Privacy Policy
The importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information is recognized. Abacus is committed to protecting any personal information Abacus should hold. This Privacy Policy outlines how Abacus manages your personal information and safeguards your privacy.
From January 1, 2004, all businesses engaged in commercial activities must comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and, by incorporation, the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information. These obligations extend to Abacus. The Act gives you rights concerning the privacy of your personal information.
Abacus is responsible for the personal information Abacus collects and holds. To ensure this accountability, Abacus has developed this policy. Why does Abacus Need Personal Information: Abacus provides self storage services and wares to a wide range of customers. In doing so, Abacus produces direct marketing materials concerning its services and wares.
What personal information does Abacus collect? Personal information is any information that identifies you, or by which your identity could be deduced. Without such information, Abacus would not be able to provide you with its services and wares.
would not be able to provide you with its services and wares. How does Abacus collect your personal information? Abacus collects information only by lawful and fair means and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. Wherever possible, Abacus collects your personal information directly from you at the start of a transaction, whether a sale or purchase, a license or lease, or in response to an inquiry, and in the course of an on-going business.
Sometimes Abacus may obtain information about you from other sources, for example:
- A credit bureau
- A financial institution
- A public registry
Consent
In most cases, Abacus shall ask you to specifically consent, if Abacus collects, uses, or discloses your personal information. Normally, Abacus will ask for your consent in writing, but in some circumstances, Abacus may accept your oral consent. Sometimes, your consent may be implied through your conduct with Abacus.
Use of Your Information
Abacus uses your personal information to provide self storage services and wares to you, to administer billing and accounts, and to include you in any direct marketing activities. If you tell Abacus that you no longer wish to receive information about its services or wares, Abacus will not send any further material. Abacus does not disclose your personal information to any third party to enable them to market their products and services. For example, Abacus does not provide its client mailing lists in whole or in part to third parties. As Abacus continues to develop its business, Abacus may sell, buy, merge or partner with other companies or businesses. In such transactions, user information may be among the transferred assets.
Disclosure of your Personal Information
Under certain circumstances, Abacus will disclose your personal information:
when Abacus is required or authorized by law to do so, for example under order of a court having jurisdiction;
- when you have consented to the disclosure;
- when the services or wares Abacus is providing to you requires it to give your information to third parties (for example to a credit card company which is assuming the charge made on a card it issued to you). Your consent will be implied, unless you tell Abacus otherwise;
- where it is necessary to establish or collect fees;
- if Abacus engages a third party to provide administrative services to it (such as computer back-up services, archival file storage, book-keeping) and the third party is bound by Abacus’s privacy policy;
- if the information is already publicly known.
Updating Your Information
Since Abacus uses your personal information to provide legal services to you, it is important that the information be accurate and up-to-date. If any of your information changes, please inform Abacus so that Abacus can make any necessary changes. Are My Personal Information Records secure? Abacus takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Among the steps taken to protect your information are:
- premises security;
- restricted file access to personal information;
- deploying technological safeguards like security software and access codes to prevent hacking or unauthorized computer access;
- internal password and security policies.
- Access to Your Personal Information You may ask for access to any personal information Abacus may hold about you. Summary information is available on request. More detailed requests which require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to charges.
Correcting Errors
If Abacus holds information about you and you can establish that it is not accurate, complete and up-to-date, Abacus will take reasonable steps to correct it. Can you be Denied Access to your Personal Information? Your rights to access your personal information are not absolute. Abacus may deny access when:
- denial of access is required or authorized by law;
- when granting you access would have an unreasonable impact on other people’s privacy;
- to protect Abacus rights and property;
- where the request is frivolous or vexatious. If Abacus denies your request for access to, or refuses a request to correct information, Abacus shall explain why. Abacus does not use your Social Insurance Number as a way of identifying or organizing the information Abacus holds about you.
Credit Bureaus
To help Abacus make credit decisions about customers, prevent fraud, check the identity of new customers and prevent money-laundering, Abacus may on occasion request information about you from the files of consumer reporting agencies. Communicating with Me You should be aware that email is not a 100% secure medium, and you should be aware of this when contacting Abacus to send personal or confidential information. Changes to this Privacy Policy Since Abacus regularly reviews all of its policies and procedures, Abacus may change its Privacy Policy from time to time without notice.
Requests for Access
If you have any questions, or wish to access your personal information, please write to Abacus at: 25 Colston Court, Richmond Hill, ON, L4C 9Z3 If you are not satisfied with Abacus’s response, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada can be reached at 112 Kent Street, Ottawa Ontario, K1A 1H3 Tel: 1.289.807.0981. Special Information and policies about the Abacusselfstorage.com Web Site Through its web site Abacusselfstorage.com, Abacus strives to offer its visitors the many advantages of Internet technology and to provide an interactive and personalized experience. Abacus may use personal information such as your name, e-mail address, street address, telephone number (hereafter described as ‘Personal Identifiable Information’) subject to the terms of this privacy policy. Abacus will not sell, barter, or rent your email address to any unauthorized third party.
How information is gathered from users
How Abacus collects and stores information depends on the page you are visiting, the activities in which you elect to participate and the services provided. For example, you may be asked to provide information when you register for access to certain portions of Abacus web site or request certain features, such as newsletters or when you make a purchase. You may provide information when you participate in sweepstakes and contests, message boards and chat rooms, and other interactive areas of Abacus web site. Like most Web sites, Abacus also collects information automatically and through the use of electronic tools that may be transparent to its visitors. For example, Abacus may log the name of your Internet Service Provider or use cookie technology to recognize you and hold information from your visit. Among other things, the cookie may store your user name and password, sparing you from having to re-enter that information each time you visit, or may control the number of times you encounter a particular advertisement while visiting Abacus web site. As we adopt additional technology, we may also gather information through other means. In certain cases, you can choose not to provide Abacus with information, for example by setting your browser to refuse to accept cookies, but if you do you may be unable to access certain portions of the site or may be asked to re-enter your user name and password, and Abacus may not be able to customize the site’s features according to your preferences. What Abacus does with the information it collects. Like other Web publishers, Abacus collects information to enhance your visit and deliver more individualized content and advertising. Abacus respects your privacy and does not share your information with anyone. Aggregated Information (information that does not personally identify you) may be used in many ways. For example, Abacus may combine information about your usage patterns with similar information obtained from other users to help enhance Abacus’s web site and services (e.g., to learn which pages are visited most or what features are most attractive). Aggregated Information may occasionally be shared with Abacus’s advertisers and business partners. Again, this information does not include any Personally Identifiable Information about you or allow anyone to identify you individually. Abacus may use Personally Identifiable Information collected on Abacus to communicate with you about your registration and customization preferences; Abacus’s Terms of Service and privacy policy; services and products offered by Abacus and other topics Abacus think you might find of interest. Personally Identifiable Information collected by Abacus may also be used for other purposes, including but not limited to site administration, troubleshooting, processing of e-commerce transactions, administration of sweepstakes and contests, and other communications with you. Certain third parties who provide technical support for the operation of Abacus ‘s website (the Abacus web hosting service for example) may access such information. Abacus will use your information only as permitted by law. Affiliated sites, linked sites and advertisements Abacus expects its partners, advertisers and affiliates to respect the privacy of its users. Be aware, however, that third parties, including Abacus‘s partners, advertisers, affiliates and other content providers accessible through its site, may have their own privacy and data collection policies and practices. For example, during your visit to the site you may link to, or view as part of a frame on an Abacus page, certain content that is actually created or hosted by a third party. Also, through Abacus you may be introduced to, or be able to access, information, Web sites, features, contests or sweepstakes offered by other parties. Abacus is not responsible for the actions or policies of such third parties. You should check the applicable privacy policies of those third parties when providing information on a feature or page operated by a third party. While on the site, Abacus‘s advertisers, promotional partners or other third parties may use cookies or other technology to attempt to identify some of your preferences or retrieve information about you. For example, some of the advertising is served by third parties and may include cookies that enable the advertiser to determine whether you have seen a particular advertisement before. Other features available on the site may offer services operated by third parties and may use cookies or other technology to gather information. Abacus does not control the use of this technology by third parties or the resulting information, and is not responsible for any actions or policies of such third parties. You should also be aware that if you voluntarily disclose Personally Identifiable Information on message boards or in chat areas, that information can be viewed publicly and can be collected and used by third parties without our knowledge and may result in unsolicited messages from other individuals or third parties. Such activities are beyond the control of Abacus and this policy.
Children
Abacus does not knowingly collect or solicit Personally Identifiable Information from or about persons under 19 except as permitted by law. If it is discovered Abacus has received any information from a person under 19 in violation of this policy, Abacus will delete that information immediately. If you believe Abacus has any information from or about anyone under 13, please contact Abacus at the address listed below. Abacus can be reached by writing to: 25 Colston Court, Richmond Hill, ON L4C 9Z3 Phone: 289-807-0981 Fax: 289-807-0981