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PHILIP
ILLINGWORTH
PRIVACY POLICY FOR CLIENTS
MY COMMITMENT TO YOUR
PRIVACY
I am committed to maintaining the security, confidentiality and privacy of your
personal information. This Privacy Policy documents my ongoing commitment to you
and has been developed in compliance with the British Columbia
Personal Information
Protection Act.
SCOPE OF POLICY
This Policy addresses personal information about identifiable individuals and
does not apply to information collected, used or disclosed with respect to
corporate or commercial entities. This Policy does not impose any limits on my
collection, use or disclosure of the following information:
• your business contact
information; and
•
certain publicly available information.
ACCOUNTABILITY
I am responsible for my compliance with this Policy. I may be contacted as
described below.
PURPOSES
When collecting personal information from you, I will explain the purpose of the
collection. I will also answer your questions about the collection. Most
personal information will be collected directly from you through the various
contracts and other documents you complete (e.g., Multiple Listing Contract,
Contract of Purchase and Sale, Property Disclosure Statement), and through
discussions with me. Some information may be collected from other sources such
as government departments and agencies (e.g., Land Title Offices, BC
Assessment). Your information may be disclosed to (or accessible by) various
real estate boards in British Columbia and their staff and members, other
REALTORS and their clients, government departments and agencies, financial
institutions, legal advisors, service providers, the British Columbia Real
Estate Association, the Real Estate Council of British Columbia, The Canadian
Real Estate Association and members of the public for the purposes described
below. Not all of your information will be accessible by each of these entities.
For example, once the listing term has ended, the general public will not have
access to your information unless it is otherwise accessible through public
registries such as the Land Title Office or BC Assessment. I may collect, use
and disclose your personal information for the following purposes:
(a) to allow members of real estate boards (including
REALTORS and appraisers) to:
(i) appraise your property;
(ii) list your property in the
Multiple Listing Service® system in order to market your property (although this
purpose does not apply if your listing is an exclusive listing);
(iii) market your property for sale or lease through any other media (both print
and electronic); and
(iv) help you locate a suitable
property to purchase or lease;
(b) to facilitate the purchase and sale or lease transaction
by cooperating with financial institutions, legal advisors and government
departments and agencies;
(c) to comply with legal requirements and to act pursuant to
legal authorizations; and
(d) to comply with codes of professional conduct and ethics
for members of real estate boards.
The above collections, uses and disclosures are a necessary part of your
relationship with me. I may also use your personal information to communicate
with you to:
(a) determine whether you require additional real estate
services; and
(b) provide information about other products or services that
may interest you.
If you wish, you may instruct me to refrain from using or sharing information in
the two ways described above. I acknowledge that using and sharing your
information in the two ways described above is at your option and you will not
be refused services merely because you advised me to stop using or sharing
information in those ways. If I want to use your personal information for a new
purpose, I will obtain your consent to do so unless the use is authorized or
required by law.
CONSENT
I will obtain your consent to collect, use or disclose personal information
except where I am authorized or required by law to do so without consent. For
example, I may collect, use or disclose personal information without your
knowledge or consent where:
• the information is publicly
available, as defined by statute or regulation;
•
I am obtaining legal advice; or
•
I reasonably expect that obtaining
consent would compromise an investigation or proceeding. Other exceptions may
apply. Your consent can be express, implied or given through an authorized
representative such as a lawyer, agent or broker. It can also be given verbally,
in writing, electronically, through inaction (e.g., if I notify you that I want
to collect, use or disclose your personal information for various purposes and
you do not object) or otherwise. You may withdraw consent at any time (subject
to legal, contractual and other restrictions) if you give reasonable notice to
us. After I have receive such notice, I will inform you of the likely
consequences of withdrawing consent, which may include my inability to provide
certain services to you or to continue my relationship with you.
LIMITS ON COLLECTION
OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
I will not collect personal information indiscriminately. I will only collect
your personal information for purposes to which you have consented unless
otherwise authorized or required by law.
LIMITS FOR USING,
DISCLOSING AND RETAINING PERSONAL INFORMATION
I will only use and disclose
your personal information for the purposes to which you have consented unless
otherwise authorized or required by law. I will keep personal information used
to make a decision affecting you for at least one year after using it to make
the decision. I will destroy, erase or make anonymous documents or other records
containing personal information as soon as it is reasonable to assume that: (a)
the original purpose is no longer being served by retention of the information,
and (b) retention is no longer necessary for legal or business purposes. I will
take due care when destroying personal information to prevent unauthorized
access to the information.
ACCURACY
I will make a reasonable
effort to ensure that personal information I am using or disclosing is accurate
and complete. If you demonstrate the inaccuracy or incompleteness of personal
information, I will amend the information as required. If appropriate, I will
send the amended information to third parties to whom the information has been
disclosed. When a challenge regarding the accuracy of personal information is
not resolved to your satisfaction, I will annotate the personal information
under my control with a note that the correction was requested but not made.
SAFEGUARDING PERSONAL
INFORMATION
I will protect the personal
information in my custody and control by making reasonable security arrangements
to prevent unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying,
modification, disposal or similar risks. Some specific safeguards include the
following:
•
physical measures such as locked offices
and/or filing cabinets;
•
organizational measures such as
restricting access to files and databases as appropriate; and electronic
measures such as passwords and firewalls. I will take reasonable steps, through
contractual or other reasonable means, to ensure that a comparable level of
personal information protection is implemented by the suppliers and others whom
I ask to assist in providing services to you or me. Note that confidentiality
and security are not assured when information is transmitted through email or
wireless communication.
PROVIDING ACCESS
You have a right to access
your personal information held by me. Upon your written request and
authentication of your identity, I will provide you with your personal
information under my control. I will also give you information about the ways in
which that information is being used, and a description of the individuals and
organizations to whom that information has been disclosed. I will make the
information available within 30 days or provide written notice where additional
time is required to fulfil the request. In some situations, I may not be able to
provide access to certain personal information (e.g., if disclosure would reveal
personal information about another individual, the personal information is
protected by solicitor / client privilege, the information was collected for the
purposes of an investigation, or where disclosure of the information would
reveal confidential commercial information that could harm my competitive
position). I may also be prevented by law from providing access to certain
personal information. Where an access request is refused, I will notify you in
writing. I will also document the reasons for refusal and outline further steps
which are available to you.
COMPLAINTS
Upon your request, I will
provide information regarding my complaint procedures. Any inquiries, complaints
or questions regarding this Policy or my compliance with privacy legislation
should be directed in writing to me as follows:
Phone:
250-477-7291
Facsimile:
250-477-3161
E-mail: Phil (at) MyVictoria.ca
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