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Information Collection
and Use
Wheels Group Inc. ("Wheels Group" or "We") is the sole owner of the
information collected on this site. We will not sell, share, or rent this
information to others in ways different from what is disclosed in this
statement. Wheels Group collects information from our users at several
different points on our website.
Registration
In order to use the forums on this website, a user must first complete the
appropriate registration forms. During registration a user is required to
give their contact information (such as name and email address). This
information is used to contact the user about the services on our site for
which they have expressed interest. It is optional for the user to provide
demographic information (such as income level and gender), and unique
identifiers (such as social security number), but encouraged so we can
provide a more personalized experience on our site.
Order
We request information from the user on our order form. Here a user must
provide contact information (like name and shipping address) and financial
information (like credit card number, expiration date). This information is
used for billing purposes and to fill customer’s orders. If we have trouble
processing an order, this contact information is used to get in touch with
the user.
Cookies
A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s hard drive containing
information about the user. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any
personally identifiable information while on our site. Once the user closes
their browser, the cookie simply terminates. For instance, by setting a
cookie on our site, the user would not have to log in a password more than
once, thereby saving time while on our site. If a user rejects the cookie,
they may still use our site. The only drawback to this is that the user will
be limited in some areas of our site.
Log Files
We use IP addresses to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s
movement, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP
addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.
Sharing
We will not share aggregated demographic information with our partners and
advertisers. This is not linked to any personal information that can
identify any individual person.
We use an outside shipping company to ship orders, and a credit card
processing company to bill users for goods and services. These companies do
not retain, share, store or use personally identifiable information for any
secondary purposes.
We partner with another party to provide specific services. When the user
signs up for these services, we will share names, or other contact
information that is necessary for the third party to provide these services.
These parties are not allowed to use personally identifiable information
except for the purpose of providing these services.
Links
This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that Wheels
Group Communications Inc. is not responsible for the privacy practices of
such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our
site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that
collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies
solely to information collected by this Web site.
Newsletter
If a user wishes to subscribe to our newsletter, we ask for contact
information such as name and email address.
Surveys & Contests
From time-to-time our site requests information from users via surveys or
contests. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary
and the user therefore has a choice whether or not to disclose this
information. Information requested may include contact information (such as
name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as zip code,
age level). Contact information will be used to notify the winners and award
prizes. Survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring or
improving the use and satisfaction of this site.
Tell-A-Friend
If a user elects to use our referral service for informing a friend about
our site, we ask them for the friend’s name and email address. Wheels Group
Communications Inc. will automatically send the friend a one-time email
inviting them to visit the site. Wheels Group Communications Inc. stores
this information for the sole purpose of sending this one-time email. The
friend may contact Wheels Group Communications Inc. to request the removal
of this information from their database.
Security
This website takes every precaution to protect our users’ information. When
users submit sensitive information via the website, your information is
protected both online and off-line.
When our registration/order form asks users to enter sensitive information
(such as credit card number and/or social security number), that information
is encrypted and is protected with the best encryption software in the
industry - SSL. While on a secure page, such as our order form, the lock
icon on the bottom of Web browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft
Internet Explorer becomes locked, as opposed to un-locked, or open, when you
are just ‘surfing’. To learn more about SSL, follow this link.
While we use SSL encryption to protect sensitive information online, we also
do everything in our power to protect user-information off-line. All of our
users’ information, not just the sensitive information mentioned above, is
restricted in our offices. Only employees who need the information to
perform a specific job (for example, our billing clerk or a customer service
representative) are granted access to personally identifiable information.
Our employees must use password-protected screen-savers when they leave
their desk. When they return, they must re-enter their password to re-gain
access to your information. Furthermore, ALL employees are kept up-to-date
on our security and privacy practices. Every quarter, as well as any time
new policies are added, our employees are notified and/or reminded about the
importance we place on privacy, and what they can do to ensure our
customers’ information is protected. Finally, the servers that we store
personally identifiable information on are kept in a secure environment,
behind a locked cage.
If you have any questions about the security at our website, please do not
hesitate to contact us.
Supplementation of Information
In order for this website to properly fulfill its obligation to our
customers, it is necessary for us to supplement the information we receive
with information from 3rd party sources.
For example, to determine if our customers qualify for one of our credit
cards, we use their name and social security number to request a credit
report. Once we determine a user’s credit-worthiness, this document is
destroyed.
(or)
In order for this website to enhance its ability to tailor the site to an
individual’s preference, we combine information about the purchasing habits
of users with similar information from our partners, Company Y & Company Z,
to create a personalized user profile. When a user makes a purchase from
either of these two companies, the companies collect and share that purchase
information with us so we can tailor the site to our users’ preferences.
Special Offers
We send all new members a welcoming email to verify password and username.
Established members will occasionally receive information on products,
services, special deals, and a newsletter. Out of respect for the privacy of
our users we present the option to not receive these types of
communications. Please see our choice and opt-out below.
Site and Service Updates
We also send the user site and service announcement updates. Members are not
able to un-subscribe from service announcements, which contain important
information about the service. We communicate with the user to provide
requested services and in regards to issues relating to their account via
email or phone.
Correction/Updating Personal Information:
If a user’s personally identifiable information changes (such as your zip
code), or if a user no longer desires our service, we will endeavour to
provide a way to correct, update or remove that user’s personal data
provided to us. This can usually be done at the member information page or
by emailing our Customer Support. [Some sites may also provide telephone or
postal mail options for updating or correcting personal information].
Choice/Opt-out
Our users are given the opportunity to ‘opt-out’ of having their information
used for purposes not directly related to our site at the point where we ask
for the information. For example, our order form has an ‘opt-out’ mechanism
so users who buy a product from us, but don’t want any marketing material,
can keep their email address off of our lists.
Users who no longer wish to receive our newsletter or promotional materials
from our partners may opt-out of receiving these communications by replying
to unsubscribe in the subject line in the email or by contacting us. Some
sites are able to offer opt-out mechanisms on member information pages and
also supply a telephone or postal option as a way to opt-out.
Users of our site are always notified when their information is being
collected by any outside parties. We do this so our users can make an
informed choice as to whether they should proceed with services that require
an outside party, or not.
Notification of Changes
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on our
Homepage so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how
we use it, and under circumstances, if any, we disclose it. If at any point
we decide to use personally identifiable information in a manner different
from that stated at the time it was collected, we will notify users by way
of an email. Users will have a choice as to whether or not we use their
information in this different manner. We will use information in accordance
with the privacy policy under which the information was collected.
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