Privacy Policy

At Southcove and its affiliated entities, we are committed to upholding privacy principles and complying with relevant privacy legislation regarding personal information. This statement aims to elucidate to our valued customers and other individuals how we gather, utilize, disclose, and safeguard their personal information. Personal information, as defined by applicable privacy legislation, pertains to details about an identifiable individual.

This privacy statement is applicable to our practices concerning the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information in Canada and other jurisdictions. It is also subject to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) when applicable. Please note that this statement excludes information concerning current, former, or prospective employees (refer to our Employee Privacy Notice), as well as data that does not qualify as personal information.

Collection of Personal Information by Southcove

In the course of its operations, Southcove, along with its agents and representatives, gathers personal information in various instances. It’s important to note that, due to the potential lack of encryption in the online submission of information, we cannot guarantee the absolute privacy of data submitted through our website. The categories of personal information we collect encompass:

  • Contact Information: Includes details such as your name, address, email address, and telephone number.
  • Website Interaction: Information provided during registration or other interactions on our website.
  • Surveys and Questionnaires: Data submitted when you participate in surveys or questionnaires.
  • Promotions and Contests: Information provided in the context of promotions or contests.
  • Other Modes of Submission: Details offered through alternative channels, such as telephone, mail, or our website.
  • Customer Interactions: Records of customer calls, product-related comments, or inquiries.
  • Additional Information: Any other information collected with your explicit consent or as permitted/required by law.

Utilization of Personal Information by Southcove

At Southcove, we employ personal information for various purposes, including:

  • Responding to Requests: Receiving and addressing your requests, inquiries, and comments.
  • Marketing and Communication: With your consent, sending information about our products and promotions, conducting telephone surveys, and market research.
  • Coupon Distribution: Periodically sending coupons with your consent.
  • Customer Service: Providing exceptional customer service.
  • Promotions and Contests: Administering promotions and contests.
  • Database Creation: Establishing a database of individuals registered to receive information from us.
  • Personalization: Understanding your preferences, needs, and interests to offer products and information tailored to you.
  • Product Improvement: Enhancing and improving our products.
  • Business Management: Managing our business, including customer relations.
  • Security Measures: Ensuring the security of our business operations, including our website.
  • Account Management: Managing, administering, collecting, or enforcing accounts.
  • Record Keeping: Maintaining business records as required by law and for reasonable periods.
  • Legal Compliance: Meeting legal, regulatory, insurance, security, accounting, and processing requirements.
  • Consent: Acting in accordance with purposes disclosed at the time of personal information collection.
  • Other Legitimate Purposes: Otherwise, with consent or as permitted or required by law.

Collection of Personal Information

Southcove collects personal information for commercial purposes, including:

  1. Establishing and maintaining responsible commercial relations.
  2. Understanding customer needs, trends, and preferences.
  3. Evaluating, developing, enhancing, marketing, or providing products and services.
  4. Managing and developing business operations.
  5. Meeting legal and regulatory requirements.
  6. Protecting against error and fraud.
  7. Any other purpose to which an individual consents.
  8. Any other legitimate grounds for collection or use of personal information.

Disclosure of Personal Information

Southcove may disclose personal information in various circumstances, including to:

  1. Persons seeking information as agents.
  2. Companies or individuals performing functions on our behalf.
  3. Companies or individuals aiding individuals explicitly entitled to the information.
  4. Entities contributing to the evaluation, development, enhancement, marketing, or provision of our products or services.
  5. Agents assessing customer creditworthiness or collecting accounts.
  6. Credit reporting agencies.
  7. Public authorities in cases of imminent danger.
  8. Third parties with customer consent or as required by law.
  9. Financial institutions for payment, security, or financing purposes.
  10. Professional advisors, consultants, investigators, and adjudicators in legal claims.

 

Southcove may disclose personal information to affiliates and business partners with your consent. This facilitates occasional communication about their products and services. Additionally, personal information may be shared with affiliates in other jurisdictions for internal audit, management, billing, administrative, and general business purposes.

Service Providers

Southcove may transfer personal information to external agents or service providers, including affiliates, who perform various services on our behalf. These services may include data processing, mailing, call center operations, billing, marketing, information technology, or data hosting. Some of these service providers or affiliates may operate in different jurisdictions. While your personal information is in their care, we implement reasonable contractual or other measures to ensure compliance with legal requirements in the applicable jurisdiction.

Business Transactions

Personal information may be utilized and disclosed in connection with proposed or actual financing, securitization, insuring, sale, assignment, or other disposal of all or part of Southcove or our business/assets. This disclosure serves purposes such as evaluating and performing the proposed transaction, meeting reporting or audit requirements, and allowing assignees or successors to use and disclose personal information for similar purposes.

Legal, Regulatory, etc.

Southcove may disclose personal information when necessary to meet legal, regulatory, industry self-regulatory, insurance, audit, and security requirements. Such disclosures may also occur with your consent or as permitted or required by law, including applicable Canadian and foreign laws governing Southcove, our agents, and service providers.

Cookies Policy and Website Information Collection

Active Information Collection: Southcove’ website actively collects information through specific questions, email communication, and feedback forms. The collection, use, and disclosure of actively collected information have been outlined.

Passive Information Collection: Anonymous information is passively collected as you navigate through the website, using technologies such as cookies, Internet tags, web beacons, and navigational data collection. This includes details like the URL of the previous website, IP address, time and date of visit, pages visited, and browser information. The website may also use cookies for improved service, customization, statistics, and trend analysis. Passive information is not combined with personal information unless consent is provided.

Cookies

Cookies are used on the Southcove website to enhance performance and user experience. By accessing the website, you agree to the application of the Cookies Policy. The types of cookies used are categorized in the table provided, with the acknowledgment that not all cookies may be used universally.

Category Description
Strictly Necessary cookies  These cookies are essential to enable you to move around the site and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the site. Without these cookies, services you have asked for cannot be provided.
First party analytics cookies These cookies enable us to utilize data analytics to assess and enhance the performance of our site, ensuring the delivery of more relevant content to you. Importantly, these cookies do not gather information that identifies a visitor at an individual level. The information collected is not made available to us in a personally identifiable form. In specific instances, we may engage a service provider, such as Google Analytics, to act on our behalf. However, these service providers are restricted from using the data for their own purposes, safeguarding your privacy.
Performance cookies  Performance cookies, often sourced from third-party vendors with whom we collaborate or who work on our behalf, gather information about your visit and usage of the Southcove website. This includes insights into which pages you frequent and whether you encounter error messages. Crucially, these cookies do not capture information identifying a visitor. All data collected by these cookies remains anonymous and is solely utilized to enhance the functionality of the website. While third-party vendors may have access to this data, their use is dedicated to improving their overall services and offerings.
Functionality cookies These cookies enable the site to recall choices you make, such as your username, language, or region, providing enhanced and personalized features. Importantly, these cookies do not track your browsing activity on other websites, ensuring your privacy. They do not gather any information for advertising purposes or store details about your internet activities beyond our site.
Advertising and social media cookies These cookies, along with web beacons and other tracking and storage technologies, serve several purposes:

1.     Relevance and Interest-Based Advertising: They deliver advertisements tailored to your interests, making the content more relevant to you.

2.     Ad Frequency Control: These cookies limit the number of times you encounter a specific advertisement.

3.     Advertising Campaign Effectiveness: They help measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

4.     Retargeting: These cookies facilitate retargeting efforts, directing users back to Southcove websites or information.

5.     Behavior Analysis: They contribute to understanding people’s behavior after they view an advertisement.

Typically placed on behalf of advertising networks with the site operator’s permission, these cookies remember your site visits. They may be linked to site functionality provided by other organizations, potentially influencing the content and messages you encounter on other websites you visit.

Southcove retains the right to modify the cookies associated with its website. We encourage you to periodically review this Privacy Statement and Cookies Policy for updates detailing any changes to the cookies utilized.

Do Not Track Mechanisms

Due to the evolving nature of technology and the ongoing industry debate regarding the interpretation of Do Not Track (DNT) signals, we do not currently guarantee the adherence to DNT signals.

Your Consent

Consent for the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information can be expressed in various ways, either orally, electronically, or through a signed form. It can also be implied when providing information necessary for requested services or when the purpose is apparent. In specific circumstances, you may be asked for specific consent, particularly in cases where notice has been provided about our intentions regarding your personal information. Consent can be given by your authorized representative. By providing personal information, you are deemed to consent to its collection, use, and disclosure for identified purposes, as outlined in this Privacy Statement, or as communicated during collection.

For residents of the EU, consent will be express when personal information is collected for purposes beyond those outlined in this Privacy Statement. You have the right to withdraw consent, subject to contractual and legal restrictions and reasonable notice. However, certain necessary uses may not be subject to withdrawal, such as maintaining business records and compliance with legal obligations.

Southcove collects, uses, and discloses personal information with consent, except as permitted or required by law. There may be instances where we are obligated to collect, use, or disclose personal information without consent, such as complying with a court order or legal inquiry.

Email Marketing

We may offer you the option to “opt in” to receive additional email communication. If such communication is provided, we will also present an “opt-out” mechanism, allowing you to indicate that you do not wish to receive further communications.

About Children

  • Children Under 13: We generally do not intend to collect personal information from individuals under the age of 13 without parental consent. Contests involving children under 13 are administered for contest purposes only. Parents or guardians can request the deletion of a child’s personal information provided without consent.
  • About Teenagers: Personal information obtained from teenagers will be deleted upon parental or guardian withdrawal of consent.

Security

We implement reasonable physical, electronic, and procedural security measures to protect your personal information. Authorized personnel requiring access to personal information will do so to fulfill their job requirements.

Access, Correction, and Contacting Us

If you wish to access or correct your personal information, you can make a request in writing to the address provided. Access and correction rights are subject to applicable legal restrictions, and we may verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.

For inquiries, complaints, or concerns about our personal information practices, you can contact us at the provided address.

Links to Other Websites and Social Media

  • Links: This website may contain links or references to external websites not covered by this Privacy Statement. We are not responsible for the data collection and use practices of linked companies or organizations.
  • Social Media: Social media platform links on our website are governed by the privacy policies of those platforms. Your interaction with social media through our website is subject to the respective platform’s policies, and we encourage adjusting privacy settings accordingly.

Changes to the Privacy Statement and Cookies Policy

This Privacy Statement and the Cookies Policy may undergo revisions periodically. If we intend to use or disclose personal information for purposes materially different from those outlined in this statement, we will make reasonable efforts to notify affected individuals, if necessary. This may include revising this Privacy Statement. If you have concerns about the use of your personal information, please contact us using the provided information or check our website regularly for the most up-to-date version of the Privacy Statement and Cookies Policy.

Your continued provision of personal information or use of our services following any changes to this Privacy Statement and the Cookies Policy indicates your acceptance of such changes. This Privacy Statement and the Cookies Policy are effective as of January 2024.