Close
Introduction
Essential Home Comfort Ltd is dedicated to safeguarding the privacy and security of our clients. We are fully committed to upholding our responsibilities under Canadian data privacy laws, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, S.C. 2000, c. 5, (“PIPEDA”) and applicable provincial laws. We adhere to the privacy principles outlined below, which govern the collection, use, storage, and disclosure of personal information acquired during the development, sales, promotion, and distribution of our services. Although we invest significant effort in maintaining the accuracy of our website, we cannot ensure that all information presented is entirely correct, accurate, or up to date. Therefore, the information on our website should be used as general guidance. We are not liable for any direct or indirect damages resulting from the use of the website or reliance on information provided through it. Our website may feature third-party files, hyperlinks, or references to other third-party websites. Essential Home Comfort Ltd cannot be held responsible for any content on these external sites under any circumstances. Additionally, we retain the right to modify, change, or supplement the website content at any time. In this policy, “personal information” refers to any data concerning an identifiable individual, including but not limited to, name, age, ID numbers, income, credit records, and loan records. This definition excludes the name, title, business address, business telephone number, business fax number, or business e-mail address of an employee of an organization.
Policy for the Protection of Personal Information:
We will collect, use, store, and disclose personal information in accordance with the following privacy principles:
Accountability
a) The overall responsibility for ensuring our compliance with data privacy laws and this privacy policy, and cookie collection rests with Essential Home Comfort Ltd, although other individuals within Essential Home Comfort Ltd have responsibility for the day-to-day collection and processing of personal information and may be delegated to act on behalf of Essential Home Comfort Ltd.
b) We are responsible for personal information in our possession or custody, including personal information that we may transfer to third parties for processing. We will require our service providers to agree to contractual requirements that are consistent with our privacy and security policies. We will ensure that our service providers are prohibited from using personal information, except for the specific purpose for which we supply it to them.
c) Essential Home Comfort Ltd partners with licensed financial advisors, mortgage brokers, financial institutions, contractors, and health specialists. We may share relevant personal information with these affiliated partnerships to provide comprehensive services. We ensure that any shared information is handled with utmost confidentiality and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Identifying Purposes
Either before or at the time of collection, we will identify the purposes for which we plan to use the personal information. Depending upon the way in which the personal information is collected, this can be done orally or in writing. Essential Home Comfort Ltd may use the information we collect for the following purposes:
to provide services to our clients;
to respond to client inquiries about accounts and other services;
to understand our clients and prospective clients’ needs and to offer products and services to meet those needs;
to conduct credit checks on clients or prospective clients; and
to meet legal requirements.
b) Unless required by law, we will not use personal information for a new purpose without the knowledge and consent of the individual to whom the information relates.
Consent
Personal information will only be collected, used or disclosed with the consent of the individual, except in certain circumstances permitted or required by law. The way in which we seek consent may vary depending upon the sensitivity of the information. We will obtain written consent in all cases where the personal information involved is considered sensitive, such as income or credit reports.
Essential Home Comfort will seek consent for the use or disclosure of personal information at the time of collection. However, additional consent will be sought after the personal information has been collected if it is required for a new purpose.
In certain circumstances, obtaining consent would be inappropriate. The federal privacy laws provide for exceptions where it is impossible or impractical to obtain consent.
Limiting Collection
We will collect personal information by fair and lawful means and will limit the amount and type of personal information we collect to that which is necessary for our identified purposes.
Personal information will be retained for 3 years and will be stored in a locked storage facility on Essential Home Comfort Ltd company premises. Only the Directors and Privacy Officer have access to the locked storage facility in which the personal information records are being retained. After 3 years, the personal information will be destroyed in a secure manner and in accordance with applicable privacy legislation.
Cookie Collection
Essential Home Comfort Ltd website uses cookies to enhance user experience and collect non-personal information about visitors. Cookies are small files stored on your device that help analyze web traffic and customize your online interactions with us. You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer. However, this may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.
Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention
We will not use or disclose personal information for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required by law. Essential Home Comfort Ltd may transfer to selected third-party companies and organizations that meet our requirement for security and confidentiality. Subject to any applicable business, legal, or regulatory requirements, we will ensure that the data is destroyed in a secure manner, erased or made anonymous.
Affiliates With Whom We Share Information
Essential Home Comfort Ltd may provide personal information to affiliates. Our affiliates are the family of companies that form our parent company and any/all sister companies.
Essential Home Comfort collaborates with licensed financial advisors, mortgage brokers, financial institutions, contractors, and health specialists to offer specialized services. In some cases, personal information may be shared with these partners to facilitate the delivery of our services. We ensure that any shared information is limited to what is necessary for the specific purpose and is handled securely and confidentially.
Accuracy
a) We will use our best efforts to ensure that personal information that is used on an ongoing basis and information that is used to make a decision about an individual is as accurate, complete and up-to-date as necessary for the purpose for which it is to be used.
Safeguards
a) We will protect personal information with safeguards appropriate to the level of sensitivity of the information. Our safeguards protect personal information against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification, regardless of the format in which the information is held. We will exercise care in the disposal or destruction of personal information to prevent unauthorized parties from gaining access to the information. Our methods of protection include physical measures (e.g., locked file storage and restricted access to offices), organizational measures (e.g., security clearances and limiting access on a need-to-know basis) and technological measures (e.g., the use of passwords and encryption). We also require our outside service providers to provide a comparable level of protection to personal information that we may supply to them.
Individual Access
Upon written request, we will inform an individual of the existence, use and disclose of his/her personal information and give him/her reasonable access to that information. We may deny access for legally permissible reasons, such as situations where the information is prohibitively costly to provide, if it contains references to other individuals, or where it cannot be disclosed for legal, security or commercial proprietary reasons. We will advise the individual of any reason for denying an access request.
When an individual successfully demonstrates the inaccuracy or incompleteness of personal information held by us, we will correct or update the information as required.
Disclaimers
a) Essential Home Comfort Ltd is an independent entity and is not affiliated with any government agency. We operate autonomously, providing specialized assistance services tailored to our clients’ needs.
b) Essential Home Comfort Ltd is not classified as a credit repair organization, credit counselor, mortgage broker, mortgage agency, or financial or legal advisor according to federal or provincial law. Although we offer support and information, our services do not replace the expertise of qualified professionals. We strongly recommend that clients seek independent advice from licensed professionals concerning their specific financial, credit, legal, and health-related concerns.
By utilizing our services and visiting our website, you agree to the terms outlined in this privacy policy and acknowledge our disclaimers. PHAL retains the right to update or amend this policy as necessary to ensure compliance with applicable laws and to reflect any changes in our services and business practices.
Filing Inquiries and Complaints
We will investigate all written complaints and respond to all written inquiries. If we find a complaint to be justified, we will take appropriate measures to resolve it.
To file an opt-out request, request access to your information, report incorrect information or file a complaint, please write to:
Essential Home Comfort Ltd.
Via email: info@essentialhomecomfort.ca
Subject Line: PRIVACY INQUIRY – “CLIENT NAME”
