We at Bedford Cheese Shop are committed to respecting your privacy and
recognizing your need for appropriate protection and management of personally
identifiable information you share with us (the phrases "personally identifiable
information" or "personal information" mean any information by which you can be
identified, such as your name, address, telephone number, etc.). The purpose of
this privacy policy is to inform you what personally identifiable information or
personal information we may collect from you when you visit our web site, how we
use such information, and the choices you have regarding our use of, and your
ability to review and correct, the information. This policy applies only to
users accessing our web site from the United States.
As a part of our commitment to your privacy, Bedford Cheese Shop supports and
adheres to the guidelines and practices adopted by the Direct Marketing
Association's "Privacy Promise to American Consumers." We have agreed to provide
customers with notice of their ability to opt out of information rental, sale or
exchange with other marketers; honor customers' requests not to share their
information with other marketers; and honor customers' requests not to receive
mail, telephone or other solicitations from Bedford Cheese Shop.
Collecting Information
In general, you can visit many of our web pages without telling us who you
are or revealing any personal information about yourself. We may track the
Internet domain address from which people visit us and analyze this data for
trends and statistics, but individual users will remain anonymous, unless you
voluntarily tell us who you are.
There may be times (such as when you purchase or order a product) at which we
ask you to provide certain details about yourself, such as your name,
shipping/billing address, telephone number, email address, credit card
information as well as other information. We also maintain a record of your
online product purchases. Whether or not to provide such information is
completely your own choice. But if you choose not to provide the information we
request, you may be unable to purchase products, or access certain services,
offers and content on our web site.
Using Information
We use the personally identifiable information you provide for internal
purposes, such as confirming and tracking your order, subscription or
registration, analyzing trends and statistics, informing you of our new
products, services and offers, and providing you with information from and about
Bedford Cheese Shop. From time to time we might establish a business
relationship with other persons or entities whom we believe trustworthy and whom
we have asked to confirm that their privacy policies are consistent with ours.
In such cases we might share and cross-reference information, including
personally identifiable information about you, to enable such persons or
entities to contact you regarding products and services that may be of interest
to you.
To serve you better, we may combine information you give us online, in our
stores or through our catalogs. We may also combine that information with
publicly available information and information we receive from or
cross-reference with select partners and others. We use that combined
information to enhance and personalize your shopping experience with us, to
communicate with you about our products and events that may be of interest to
you, and for other promotional purposes.
We reserve the right to contract with specific Service Providers (companies
or persons to provide certain services including credit card processing,
shipping, data management, promotional services, etc.) We provide our Service
Providers with the information needed for them to perform these services. We
also ask our Service Providers to confirm that their privacy practices are
consistent with ours.
Although unlikely, in certain instances we may disclose your personally
identifiable information when we have reason to believe that it is necessary to
identify, contact or bring legal action against persons or entities who may be
causing injury to you, to Bedford Cheese Shop or to others. We may also disclose
your personally identifiable information when we believe the law requires
it.
Cookies
Our web site uses "cookies." A cookie is a small amount of data that is sent
to your browser from a web server and stored on your computer's hard drive.
Generally, we use cookies to remind us of who you are, tailor our products and
services to suit your personal interests, to process your order and/or analyze
your visiting patterns. You can generally set your browser to not accept cookies
or to notify you when you are sent a cookie, giving you the chance to decide
whether or not to accept it.
Security
BedfordCheeseShop.com uses sophisticated encryption and authentication tools to
protect the security of your personal information that you share with us.
Unfortunately, however, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed
to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal
information, we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you
transmit to or from our web site, and you do so at your own risk. Once we
receive your transmission, we will do our best to protect its security on our
systems.
We urge you to keep your password in a safe place and not to divulge it to
anyone. Also remember to sign off your account and close your browser window
when you have finished your visit. This is to ensure that others cannot access
your account, especially if you are sharing a computer with someone else or are
using a computer in a public place such as a library or Internet cafe.
Policy Changes
If we decide to change our privacy policy in whole or in part, we will inform
you by posting a notice on our web site. Those changes will go into effect on
the date posted in the notice. The new policy will apply to all current and past
users of our web site and will replace any prior policies that are inconsistent.
This policy was posted in September 2003.