards, or interactive areas where visitors may post comments or information for our visitors’ information and enjoyment.  As you know, anything you post online is available for the world to see.  We make no representations and undertake no obligations as to information you voluntarily post.

Is credit card / transaction information secure?

We care about the safety and security of your transaction.  We use SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) in compliance with the PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) to communicate with your browser software when you order from us online and thereby provide us with credit card or similar information. SSL is the industry standard security protocol, which makes it extremely difficult for anyone else to intercept your credit card / transaction and order information that you send us when you submit your online order.  Otherwise, the transmission of information to and from us is not encrypted or secure.  We take precautions to safeguard your credit card data in our internal systems.

What do we do to safeguard personal information?

We have instituted safeguards to check that our internal procedures meet our high policy standards.  We also use our best efforts to be sure that third parties who work with us as our agents to make this site and its contents available to you, and to fulfill your orders and requests, agree to protect personal information that they must access in order to serve our site and our visitors, and honor your preferences about contacts you receive.

What about links to other Websites?

We may offer links to other sites. However, we try to link only with web sites that share our values. You should always check the privacy policy of any linked web site to understand their personal information collection practices, including how they may use cookies. We are not responsible for the content or information collection policies of sites operated by other companies.  If you visit another site, you should review their privacy and other policies.

POLICY REGARDING CHILDREN

We at Banfield believe it essential that parents are involved in their children’s online experiences. That is why, in compliance with federal law, we do not knowingly collect information of any kind from anyone under the age of 13. If we become aware of a user under the age of 13 providing information on our Sites, we will terminate that account and purge our databases of all information provided by that user.

What else do you need to know?

We reserve the right to use or disclose any personal information as needed to satisfy any law, regulation or legal request, to conduct investigations of consumer complaints or possible breaches of law, to protect the integrity of the site, to fulfill your requests, or to cooperate in any legal investigation.