1. Introduction
This privacy policy explains the privacy practices of Carson, Dunlop & Associates
Ltd. (referred to as "Carson Dunlop", "us", "we" or "our").
This privacy policy applies to the collection, use and disclosure of
personal information in connection with Carson Dunlop operated websites
and in connection with the provision of Carson Dunlop’s products
and services including, without limitation: (i) HORIZONTM (Carson Dunlop’s
web based home inspection reporting and business management system);
(ii), Home Reference Book®; (iii) Carson Dunlop’s home inspection
and related training programs and (iiii) Carson Dunlop’s property
inspection business. Our privacy policy may be amended from time to
time, so we encourage you to periodically check our web site at http://www.carsondunlop.com
or http://www.discoverhorizon.com for the current version. Printed
copies of our current privacy policy are also available by contacting
our Chief Privacy Officer.
2. Our Commitment to Your Privacy
The relationship between you and Carson Dunlop is based on trust. We
value the trust you have placed in us and are taking all appropriate
measures to safeguard your personal information and that of your
clients, and to maintain your confidence. Carson Dunlop has established
this privacy policy to ensure that your personal information and
that of your clients is protected and that all our practices and
procedures comply with relevant personal information protection and
privacy legislation. Accordingly, we adhere to the privacy principles
set out below, which are based on the principles set out in Schedule
1 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents
Act (Canada). As used in our privacy policy, the term "personal
information" means information about an identifiable individual
including their home or other real property, but does not include
the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee
of an organization.
3. Accountability
Carson Dunlop is responsible for all personal information under our
control. If we provide you with services which require you to disclose
personal information of your clients, we will co-operate with you
to review and abide by the terms of your privacy commitment to your
clients.
Accountability for our compliance with this privacy policy rests with
our Chief Privacy Officer. However, other individuals within Carson
Dunlop may have responsibility for the day-to-day collection and processing
of personal information.
Contact information for our Chief Privacy Officer is set out below:
Geoff Rekstis
Chief Privacy Officer
Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd.
120 Carlton Street
Suite 407
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Tel: 416-964-9415
Fax: 416-964-0683
E-mail: privacy@carsondunlop.com
Carson Dunlop is responsible for personal information in our possession
or custody, including: (i) information that needs to be disclosed to
third parties in the course of our business; and (ii) personal information
of clients of home inspectors using our services. We use contractual
and other means to ensure that third parties to whom we disclose personal
information for processing provide a comparable level of protection
with respect to personal information in their possession or control.
4. Identifying Purposes
We will clearly identify and document the purposes for which we may
collect, use or disclose personal information at or before the time
of collection. As part of our business operations, we may collect
and use certain personal information strictly for the following purposes:
To provide you with Carson Dunlop products and services that you request
To provide information regarding Carson Dunlop and our products and
services that may be of interest to you (If you wish to stop receiving
such information, simply provide written instructions to our Chief
Privacy Officer).
In addition, in the unlikely event that Carson Dunlop sells all or
substantially all of its assets, personal information, including your
collected personal information and that of your clients will be one
of the transferred assets.
The specific uses of personal information in connection with the foregoing
purposes will be limited to what a reasonable person would consider
appropriate in the circumstances.
If we plan to use personal information we have collected for a purpose
not previously identified, we will identify and document the purpose
before such additional use. We will state the identified purposes in
such a manner that you can reasonably understand how your personal
information will be used or disclosed.
5. Obtaining Consent and Opting Out/Withdrawing Consent
By using the services of Carson Dunlop, you consent to the collection,
use and disclosure of certain of your personal information and that
of your clients by Carson Dunlop as detailed in this privacy policy.
We will use reasonable efforts to seek your express consent for the
collection, use or disclosure of your personal information at the time
of collection. In some circumstances, such as where we want to use
personal information for a purpose that was not previously identified,
we may have to seek your consent after your personal information and
that of your clients has been collected but before our use for that
purpose.
We require you to have a privacy policy communicated with your clients
that permits the holding of their information in HORIZON under the
terms expressed herein.
We will not, as a condition of providing the Carson Dunlop service
to you, require you to consent to the collection, use or disclosure
of personal information beyond that which is absolutely necessary.
You always have the choice of whether or not you wish to supply Carson
Dunlop with personal information. If you wish to "opt-out" of
receiving certain informational and promotional materials from us,
simply provide written instructions to our Chief Privacy Officer at
the address set out above. Similarly, if you wish to withdraw your
consent with respect to a particular use or disclosure of your personal
information and that of your clients, you may do so at any time by
sending written instructions to our Chief Privacy Officer at the address
set out above.
In certain limited circumstances, as permitted or required by law,
we may collect, use or disclose personal information without the knowledge
or consent of the individual. Although the following list is not exhaustive,
these circumstance include: (i) personal information which is publicly
available as defined by regulation; (ii) circumstances where collection
or use is clearly in the interests of the individual and consent cannot
be obtained in a timely fashion; (iii) to investigate a breach of an
agreement or a contravention of a law; (iv) to act in respect of an
emergency that threatens the life, health or security of an individual;
(v) for debt collection; or (vi) to comply with a subpoena, warrant
or court order.
6. Limiting Collection
We will limit the amount and type of personal information collected
to that which is necessary for our identified purposes and we will
only collect personal information by fair and lawful means.
We may collect the following types of personal information from individuals
visiting our website or purchasing Carson Dunlop products and services:
Name
Credit card number (if purchasing a Carson Dunlop product or service)
Residential address (if purchasing a Carson Dunlop product or service)
Residential telephone number (if purchasing a Carson Dunlop product
or service)
e-mail address
Through the use of Cookies our websites may automatically record some
general information about your visit for website traffic analysis such
as your IP address and type of browser. This information is used to
improve your visit to our website.
Our website contains links to other sites. Once you leave our website,
you are subject to the privacy policies of the other sites you visit.
7. Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention
Your personal information collected by Carson Dunlop will be used to
deliver services, products or programs you have requested or enrolled
in. In addition, you may receive invitations to participate in relevant
surveys, and copies of Carson Dunlop’s e-newsletter.
Carson Dunlop also uses your personal information to inform you of
other products, services or benefits available from Carson Dunlop and
its affiliates.
For example:
Carson Dunlop may also contact you via surveys to conduct research
about your opinion of current services, or on other research initiatives.
Carson Dunlop will not contact your clients or affiliated groups,
including real estate agents, without your permission.
Carson Dunlop will not use or disclose your personal information for
purposes other than those for which it is collected, except with your
express consent or as required by law. Carson Dunlop will not rent
or sell your personal information or that of your clients or affiliated
groups, including real estate agents, to any third party.
Carson Dunlop will retain
your personal information and that of your clients or affiliated
groups, including real estate agents, only for
as long as is necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes, subject
to legal requirements. Currently, our policy is to maintain personal
information for as long as the inspection company is a subscriber of
a Carson Dunlop service and for a period of one year thereafter. For
Carson Dunlop’s home inspection clients, we keep reports for
seven years. After the relevant time period has expired, our records
are amended so that names are removed and the information can no longer
be identified with an individual.
With respect to Horizon, our electronic report writing system, Horizon
compiles inspection reports and maintains archive records including
inspection work orders and reports for your use and the use of your
clients. We will not access or use this information in any way for
business purposes without your express permission. This includes contacting
clients or real estate agents and reviewing report content.
8. Accuracy
We will use our best efforts to ensure that personal information under
our control that is used on an ongoing basis, including information
that we disclose to third parties in accordance with this privacy
policy, is as accurate, complete, and up-to-date as is necessary
for the purposes for which it is to be used. In order to assist us
in that regard, we urge you to provide us with updates regarding
such information and to inform us of any errors affecting your personal
information that we hold.
9. Safeguards
Carson Dunlop is committed to protecting the security of your personal
information and we will protect your personal information and that
of your clients or affiliated groups, including real estate agents,
with safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
We employ appropriate safeguards to protect personal information
against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure,
copying, use or modification, regardless of the format in which the
information is held. We use security technologies and procedures
to help protect your personal information and that of your clients
or affiliated groups, including real estate agents, from unauthorized
access, use or disclosure. For example, we store personal information
you provide on computer systems with limited access in controlled
facilities. When confidential information (such as credit card numbers)
is transmitted over the Internet, it is protected through the use
of SSL Encryption.
We make our employees and business partners aware of the importance
of maintaining the confidentiality of personal information, and we
will exercise appropriate care in the disposal or destruction of personal
information to prevent unauthorized parties from gaining access to
the information.
Our methods of protection
include physical measures (for example, restricted access to offices),
organization measures (for example,
limiting access on a "need to know" basis), and technological
measures (for example, the use of passwords and encryption).
10. Openness
We will make specific information about our policies readily available,
except to the extent that it is confidential commercial information.
The information we will make available will include: (i) how to gain
access to your personal information and that of your clients or affiliated
groups, including real estate agents; (ii) the type of personal information
held by us, including a general account of its use; (iii) general information
concerning our privacy policy; (iv) what personal information is made
available to third parties; and (v) how to contact our Chief Privacy
Officer.
Copies of the current version of our privacy policy are available by
contacting our Chief Privacy Officer. Our privacy policy can also be
viewed at our website at www.discoverhorizon.com.
11. Access
Upon written request addressed to our Chief Privacy Officer, we will
inform an individual of the existence, use and disclosure of his
or her personal information and we will give the individual access
to that personal information. An individual can challenge the accuracy
and completeness of his or her personal information under our control
and have it amended as appropriate.
We will respond to an individual’s
written request within a reasonable time (generally within 30 days)
and we will assist any
individual who informs us that he or she needs assistance in preparing
a request.
We may require an individual to provide sufficient information to
permit us to provide an account of the existence, use and disclosure
of personal
information. While our response will typically be provided at no
cost to the individual, depending on the nature of the request and
the amount
of information involved, we reserve the right to impose a reasonable
cost. In these circumstances, we will inform the individual of the
approximate cost to provide the response and proceed upon payment
by the individual of the cost. Requested information will be provided
or made available in a form that is understandable. Where possible,
we will indicate the source of the information.
If you feel that your personal information or that of your clients
or affiliated groups, including real estate agents, we hold is inaccurate
or incomplete, you are invited to advise our Chief Privacy Officer
of such inaccuracies and ask that we amend the personal information
or that of your clients or affiliated groups, including real estate
agents. Any such request must be in writing.
In providing an account of third parties to which we may have disclosed
personal information about an individual, we will attempt to be as
specific as possible. When it is not possible to provide a list of
the organizations to which we have actually disclosed personal information,
we will provide a list of organizations to which we may have disclosed
the personal information.
If an individual successfully demonstrates an inaccuracy or incompleteness
of his or her personal information under our control, we will amend
the personal information as appropriate. If a challenge is not resolved
to the satisfaction of the individual, we will record the substance
of the unresolved challenge. Where appropriate, the amended information
or the existence of the unresolved challenge, as the case may be, will
be transmitted to third parties having access to the information in
question.
In certain situations, we may refuse a request or not be able to provide
access to all the personal information we hold about an individual.
Exceptions to the access requirement will be limited and specific,
as permitted or required by law. Where permitted, the reasons for denying
access will be provided to the individual upon request. Although the
following list is not exhaustive, exceptions may include: (i) information
that contains references to other individuals or contains confidential
commercial information, where such information cannot be severed from
the record; (ii) information collected in the course of investigating
a breach of an agreement or in the course of a formal dispute resolution
process; and (iii) information that is subject to solicitor-client
privilege.
12. Challenging Compliance
If you are not completely satisfied with our privacy policy and wish
to submit comments or concerns regarding our privacy practices, we
invite you to contact our Chief Privacy Officer. We will thoroughly
investigate all written complaints addressed to our Chief Privacy
Officer. If we find a written complaint to be justified, we will
take all appropriate measures, including, if necessary, amending
our policies and practices.
If for any reason you are not satisfied with the results of our investigation
of and responses to your complaint, you may file a complaint with the
Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner, 112 Kent Street, Ottawa,
Ontario, K1A 1H3, Telephone: 1-800-282-1376.
Glossary
Cookies - Cookies are small text files that Web sites place in your
computer to help your browsers remember specific information. For
example, they might store your passwords and user IDs. They are also
used to store your preferences for content or personalized pages.
Most shopping carts use cookies. These allow you to choose items
and leave the virtual store, then return later and find that all
the items are still in your shopping cart. Some sites use temporary
cookies (called session cookies) that are deleted when you exit your
browser. Others place persistent cookies, which stay on your hard
drive for long periods.
IP - An abbreviation for Internet Protocol, the basic network transmission
protocol of the Internet.
SSL Encryption - SSL, or Security Socket Layer, encrypts your customers'
credit card numbers, as well as other confidential information. This
allows for secure online business. When your Web page has SSL, your
page will show a small gold lock or key in the lower right hand side
of your browser.
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