For purposes of this Privacy Policy, the terms "we," "us," "our" and "BBB" refer to Better Business Bureau of San Diego and Imperial Counties, Inc. and all affiliates of Better Business Bureau of San Diego and Imperial Counties, Inc. "you" and "your" refers to you, as a user of the BBB website. The Privacy Policy below governs any information you provide on this site.

This Privacy Policy describes:
      Overview;
      Personal Information that BBB May Collect Online;
      How BBB Uses Personal Information Collected Online;
      How Your Information May Be Shared;
      How You Can Help Us Keep Your Personal Information Accurate;
      Computer Tracking and Cookies; and
      Problems or Complaints with this Privacy Policy.

Overview

By using the BBB website, you expressly consent to our collection and use and disclosure of your personal information in the manner described in this Privacy Policy.

Physical, electronic and managerial procedures have been employed to safeguard the security and integrity of your personal information. Billing information is encrypted whenever transmitted or received online. Personal information is accessible only by BBB staff or volunteers designated to handle online complaints or requests. All BBB agents and contractors with access to personal information obtained on the BBB web sites are also bound to adhere to this policy. To protect the security of information supplied by businesses applying for participation in the BBBOnLine privacy program, businesses are provided user names and passwords to access their information.

Personal Information that BBB May Collect Online

The BBB collects the following types of personal information: names, postal and e-mail addresses, phone and facsimile numbers, billing information, and complaint information. The BBB may also collect business information from sole proprietorships that apply for membership or program participation, some of which might constitute personal information, as well as personal information from individuals acting solely in their business capacity. The BBB's complaint form is hosted by the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB), which processes your complaint according to its own privacy and security policies.

The BBB does not collect or maintain information from those actually known to be under the age of 13, and no part of our site is structured to attract anyone under the age of 13.

How BBB May Use Personal Information Collected Online

Unless you consent, the BBB will use your personal information only for the purpose for which it was submitted such as to reply to inquiries, handle your complaints and process billing and business requests related to program participation, and we will use such information to provide operational notices, in program recordkeeping and to conduct research on industry marketplace practices. Our research may lead to the publication of aggregate demographical data but will not result in the reporting or publication of any personal information provided to us. At certain points where personal information is collected on our site, there may be a box where you may indicate you would like to be on a list to receive information about other BBB programs and services and about ways to support the BBB and its Foundation. At any time you can add or remove your name from our mailing list by contacting us at info@sandiego.bbb.org.

How Your Information May Be Shared

In order to process complaints against businesses, the BBB will transfer complaints received online to the company complained about. It is also possible that a complaint, request or inquiry will be more appropriately handled by another BBB, in which case the request or inquiry will be transferred to the proper BBB. By completing a complaint form or sending us a request or inquiry, you are allowing us to forward your information to the proper business and also to the proper BBB, if necessary. Without submission of the requested information, the BBB will not be able to share your information and process your complaint. The BBB may also share your personal information with the CBBB for CBBB to research industry marketplace practices. Just as in any research we may do, CBBB research will not result in the reporting or publication of any personal information. The BBB never sells or rents personal information.

We will also release personal information under the following circumstances:

• Where release is required by law (for example, a subpoena) or regulation, or is requested by a government agency conducting investigations or proceedings;
• Where our records indicate a company may be engaged in fraudulent activity or other deceptive practices that a governmental agency should be made aware of;
• Where warranted by a company's failure to participate in the BBB's advertising self-regulatory process; or
• To appropriate persons, where your communication suggests possible harm to others.

Help Us Keep Your Personal Information Accurate

If your personal information changes or you would like to review the personal information we may have on file, please email us with the new information or your review request at info@sandiego.bbb.org. Let us also know the department or BBB program that led to your submission of personal information so we may efficiently locate your information.

Computer Tracking and Cookies

Our web site is not set up to track, collect or distribute personal information not entered by its visitors. Our site logs do generate certain kinds of non-identifying site usage data, such as the number of hits and visits to our site. This information is used for internal purposes by technical support staff to provide better services to the public and may also be provided to others, but again, the statistics contain no personal information and cannot be used to gather such information.

A cookie is a small amount of data that is sent to your browser from a Web server and stored on your computer's hard drive. The BBB uses non-identifying cookies to provide easier site navigation and access to forms. You can still use the BBB site if your browser is set to reject cookies. Our cookies do not generate personal data, do not read personal data from your machine and are never tied to anything that could be used to identify you.

Problems

If you have a complaint about the BBB's compliance with this privacy policy, you may contact us at info@sandiego.bbb.org. If we are unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you may elect to proceed with the BBBOnLine's Privacy Policy Review Service by completing the complaint form.