Privacy Policy

PRIVACY POLICY OF WAUDWARE INCORPORATED

Privacy of personal information is an important principle to WaudWare Incorporated. We are committed to collecting, using and disclosing personal information responsibly and only to the extent necessary for the goods and services we provide. We also try to be open and transparent as to how we handle personal information. This document describes our privacy policies.

WHAT IS PERSONAL INFORMATION

Personal information is any information that can be used to distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual. This information can include an individual's opinions or beliefs, as well as facts about, or related to, the individual. Exceptions: business contact information and certain publicly available information, such as names, addresses and telephone numbers as published in telephone directories or on business cards, are not considered personal information.

WHO WE ARE

The staff of WaudWare Incorporated typically consists of programmers and technical support staff. From time to time, we use a number of consultants and agencies that may, in the course of their duties, have limited access to personal information we hold. These include computer consultants, programmers and technicians, office security and maintenance, bookkeepers and accountants, temporary workers to cover holidays, website developers, cleaners, and couriers. We restrict their access to any personal information we hold as much as is reasonably possible.

ABOUT OUR CLIENTS

WaudWare Incorporated has customers and associates in a variety of fields. With the exception of our own staff members, and prospective staff members, we only collect personal information that is generally available in the public (i.e., name, business phone #, email address). This information is generally obtained through the exchange of emails, business cards and/or networking events.

ABOUT OUR PROGRAMMERS AND TECH SUPPORT STAFF

For our programmers and tech support staff, our primary purpose for collecting personal information is for communication purposes or to provide notice of special events (e.g., seminars). We try to obtain consent before collecting any such personal information, but where this is not, for any reason, possible, we will upon request immediately remove any personal information from our distribution list.

ABOUT CONTRACT STAFF

For people who are contracted to do work for us (e.g., Programmers or Technicians), our primary purpose for collecting personal information is to ensure we can contact them in the future (e.g., for new assignments) and for necessary work-related communication (e.g., sending out pay cheques, year-end tax receipts, tax filings). Examples of the type of personal information we collect for those purposes include home addresses and telephone numbers. It is rare for us to collect such information without prior consent, but it might happen in the case of a health emergency (e.g., an outbreak of a contagious disease).

WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

At WaudWare Incorporated we only collect personal information which is generally available in the public (i.e., name, business phone #, email address). This information is generally obtained through the exchange of emails, business cards and/or networking events.

Examples of our purposes are as follows:

  • To invoice for goods or services that are not paid for at the time or to collect unpaid accounts.
  • To advise customers and others of new developments.
  • To distribute newsletters, special offers and promotions that we have available.
  • Statistical information as it relates to usage of our website, search terms, and other traffic information useful for improving the design and content of our site. This composite information does not identify individual users of our website.
  • If WaudWare Incorporated or its assets were to be sold, the purchaser would want to conduct a "due diligence" review of our records to ensure that it is a viable business that has been honestly portrayed to the purchaser. This due diligence may involve some review of our accounting and service files. The purchaser would not be able to remove or record personal information. Before being provided access to the files, the purchaser must provide a written promise to keep all personal information confidential. Only reputable purchasers who have already agreed to buy the organization's business or its assets would be provided access to personal information, and only for the purpose of completing their due diligence search prior to closing the purchase.

You can choose not to be part of some of these purposes (e.g., by paying for your services in advance).

PROTECTING PERSONAL INFORMATION

We understand the importance of protecting personal information. For that reason, we have taken the following steps:

  • Paper information is always under supervision or secured within our office.
  • Electronic hardware is either under supervision or secured within our office at all times. In addition, passwords are used on computers. All of our cell phones are digital, which signals are more difficult to intercept (however, we still are careful on cell phones because sometimes they switch over to an analog service).
  • Paper information is transmitted through sealed, addressed envelopes or boxes by reputable courier companies, or our own employees.
  • Electronic information is transmitted either through a direct line or is anonymized or encrypted.
  • Staff is trained to collect, use and disclose personal information only as necessary to fulfill their duties and in accordance with our privacy policy.

RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION OR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We need to retain personal information for some time to ensure that we can answer any questions you might have about the services provided and for our own accountability to external regulatory bodies. However, we do not want to keep personal information too long in order to protect your privacy.

We remove such information when we can if it does not appear that we will be contacting you again. However, if you ask, we will remove such contact information right away. We keep any personal information relating to our general correspondence with people who are not our clients, for as long as is only necessary.

We destroy electronic information by deleting it and, when the hardware is discarded, we ensure that the information on the hard drive(s) is permanently deleted.

YOU CAN LOOK AT YOUR INFORMATION

You have the right to see what personal information we hold about you. All you have to do is ask to see it. We can help you identify what records we might have about you. We will also try to help you understand any information you do not understand (e.g., short forms, technical language, etc.). We will need to confirm your identity, if we do not know you, before providing you with this access. We reserve the right to charge a nominal fee for such requests.

If you believe there is a mistake in the information, you have the right to ask for it to be corrected. This applies to factual information and not to any professional opinions we may have formed. We may ask you to provide documentation that our files are wrong. Where we agree that we made a mistake, we will make the correction and, if you request, notify anyone to whom we sent this information. If we do not agree that we have made a mistake, we will still agree to include in our file a brief statement from you on the point and we will, if you request, forward that statement to anyone else who received the earlier information.

Bear in mind, that for the most part, the only information we have on file is name, business address, phone and fax numbers and email addresses.

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION?

Our Privacy Information Officer, F. Charles Waud can be reached at:

WaudWare Incorporated
86695 Courtney Court
Kincardine, Ontario  N2Z 2X3

Phone: 905-846-9737 ext 555
Toll Free: 1-855-742-7776
Fax: 905-846-9738

Mr. Waud will attempt to answer any questions or concerns you might have.

If you wish to make a formal complaint about our privacy practices, you may make it in writing to our Privacy Information Officer. Mr. Waud will acknowledge receipt of your complaint; ensure that it is investigated promptly and that you are provided with a formal decision and reasons in writing.

If you have a concern about the professionalism or competence of our services we would ask you to discuss those concerns with us. However, if we cannot satisfy your concerns, you are entitled to complain to the Better Business Bureau.

This policy is made under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. It is a complex Act and provides some additional exceptions to the privacy principles that are too detailed to set out here. There are some rare exceptions to the commitments set out above.

For more general inquiries, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Canada oversees the administration of the privacy legislation in the private sector. The Commissioner also acts as a kind of ombudsman for privacy disputes. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada can be contacted at:

112 Kent Street Ottawa, ON K1A 1H3

Phone: (613) 995-8210 Toll-free: 1-800-282-1376 Fax: (613) 947-6850 TTY: (613) 992-9190 https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/contact-the-opc/  

To reach someone at WaudWare Incorporated please call (905) 846-9737 or contact us.