PRIVACY POLICY

What information do we collect?

We collect information from you when you register on our site, purchase a Simplicity Plan Online membership, subscribe to our newsletter, respond to a survey, or fill out a form.

When visiting our site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your: name, email address, mailing address, or phone number. You may, however, visit our site anonymously, however you may not be able to utilize all of the features of our site.

Like most Web sites, we use cookies and/or Web beacons to enhance your experience, gather general visitor information, and track visits to our Web site. Please refer to the 'Do we use cookies?' section below for information about cookies and how we use them.

What do we use your information for?

Any of the information we collect from you may be used in one of the following ways:

To improve our Web site. We continually strive to improve our Web site offerings based on the information and feedback we receive from you.
To improve customer service. Your information helps us to more effectively respond to your customer service requests and support needs.
To respond to a request. Information you provide in a request for service or information will be forwarded to us. We will use this information to respond to your request.
To administer a contest, promotion, survey, or other site feature.
To send periodic emails. If you decide to opt-in to our mailing list, you will receive emails that may include company news, updates, related product or service information, etc.

Note: If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, we include detailed unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of each email.
Notice: We prohibit the transfer of email addresses listed on this site for the purpose of sending commercial email solicitations.

How do we protect your information?

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information.

We use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption technology to protect the information you submit. This technology protects visitors from having their information intercepted by anyone while it is being transmitted. We work hard to ensure that our systems are secure and that they meet industry standards. Where appropriate, we employ firewalls, encryption technology, user authentications systems, and access control mechanisms to control access to systems and data. It is important for you to protect yourself against unauthorized access to your plan. Make sure you keep your password in a safe location and if using a shared or public computer, you should make sure you completely sign-off when finished.

Do we use cookies?

Yes. Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer's hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow) that enables the sites or service providers' systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information.

We use cookies to keep track of advertisements and compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future. We may contract with third-party service providers to assist us in better understanding our site visitors. These service providers are not permitted to use the information collected on our behalf except to help us conduct and improve our business.

Do we disclose any information to outside parties?

We do not sell or trade to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our Web site, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. Credit card transactions are handled by third party financial institutions and their vendors and contractors who receive credit card numbers and other personal information from us to verify the credit card numbers and process transactions. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others' rights, property, or safety. However, nonpersonally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.

Third-Party Links

Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third-party products or services on our Web site. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We, therefore, have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.

California Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance

Because we value your privacy, we have taken the necessary precautions to be in compliance with the California Online Privacy Protection Act. Although we may use third-party vendors to provide certain services related to the services and products you may purchase or to process information you provide, we will not distribute your personal information to other outside parties without your consent.

The California Online Privacy Protection Act

The California Online Privacy Protection Act of 2003 ("OPPA") became effective on July 1, 2004. (See Cal Bus & Prof Code 22575-22579). OPPA requires any person or company that operates a Web site that collects personally identifiable information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its Web site stating what information is collected and with whom it is shared. Those who do not comply with OPPA can be sued for unfair trade practices.

Whom OPPA Applies To

OPPA applies to any person or entity that owns a commercial Web site or an online service that "collects and maintains personally identifiable information from a consumer residing in California who uses or visits" such Web site or online service. (See 22575).
"Personally identifiable information" means information collected online about an individual consumer, for example, first and last name, street address, email address, phone number, social security number, or any other information that permits the physical or online contacting of an individual. Personally identifiable information also includes information concerning a consumer that is collected online (such as birthday, weight, hair color, etc.) and is maintained by an operator in personally identifiable form in combination with one of the aforementioned identifiers. (See 22577).

Requirements of OPPA:

OPPA requires that each operator of a commercial Web site conspicuously post a privacy policy on its Web site. A privacy policy is conspicuously posted when:

The privacy policy appears on the home page of the Web site; or
The privacy policy is directly linked to the home page via an icon that contains the word "privacy," and such icon appears in a color different from the background of the home page; or
The privacy policy is linked to the home page via a hypertext link that contains the word "privacy," is written in capital letters equal to or greater in size than the surrounding text, is written in a type, font, or color that contrasts with the surrounding text of the same size, or is otherwise distinguishable from surrounding text on the home page.

(See 22577). The privacy policy itself must contain the following features:

A list of the categories of personally identifiable information the operator collects;
A list of the categories of third parties with whom the operator may share such personally identifiable information;
A description of the process (if any) by which a consumer can review and request changes to his or her personally identifiable information collected by the operator;
A description of the process by which the operator notifies consumers of material changes to the operator's privacy policy; and
The effective date of the privacy policy.

(See 22575). An operator will be considered in violation of OPPA if it fails to post a privacy policy within 30 days after being notified on noncompliance. An operator who fails to comply with OPPA or with the terms of its privacy policy will be found to be in violation of OPPA only if its noncompliance is either knowing and willful or negligent and material. (See 22576).

Does Simplicity Plan Online's proposed privacy policy comply with OPPA?

Simplicity Plan Online's proposed privacy policy appears to comply with OPPA provided that the policy is conspicuously posted on the Web site or linked thereto under the rules set forth above. The proposed revision that includes the following language: "we therefore will not distribute your personal information to outside parties unless it is for the purpose of operating our Web site, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential" appears to comply with 22575 of OPPA which requires operators to disclose "the categories of third-party persons or entities with whom the operator may share that personally identifiable information."

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance

We are in compliance with the requirements of COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act); we do not collect any information from anyone under 13 years of age. Our Web site, products and services are all directed to people who are at least 13 years old or older.

Hyperlinks

This Web site contains hyperlinks or "links" to other sites, and other sites may "link" to this site. Web sites linking to and from this site may have different privacy practices from the ones described here. Visitors to our site should read the privacy statements of other Web sites they visit.

Your Consent

By using our site, you consent to our privacy policy.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will update the Privacy Policy modification date below.

This policy was last modified on 11/1/2009.

Contacting Us

If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy you may contact us using the information below.

PO Box 11250
New Orleans, LA 70181-1250
USA
webmaster@stei.com