Privacy Statement

Chinwag is committed to responsible management of consumer data. We comply with all rules, both ethical and legal, with respect to the use of consumer information obtained by us and we adhere strictly to all industry guidelines at all times. We undertake to continuously monitor our management of the use and security of consumer information to uphold your rights. This statement outlines the type of information we collect and store, our usage policy, and whom to contact with questions or concerns.

From time to time Chinwag may ask for and / or you may choose to submit personal data to the Chinwag Services or Chinwag (including your email address and contact details) by filling out a feedback form, or signing up to our mailing list or otherwise by telling Chinwag about yourself or your activities.

Chinwag will not collect, store or process any personal information about you unless you provide it to us voluntarily.

When you place an Order, register to use a Site and at other times, we will ask you for certain information and you may submit personal data to Chinwag (for example your name, phone number, postal address, email address, contact and bank / credit card details). We may also record which Chinwag Services you are interested in and purchase as well as customer traffic patterns and site use. This information will be kept securely in accordance with our internal security policy and may be used to:

• process Orders and your registration;
• provide you with an up to date, efficient, and reliable service;
• help fraud prevention - we check card details with our credit agency and reserve the right to refuse Orders on that basis (your credit rating can be checked for a nominal fee with the main UK agencies Equifax and Experian);
• open and run your account;
• administer promotions;
• provide a more personal experience;
• develop and improve the Sites and Chinwag Services including their operation, administration and development;
• for operational, identification, marketing, administrative, advertising and promotional purposes.

If you do submit it, you agree and accept that this data may be used, stored and processed as described above but only in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

From time to time we also monitor and record telephone calls for training purposes and to improve the service to you.

We will never collect sensitive information about you without your explicit consent.

From time to time Chinwag may want to share this data with other reputable companies both within and outside the European Union. Chinwag may also use the information or parts of it to occasionally broadcast it or notify you about Chinwag events or related activities that you may find useful.

Once collected, the data will be held within the European Union and the European Economic Area or other territory complying with the legal and technical guidelines laid down for handling data by the European Union and will only be used for the specific purpose for which it was sought and to which you consented. It will not be used for any other purpose whatsoever. Any personal data we hold on you will be deleted or updated upon request and any inaccurate or misleading data held will be changed or deleted upon your request.

If you do not want Chinwag to collect or process your personal data as described above, please do not submit it and if you have or you believe that we have data about you that is incorrect or should you wish your data to be deleted or amended for any reason please email Chinwag at the address below and the information will be corrected as soon as possible or removed from our database as you request.

Details of the data we hold on you will be provided on request although we reserve the right to charge the relevant statutory disclosure fee (where appropriate). Any request of this nature should be directed to the e-mail address shown at the bottom of this notice.

As required by the UK Data Protection Act 1998 Chinwag follow strict security procedures in relation to the storage and disclosure of information which you have given to us, to prevent unauthorised access or use of such data. In the event, however, that Chinwag or its officers or employees are required to undertake any act under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act or similar legislation Chinwag or such person shall be entitled and occasionally obliged to do so without informing you. We would also ask that in such circumstances you co-operate with Chinwag.

Marketing Communications

If you have used the Chinwag Services or any Site before or have ordered Chinwag Services from Chinwag before it is possible that we have this information already and it is being used to contact you about offers, events, items or related activities that you may find useful. If you are an existing customer we will continue to keep you informed unless you tell us not to.

If you are a new customer we will give you the choice (for example once you have placed an Order) whether or not you want us or other reputable companies to contact you about future offers, events and new Chinwag Services or related activities that you may find useful. We will not bombard you with emails, but we?d like to keep you informed of the developments relating to the Chinwag Services.

We do not sell, trade or rent your personal information to other companies but from time to time we may want to share data with other reputable companies both within and outside the European Union who may have interesting offers and information for you.

Chinwag will not send you any marketing emails or pass your information on to third parties unless you give us your consent, unless we have it already.

Where requested please therefore check the relevant box marked:

• "I would like to receive information from Chinwag in future" if you wish to receive future information from Chinwag;
• "I would like to receive information from interesting third parties" if you want us to pass the information on to third parties.

Non-personally Identifiable Information Collected Automatically

For each visitor to Chinwag's website and associated websites, our web server automatically recognises your domain, the type of Internet browser you are using, the type of computer operating system you are using and the domain name of the web site from which you linked to our site. This non-personally identifiable information is collected automatically, used for internal review, then discarded.

Cookies

In Order to use our Sites and the Chinwag Services we may use a device known as a "cookie". Cookies are a means by which information relating to your Internet activity (such as whether you have visited a Site before) is recorded on your hard drive and used by us to improve Sites and the Chinwag Services and the products and services available to you.

If you do not wish for us to use cookies when you use any Site or Chinwag Service please adjust your Internet browser settings to not accept cookies. Your computer's help file should tell you how to do this.

Unless you disable "cookies" we will store Order, search, personal and delivery details including name, address and bank details and may automatically insert certain information on the Order forms so that you can use Sites and the Chinwag Services with the minimum amount of form filling.

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and would like to know your options in relation to·not having this information used by these companies, click here.

• Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on your site.
• Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to your users based on their visit to your sites and other sites on the Internet.
• Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy.

Consumers' Privacy Rights

Chinwag holds the consumer relationship in the highest regard and pledges:

• To ensure that consumers have the ultimate right to control dissemination of their personal information. We support the self-regulation efforts of the direct marketing industry and believe this action is the best way to protect consumer privacy. We support legislation and regulatory efforts, which introduce fair, workable guidelines that protect the privacy of consumers. We will work to ensure that any such guidelines are consistent with and complement established self-regulatory measures, and that they allow the consumer to continue receiving the benefits that sophisticated marketing techniques can provide.
• To comply with all relevant legislation at all times and to implement such legislation as required. To monitor privacy issues and assure that any changes in legislation or industry standards regarding privacy issues are reflected in our Privacy Policy.
• To liaise internally and externally to identify and resolve misunderstandings about the law, industry standards or our Privacy Policy and to ensure their compliance with all self-regulatory and legislative obligations relating to the use of consumer data.
• To work with recognised trade associations and organisations that support consumer privacy. We actively participate in the efforts of Europe's Direct Marketing Industry to establish industry guidelines that safeguard the individual right to privacy.
• To provide services that benefit both consumers and marketers. Consumers benefit from our services through the realisation of lower prices that result from the marketers' more efficient communications approach. In addition, consumers realise savings in time and expense by being able to shop via the Internet.

Marketers can better tailor their products and services to meet the needs of their customers with our assistance. Further, they can refine their promotional efforts to target only those customers for whose benefit the products have been produced.

Your Privacy and Who to Contact

If you have any questions or comments about privacy or the Chinwag privacy policy, or if you already have submitted information that you do not wish us to have or if you think that Chinwag has cookies or data about you that you don't want us to use or that is incorrect please contact us at the address below, by telephone (on +44 (0)20 7183 2923) or email at helpchinwag [dot] com and the information will be corrected as soon as possible or removed from our database as you request. If you think we have not followed our privacy policy in some way, they can help you resolve your concern.

Chinwag is registered with the Information Commissioner in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Please e-mail questions or requests for more information about Chinwag's privacy policies and initiatives to helpchinwag [dot] com.

Anyone may request the removal of his or her name from Chinwag's mailing lists, announcement lists or marketing database by sending an e-mail to helpchinwag [dot] com. You must provide your name, complete street address, city, country, post code and e-mail address. Any data we hold on you will be deleted from our existing files upon receipt of such notice.

General

These Terms constitute the full agreement between you and Chinwag and may only be amended in writing. They apply to the exclusion of all other terms or conditions of contract proposed.

Chinwag acts as principal on its own account and not as agent for you or any other person.

If Chinwag does not enforce any provision of this agreement such will not be considered a waiver or continuing waiver of any provision or right.

In the event that any part of these Terms is held to be unenforceable, such part will at Chinwag's option be construed as far as possible to reflect the parties? intentions and the remainder of the provisions will remain in full force and effect.

Since we are principally aiming Sites and the Chinwag Services at the UK market, we cannot guarantee that it accords with local laws of any other countries (though we will try to make sure it does).

Use of Chinwag and these terms are subject to the laws of England and the jurisdiction of the English Courts.

All questions, comments or enquiries should be directed by email to helpchinwag [dot] com or by post to Postmaster, Chinwag, PO Box 66046, London W3 3EP.

Where national regulatory authorities have jurisdiction over the Chinwag Services and Submissions, Chinwag has attempted to ensure compliance with the requirements of such regulatory body. However, some of the information and content may not to be accessed from certain jurisdictions and it is hereby asserted that the Chinwag Services are intended for and directed at the UK and EU and no representation or warranty is made as to whether the Chinwag Services and Submissions comply with the regulatory regime and local laws of any other countries.

See also - our Terms & Conditions