Online security and access
Our secure-server software encrypts all your personal
information including your bank account and/or debit card number,
name and address. The encryption process takes the characters you
enter and converts them into code that is then securely transmitted
over the Internet.
To check that you are in a secure area of our site look at the
bottom right of your browser and you will see a closed padlock or
an unbroken key.
If your direct debit instruction or debit card transaction is
declined you'll need to contact your bank to find out why.
In the event of unauthorised use of your debit card, most banks
and card issuers either cover all the charges or limit your
liability to £50. If you find your debit card has been used without
your knowledge or approval, you must tell your card provider
straightaway.
If you're using a public computer or terminal, always log out
and close the browser when you've finished.
We will never e-mail or call you to ask you to disclose or
verify your debit card or bank account details. If you are
contacted or receive an unsolicited e-mail which asks you for these
details, ignore the email and report the incident to us.
Access to information
The information you provide to us is kept confidential to The
Children's Mutual. This means that all our employees and other data
processors who may have access to and who are associated with the
processing of your details are obliged to respect the
confidentiality of the personal data supplied by you.
We may share the information you provide with other members of
the Tunbridge Wells Equitable Group.
If you have linked to The Children's Mutual site from that of a
third party which introduces you to us or to one of our products,
or from a site bearing both that third party's and The Children's
Mutual's brands, and you have given your consent on that site, we
will share some of your information with that third party. Such
information will not include your bank or debit card details.
We do not disclose or sell your personal details to any other
third party without your permission, unless we are required to
do so by law or regulation as described above. In addition, we have
implemented security measures to ensure that the information
supplied by you via our web site is safeguarded from:
- unauthorised access
- improper use or disclosure
- unauthorised modification
- unlawful destruction or accidental loss
Our web sites and your privacy
Like many other businesses with an online presence, we collect
personal information from you through our web sites. By personal
information we mean details such as your name and address. You can
rest assured that none of these details are sold as marketing
lists. In fact, your details are only ever disclosed to anyone
outside The Children's Mutual or our administrators either with
your permission, or where we are required to do so by law or
regulation.
This Statement will tell you what information we collect, why we
collect it and what we use it for.
Data protection
Our basic rule is that any information you give us through our
web site will be retained and processed in accordance with the Data
Protection Act 1998 (the Act). In case you have not heard of it the
Act makes sure that your personal details are collected, kept and
used in a lawful and fair way.
Both we and our administrators are fully registered under the
Act for all purposes relating to our business. We ensure that at
all times your personal data is processed in accordance
with the Act. This means, for example, that if you tell us
your details are inaccurate, we will ensure they are
corrected, and that we will use those details only for the
limited purpose of providing information and services to you.
In particular, we recognise your right to ask us to tell you
what information we might hold about you.
You can find out more about the Act and your rights by visiting
the Information Commissioner's web site at http://www.ico.gov.uk/.
How we collect personal details from you
We are not able to identify who you are just because you visit
The Children's Mutual web site. The domain name from which you
access the internet, the date and time you access the web site and
the internet address of the web site from which you may have linked
to one of our sites will not allow us to identify who you are.
In certain parts of our web site, you have the option to contact
us by phone or email, or to provide us with certain details.
This is how we collect your personal details. We also, along with
most other major websites, use cookies. Cookies are software that
allow a web site user's details to be identified and used, mainly
to personalise a subsequent visit.
We use two types of cookies on our website:
- Session cookies, which are temporary
cookies that remain in the cookie file of your computer until you
close your browser at which point they are deleted; and
- Persistent or stored cookies that remain
permanently on the cookie file of your computer.
Cookies cannot look into your computer and obtain information
about you or your family or read any material kept on your hard
drive. Additionally they cannot be used by anyone else who has
access to the computer to find out anything about you, other than
the fact that someone using the computer has visited a certain
website. Passwords are not stored in cookies.
Cookies may be used to record details of pages relating to
particular products and services that you have visited on our
websites. This is to provide us with generic usage statistics to
allow us to improve our websites and to provide you with
information about products and services that interest you. This
does not affect your right to opt out from receiving marketing
material from us (see below the section Why we collect
these details).
The web browsers of most computers are initially set up to
accept cookies however you can alter them to block or erase cookies
or to inform you when a website is attempting to add a cookie.
However, certain parts of our Site are reliant on the use of
cookies to operate correctly and may therefore not work correctly
if you set your browser not to accept cookies.
If you would like more information on how to disable and delete
cookies, your browser's help screen or manual should tell you how,
or alternatively, please visit http://www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies
Your children's details
You can also rest assured that The Children's Mutual will treat
the details of your children in exactly the same way as your
own.
Why we collect these details
We ask you to provide your personal details to us either to
enable us to send you information about our products and services
or to respond to a specific enquiry you may have. For example, if
you send us an email requesting information about The Children's
Mutual we will use your email address and other relevant
information you supply to respond to your enquiry.
If we intend to use your personal details to tell you about our
other products and services, we will ask you whether you want to
receive this information. Should you wish to, we will continue to
use your details for this purpose and each time we contact you, we
will give you the opportunity to tell us not to contact you
further.
Your information will also be used to process any application
submitted by you if you decide to purchase one of our products
online, and to administer the resulting product once it has been
set up.
We use your, and if relevant your child's, personal details
for these purposes only.
Linking to third party sites
We cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices
of other sites even if you access them using links from our Site
and recommend that you check the policy of each site you visit and
contact its owner or proprietor if you have any concerns or
questions.
In addition, if you linked to this Site from a third party site,
we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of
the owners or operators of that third party site and recommend that
you check the policy of that third party site and again contact its
owner or operator if you have any concerns or questions.
Access to personal details
You can ask us by sending an email to webmaster@thechildrensmutual.co.uk or
writing to us at the address set out below whether we are keeping
any personal details about you. We will comply with all the
requirements of the Act and other legislation in relation to
disclosure of this information.
In particular, you should be aware that in order to provide you
with a copy of the personal data we keep about you, we would
require proof of your identity. We also reserve the right to make a
small charge based on the charges then currently prescribed by the
relevant legislation.
Your views
If you have an enquiry or concern about our privacy policy,
please contact:
The Data Protection Manager
The Children's Mutual
Brockbourne House
77 Mount Ephraim
Tunbridge Wells
Kent
TN4 8GN
Email: webmaster@thechildrensmutual.co.uk