Principle

Trusted Shops GmbH is committed to protecting the privacy of all persons who use our website and services and to treat their data with confidentiality when collecting, processing and using such data. We are committed to protecting your privacy on-line. We appreciate that you do not want the personal information you provide to us distributed indiscriminately and here we explain how we collect information, what we do with it and what controls you have.
By using the website, you consent to the collection and use of information in accordance with this privacy policy.

We reserve the right to change this privacy policy from time to time by changing it on the website. This privacy policy was last updated on 26 August 2010.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and our registration number is Z2211983.

Which data is collected and used when I visit the website?

You can visit our website without entering any directly identifiable personal information. When you visit our website, we may automatically collect access information about you, such as the type of internet browser you use, the website from which you have come to our website and your IP address (the unique address which identifies your computer on the internet) which is automatically recognised by our web server. This information is only used to assist us in providing an effective service on our website and to collect broad demographic information for aggregate use.

In order to make visiting our website appealing and to enable the use of certain functions, we use so-called cookies on various pages. Cookies are small text files that are saved on your computer. Most of the cookies we use are deleted from your hard drive at the end of your browser session (so-called session cookies). Other cookies remain on your computer and enable us to recognise your computer again the next time you visit our site (so-called permanent cookies). Our partner companies are not permitted to collect, or use data from cookies that can be linked to directly identifiable information that we may hold about you via our website.

Data is collected and stored on our website for marketing and optimisation purposes using technologies from etracker GmbH ("etracker"). This data can be used to create a user profile. Cookies may be used to do this. Cookies enable recognition of a user's browser but they do not personally identify users. The data collected by etracker is stored anonymously under an abbreviated form, as a "pseudonym" so that is it not possible to identify individual users.

Unless you give your express consent, data collected with etracker technologies will not used to personally identify you by this website and is not combined with personal data about you or pseudonym data.

You may refuse future collection and storage for the purposes of web analysis by etracker at any time on this website.

You can change your browser settings so that you are informed about the creation of cookies and either decide each time whether to allow cookies or to block them completely. By disallowing cookies, you may restrict the functionality of our website.

Which data is collected and used if I register for Trusted Shops Buyer Protection?

When registering for Trusted Shops Buyer Protection, you will be asked to consent to the storage, processing and use of your data by Trusted Shops GmbH. We do of course respect your decision not to grant us consent. However, in this case you will not be entitled to Trusted Shops Buyer Protection.

In order to register for Buyer Protection, we require:

• your email address;
• the name of the online shop;
• the total purchase price;
• the selected payment method;
• the order number; and, in some cases,
• the shop customer number.

During registration, we do not know which products you have ordered nor do we have access to sensitive payment information such as your credit card number or bank details.

Your data will solely be used to be able to offer you Buyer Protection and to enable you to use the Trusted Shops System. In the Trusted Shops System, you can view your active and completed purchases made under the Buyer Guarantee, make any necessary claims for refunds and rate completed transactions. Your email address is used as your user name for access to the Trusted Shops System and is only stored for the purposes of the duration of your active account / membership. Only the information and data that is absolutely necessary to clarify possible claims for refunds is saved and processed.

You can also request that your data be deleted at any time. Please use our contact form for this purpose. However, you will then loose the benefit of Trusted Shops Buyer Protection

In the event of a Buyer Protection claim, we require additional information and personal data from you for the purposes of verifying and processing the refund claim. When claiming a refund, your name, address and in some cases your telephone number and your bank details for reimbursement are stored. This data is then stored for six months and used solely to complete the refund claim. After this period, the data is blocked from being used for any other purposes and after the expiration of the tax and commercial law period of storage the data is permanently deleted.

Which data is collected and used if I submit a customer rating?

If you submit a rating using the Trusted Shops customer rating system without already being registered for Trusted Shops Buyer Protection, we require your email address in order to guarantee the validity and credibility of the rating. The email address is used exclusively to verify that the rating really originates from a customer of the rated shop and can be allocated to a proven purchase, and for these purposes the email address will be stored for the life of the rating.

By clicking on "Submit Review", you grant Trusted Shops GmbH the non-exclusive right to permanently store your rating with the corresponding email address in databases as well as the right to reproduce, publish or pass on the ratings and comments, in part or in full, both online as well as offline (e.g. print media, catalogues), and the right to make them publicly accessible. Your email address will never be publicly accessible.

Which data is collected and used if I write a comment?

Personal data (email address, name) is collected if you voluntarily agree to this when commenting on an article. We use the data you choose to supply solely for the publication of your comment. Where you choose to leave a comment it is possible that you may wish to link your user name to your website. Your email address will not be published.

To prevent automatic spam comments, we use the Akismet spam filter service from Automattic Inc. on our sites. Akismet analyses submitted comments using certain criteria in order to prevent unwanted entries, such as advertisements. The data submitted and the IP address of the comment author are transferred to a server of the Automattic Inc. located outside the European Economic Area, in the USA where they are then processed and stored. By writing and submitting a comment, you consent to the transfer of your IP address and the entries you have made to the Automattic Inc. servers and storage on these servers.

Which data is collected and used if I sign up for the newsletter?

We will only send you our newsletter where you have agreed to receive this. Submission of your email address is required to receive our newsletter any other information that you provide is optional. The newsletter contains current information and offers from Trusted Shops GmbH and from third parties that provide products to Trusted Shops GmbH. You may unsubscribe via our newsletter or at any time through an email.

Will my data be passed on to third parties?

Other than the disclosures referred to in this privacy policy, your data is not passed on to third parties without your express permission. Neither Trusted Shops GmbH nor our insurance partner, Atradius Versicherungsgruppe will pass your personal data on to third parties. You will receive emails solely from Trusted Shops GmbH.

How is my data protected from misuse?

We place great importance on the security of all personally identifiable information associated with our users. We have security measures in place to attempt to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of personal information under our control. Whilst we cannot ensure or guarantee that loss, misuse or alteration of information will never occur, we use all reasonable efforts to prevent it.

Using the latest technical and organisational measures, we secure our website and other systems from loss, destruction, access to, change or publication of your data by third parties. We use encryption technology to ensure the highest level of confidentiality when transferring personal data such as enquiry, registration or buyer protection data. Your personal data is password protected, meaning that only you have access to it. Our servers use various security mechanisms and authorisation procedures in order to impede unauthorised access. You should never disclose your access information to others and always close the browser window when you have completed communication with Trusted Shops. You can thereby ensure that nobody can access your personal data if you use a shared computer.

You should bear in mind that submission of information over the internet is never entirely secure. We cannot guarantee the security of information you submit via our website whilst it is in transit over the internet and any such submission is at your own risk.

How can I amend, block or delete my personal data?

You can view and edit your own user information at any time in the secure area of the Trusted Shops homepage by logging in with your email address and password. If you forget your password or have problems logging in, please contact us. Please use the contact form to request that your user information be deleted.

You have the right to request information about your saved data, as well as the right to amend, block or delete this data as well as the right to correct any errors or request changes to this data. Such request will be free of charge. Please contact our data protection officer in this regard. As mentioned above, you have a right to prevent the use of your personal information for direct marketing purposes.

Contacting us

Please submit any questions, concerns or comments you have about this privacy policy or any requests concerning your personal data by email to privacy[at]trustedshops.com or write to our data protection officer at:

Lars Klatte
Trusted Shops GmbH
Subbelrather Straße 15c
50823 Cologne