The Organisation of Energy Assessors

Privacy

Privacy policy for use of the Organisation of Energy Assessor’s website

The Organisation of Energy Assessors (the “OEA”) is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. This Privacy Policy explains how we use the information we collect about you and procedures we have in place to safeguard your privacy.

In this Privacy Policy references to “we”, “us” and “our” are to the Organisation of Energy Assessors. References to the website are to www.theoea.org.This privacy policy explains the following:

* What information the OEA may collect about you;
* The use of cookies on the OEA website;
* How the OEA will use information we collect about you;
* When the OEA may use your details to contact you;
* Whether the OEA will disclose your details to anyone else.

As set out above, the OEA is committed to safeguarding your personal information. Whenever you provide such information, we are legally obliged to use your information in line with all laws concerning the protection of personal information, including the Data Protection Act 1998 (these laws are referred to collectively in this Privacy Policy as the "data protection laws").

The website contains hyperlinks to websites owned and operated by third parties. These third party websites have their own privacy policies, including cookies, and we urge you to review them. They will govern the use of personal information you submit or are collected by cookies whilst visiting these websites. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the privacy practices of such third party websites and your use of such websites is at your own risk.

What information will the OEA collect about me?

The information we collect via the website may include:

1.1 Personal details you give us through completion of forms on the website, including name, address, telephone number, email address etc.

1.2 Debit or credit card information which we need to pass to a bank or card processing agency for verification.

1.3 Your IP address, your preferences and use of email updates.

1.4 Data recorded by the website which allows us to recognise you and your preferred settings. Such data is recorded locally on your computer through the use of cookies. Your browser can be programmed to reject cookies or warn you before downloading them.

Cookies Policy - Information the OEA collects from you

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small amount of data, which often includes a unique identifier that is sent to your computer or mobile phone (referred to here as a "device") browser from a website's computer and is stored on your device's hard drive. Each website can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser's preferences allow it, but (to protect your privacy) your browser only permits a website to access the cookies it has already sent to you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites. Many sites do this whenever a user visits their website in order to track online traffic flows.

Cookies record information about your online preferences and allow us to tailor the websites to your interests. Users have the opportunity to set their devices to accept all cookies, to notify them when a cookie is issued, or not to receive cookies at any time. The last of these means that certain personalised services cannot then be provided to that user and accordingly you may not be able to take full advantage of all of the www.theoea.org features. Each browser is different, so check the "Help" menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences.

During the course of any visit to www.theoea.org, the pages you see, along with a cookie, are downloaded to your device. Many websites do this, because cookies enable website publishers to do useful things like find out whether the device (and probably its user) has visited the website before. This is done on a repeat visit by checking to see, and finding, the cookie left there on the last visit.

How does the OEA use cookies?

Information supplied by cookies can help us to analyse the profile of our visitors and help us to provide you with a better user experience.

The OEA also use a number of independent measurement and research companies. They gather information regarding the visitors to the OEA website on our behalf using cookies, log file data and code which is embedded on our website. The OEA uses this type of information to help improve the services it provides to its users. The OEA strictly requires that this information is not to use any information for their own business or other purposes. Certain other areas of www.theoea.org may use cookies for a specific reason - for example, to record your vote on a poll. If this is the case, the local terms for that area of the website will make this clear and you should refer to those local terms for additional information.

How will the OEA use the information they collect about me?

The OEA will use your personal information for a number of purposes including the following:

* For "service administration purposes", which means that the OEA may contact you for reasons related to the service you have signed up for (e.g. to provide you with password reminders or to notify you that a particular service has been suspended for maintenance).

* To contact you about a submission you have made to the websites, including any content you provide.

* IP addresses are used to identify the location of users, the number of visits from different countries and also to block disruptive use.

* To analyse and improve the services offered on www.theoea.org e.g. to provide you with the most user-friendly navigation experience.

Where the OEA proposes using your personal information for any other uses we will ensure that we notify you first. You will also be given the opportunity to withhold or withdraw your consent for your use other than as listed above.

When will the OEA contact me?

The OEA may contact you:

* In relation to the functioning of any service you have signed up for in order to ensure that the OEA can deliver the services to you.

* Where you have opted to receive further correspondence. * In relation to any contribution you have made to www.theoea.org, e.g. on the members forum. * For marketing purposes where you have specifically agreed to be contacted.

Will I be contacted for marketing purposes?

The OEA will not contact you for marketing purposes, or promote new services to you unless you specifically agree to be contacted for these purposes.

Will the OEA share my personal information with anyone else?

We will keep your information confidential except where disclosure is required or permitted by law (for example to government bodies and law enforcement agencies) or as described in the 'Offensive or inappropriate content on the OEA website' paragraph below). Generally, we will only use your information within the OEA. However, sometimes the OEA uses third parties to process your information. The OEA will require these third parties to comply strictly with its instructions and the OEA will require that they do not use your personal information for their own business purposes.

Offensive or inappropriate content on the OEA website

If you post or send offensive, inappropriate or objectionable content anywhere on or to www.theoea.org, or otherwise engage in any disruptive behaviour on www.theoea.org, the OEA may use your personal information to stop such behaviour.

Where the OEA reasonably believes that you are or may be in breach of any of the laws of England or Wales (e.g. because content you have posted may be defamatory), the OEA may use your personal information to inform relevant third parties such as your employer, Internet provider or law enforcement agencies about the content and your behaviour.

How long will the OEA keep my personal information?

We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant service, or as long as is set out in any relevant contract you hold with the OEA. In the case that you wish to cancel your registration as an OEA member, once an account is deleted a red flag goes on the database and, while people cannot use the personal information, it stays on the system for a period of one year for administration purposes before being deleted.

Where you contribute to www.theoea.org the OEA will generally only keep your content for as long as is reasonably required for the purpose(s) for which it was submitted.

Changes to OEA's Privacy Policy

This privacy policy may be updated from time to time so you may wish to check it each time you submit personal information to the www.theoea.org website. The date of the most recent revisions will appear on this page. Updating your details

If any of the details you have provided the Website changes, please give us correct details by email to info@theoea.org.

Your consent

By submitting your information on the Website, you consent to the use of that information as set out in this Privacy Policy. If we change the Privacy Policy we will post the changes on this page and we may place notices on other pages of the website so that you may be aware of such change. Your continued use of the website will then signify that you agree to such changes.

Owing to the global nature of the internet, the information you provide may be transferred to companies outside the European Economic Area (EEA) that do not have similar protections in place to those which apply in the EEA regarding your data and its use as set out in this Policy. However, we have taken steps outlined in this Policy to protect the security of your information and will keep any transfers outside the EEA to a necessary minimum. By submitting your information you consent to these transfers.

How to contact us

We welcome your views about our website and our Privacy Policy. If you would like to contact us with queries or comments please send an email to info@theoea.org.