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Professionals World Privacy Policy
Contents
Professionals World is committed to protecting your privacy. This statement provides you with a clear explanation of how we collect, use and protect personal information through the Professionals World website. We want you to feel confident about the privacy and security of your personal information.
This Privacy Policy governs the way in which Professionals World deals with personal identifiable information and anonymous information that Professionals World collects when you are on our website, and when you use our services.
The policy also gives information about cookies; Professionals World’s and third parties' use of cookies; and how you may, if you wish, disable such cookies.
This policy does not apply to the practices of companies Professionals World does not either own or control or to persons not either directly or indirectly employed or managed by Professionals World Limited.
Application
This policy applies whether or not you choose to register for Professionals World services. By using this website or service you consent to and are bound by the terms and conditions of this privacy statement. Therefore unless agree with the terms of this privacy statement, use of which binds you to them, please do not use the Professionals World website.
You do not have to provide personal identifiable information to use the Professionals World website. However when you register or subscribe for our services you may be required to provide personal identifiable information primarily to make using the Professionals World services easier and more satisfying. We ask for as little information as in all the circumstances is viable in order to make the process as quick and easy as possible. The information you give us is not sold on to other companies and we have a serious and dedicated commitment to the security of your information.
Changes to privacy policy
Professionals World Limited reserves the right to revise this Privacy Policy at any time, without notice, and you should check back to this policy on a regular basis to stay properly informed in relation to the information we hold, where it is obtained and the purposes for which we retain it.
The types of information held
Information gathered online can generally be categorised as either anonymous or personal identifiable information. Anonymous information is information that cannot be traced back to a specific individual. We do not know the names, e-mail addresses or gender of the people asking the questions. Personal identifiable information is information from which you or another individual can be identified.
When anonymous and personal identifiable information of users and third party advertising companies are gathered
Professionals World collects personal identifying information when you register and use Professionals World services, when you visit Professionals World pages, when you fill in questionnaires, feedback forms, enter competitions or promotions.
All our competitions, promotions, memberships and surveys are governed by specific terms and conditions. We recommend that you read these before entering.
Customers or companies of Professionals World are required to provide personal identifiable information when orders for advertisements on Professionals World are placed.
If you contact us through the Professionals World website, we may keep a record of your contact information and correspondence, and use your e-mail address, and any other information you provide in your message, to respond to you.
The nature of the anonymous and personal identifiable information gathered
When users register or subscribe for our services, you may be asked to provide personal information such as your forename and surname, password, e-mail address, telephone number, mailing or contact address and postcode.
We collect anonymous information on user’s activity while logged into Professionals World such as your IP address, browser type and access times and any referring URL.
Why anonymous and personal identifiable information is gathered
We collect details when users register or visit Professionals World website so that when you return to Professionals World, we can instantly recognise you and provide you customised service, advertisements and content you see, fulfil your requests for certain services and to contact you for customer feedback.
Queries and comments received via our online survey are also collected in order to enhance Professionals World customer service and the search user experience of our web service.
We require your e-mail address to give you security. As a registered user, you have to enter a password to access your Professionals World services-no one else can access it-and if you forget your password, we can e-mail it to you. We also use your e-mail address to confirm your order details for services to you.
In addition, from time to time we may e-mail important information regarding the use of Professionals World website or services to visitors who have provided us with their e-mail addresses.
Collecting anonymous information on your activity will be used to monitor aggregated website traffic flow (e.g. tracking where traffic comes from, how traffic flows within Professionals World) and analyse it. This gives us information to help us improve the overall quality of the online experience, including the relevance of the services and advertising we offer you
We may also provide anonymous statistics about users and their usage of the Professionals World service to outside companies such as our advertisers to provide you with information about their services and products and research firms. However these will not include personal identifiable information.
We might also use the information you've given us such as contact details (name, postal address, e-mail and telephone number) to tell you about important changes to the service or website and its functionality, or new services and special offers you might find valuable. This is only sent to users who have chosen to opt in when registering, and each time we e-mail you, you can choose not to be sent any further messages from us. We'll also guarantee not to "spam" you with annoying, irrelevant e-mails.
Cookies
When you visit Professionals World, we send one or more cookies, a small file containing a string of characters, to your computer that uniquely identifies your browser.
• We use cookies to improve the quality of our service by storing user preferences and tracking user trends, such as how users search.
• Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies, but you can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some Professionals World features and services may not function properly if your cookies are disabled.
Use of temporary and persistent cookies
Temporary cookies:
• Allow you to enter sections of the website without having to continuously enter the same information, and enable members to visit restricted areas of the websites.
• During the process of registration to allow you to access stored information, to enable us to provide you with individually customised content.
Persistent cookies:
• Help us to recognise you as a unique visitor (not merely a number) when you return to our Website and to allow us to tailor content accordingly
• Allow us to compile anonymous, aggregated statistics of usage quantity of traffic. This allows us to understand how users interact with our website and to improve our website structure. We cannot identify you personally in this way.
• Let us manage the way advertisements are served and; to regulate their frequency.
• Are used within research surveys, to prevent the need for repeated form-filling.
We do not link cookies to information you have provided during registration, we only collect and use anonymous information about your Internet browser and web surfing.
Third Party Cookies
We will not disclose information obtained from the use of cookies to third parties. However, we allow third parties who serve advertisements when you visit our website to set and access their cookies on your computer via this website. Third parties cookies are used for the following purposes:
• To count the number of anonymous users and of our website and their web activity and allow us to better understand user activity
• To tailor content to your preferences
• To serve advertisements on our website about goods and services that may be of interest to you and assess whether these advertisements are accessed by users
• To control how often you may be shown a particular advertisement.
• To tailor content to your preferences.
Other companies' use of their cookies is subject to their own privacy policies, not this one. Third party advertising companies do not have access to Professionals World cookies. We cannot assume responsibility for any other website's content or information handling practices. We encourage you to check the individual privacy policies of such websites to find out more.
Web Beacons
Some of our web pages may contain electronic images known as web beacons (sometimes referred to as clear gifs) that allow us to count users who have visited these pages and help us learn more about how our visitors interact with the content and service that we offer. This helps us to provide a better service to you by allowing us to understand how our members and visitors most commonly use our website.
Web beacons are not used to collect any personal information about you only to collect limited information which usually includes a cookie number, time and date of a page view, and a description of the page on which the web beacon resides, it does not contain your name, address, telephone number or e-mail address.
Professionals World pages may also contain web beacons inserted by third party advertisers so that we can measure the effectiveness of our advertising on other websites. These beacons do not carry any personal identifiable information.
Modifying Cookies
You can configure your browser, in the cookie folder of your browser, to accept all cookies, reject, delete or disable all cookies, or notify you when a cookie is set. (Each browser is different, so check the "Help" menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences).
You can delete, disable or reject cookies from your cookie folder once you have left our website, or you can set your preferences before you enter our website. Deleting, disabling or rejecting cookies may impair your experience of our website. You may not be able to access some pages or take advantage of the full functionality of our website.
Disclosure of information
Professionals World discloses information in the following ways:
We share anonymous information with our third party advertising companies and with other current and potential third party business partners.
In addition, we may share personal identifiable information with other companies and other third parties who work on behalf of Professionals World for the purpose of personalizing a visitor's experience with our websites and providing such services. We will only share such personal identifiable information with your consent.
We may share personal identifiable information provided by you with carefully selected third parties for the purpose of administering promotions that we may sponsor or co-sponsor from time to time.
Subject to applicable law, we reserve the right to release information concerning any visitor when that visitor is in violation of our Terms of Service or other published guidelines, or is involved in or takes part (or is reasonably suspected of taking part) in any illegal activity, and to release such information in response to court and governmental orders, civil subpoenas, proper and lawful requests for discovery and as otherwise required by law.
We also reserve the right to release information about our visitors when we believe in good faith that such release is required to protect our rights, property, business, safety or security, our visitors or the public, or to respond to an emergency. (These exceptions are set out in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations)
Professionals World may transfer any and all information that we collect from visitors, or that we otherwise collect concerning Professionals World, and which Professionals World may acquire, or is acquired by or merged with, information from other companies. In this event, Professionals World will notify you before personal information is transferred and which may become subject to an alternative privacy policy.
Selling and renting information
Professionals World does not sell or rent personal identifiable information to other companies or third parties.
We may occasionally use the information we collect to send you details of offers or services that we think you might be interested in, but only if you have not opted out during the registration process. These offers can be provided by a third party, but will always come from Professionals World. Each time we e-mail you, you wil be given the choice of not receiving further similar messages.
After you consent, you can change your mind at any time by contacting Professionals World and changing your preferences. This is optional.
Disclosing information of personnel
Details of personnel provided to us in company entries will be published in our industrial/commercial directories in printed, CD and online formats. The individuals named in these entries may also receive direct marketing material from other companies, which may, in some cases, involve personal data being transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area where their data protection laws may be less rigorous than in the United Kingdom.
Security
Security of personal identifiable information
Professionals World takes the security of your personal data extremely seriously. We have appropriate technology together with security policies that protects the personal data under our control. We also follow strict security procedures and adhere to the standards set out in the Data Protection Act 1998, which covers the storage and disclosure of any information you have provided, and the prevention of unauthorised access.
Any credit card details you pass on to us are encrypted using a Secure Socket Layer (SSL). SSL is an industry standard for data encryption and is one of the best ways to ensure internet messages are not intercepted. Older browsers can't use SSL; you need to use Netscape Navigator 3, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3 or later versions of these browsers. (This applies to payment of membership fees using a credit card)
Access to personal identifiable information
Professionals World secures and stores all personal identifiable information away from the public. Credit card information is encrypted before any transaction involving the lawful, intended and properly authorised use of your credit card can take place.
However personal identifiable information is available to our employees/partners to provide products or services to you or in order to do their jobs in order to ensure the effective operation of our website. These employees/partners have access to your personal information under our strict supervision and within the requirements as set out in the Data Protection Act 1998.
User Information
Accessing user Information
Professionals World gives you the ability to access and update your information; you have access to all the details you provided us with when you registered. You can change or delete anything at any time.
Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you're also entitled to view any information we hold on you by paying a fee. Details on how to do this are available from us or from the Office of the Information Commissioner. If any information we hold is deemed to be inaccurate, we will make the necessary changes and contact you by email with confirmation.
Modifying User Information
Professionals World users can access and modify their personal details in their membership accounts. Simply select: “login” to access your profile where you can change your details as required, alternatively if you wish to have your personal identifiable information removed from our database or changed, please contact us, and we will use commercially reasonable efforts to comply with your request and to do so within a commercially acceptable timeframe. We may need to contact you in order to be sure that we are deleting or changing the appropriate information and that we have been properly authorised to do so.
Adherence to Standards
It is our policy to adhere to the standards the Interactive Advertising Bureau United Kingdom (IAB United Kingdom), the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and the Federation of European Direct Marketing Associations (FEDMA).
Queries
If you have any questions relating to this privacy policy or how we use the personal information we hold about you, please complete a feedback form (available soon) or contact;
Geoffrey Ahye
Managing Director
Professionals World Ltd
Suite 3.8 Marlowes Business Centre
41 Marlowes
Hemel Hempstead
Hertfordshire
HP1 1LH
UK
Switchboard: +44 (0)1442 355000 | Direct: +44 (0)7990 596353 | Geoffrey.Ahye@ProfessionalsWorld.com
