Privacy Statement

We are always conscious and respectful of your personal privacy. At Merit Finance, we recognize the importance of protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Policy will answer your questions about the kind of information we collect and how we use it. We have also included information on how to prevent your personal information from being collected or shared when you visit our web site, respond to our web-based advertisements, or send us e-mail. We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time without prior notice. If we change or update our Privacy Policy, we will post the revised policy here, and any changes will apply to all information collected by Merit Finance, including previously collected information.

If you have any further questions or comments, contact us using the Contact Us page.

When you send us an e-mail using the Contact Us page, we will retain the content of the e-mail, your e-mail address, and our response in order to handle any follow-up questions you may have. We also use this information to measure how effectively we address your concerns.

Links

This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. We encourage you to read the privacy statements of each site that collects information from you. Merit Finance's Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by Merit Finance on Merit finance.ca.

As an Online Customer, Merit Finance wants you to know how we use the information you provide when you come to us through MeritFinance.ca

We will collect information from our Web site only if you give it to us. We will only use the information you provide to facilitate your requests, process any transactions you might initiate, or update your account information. We understand the importance of protecting children's privacy, especially in an Internet environment. It is our policy never to knowingly collect or maintain information from children by way of the Internet.

Like most Web sites, Meritfinance.ca uses "cookies" (a small text file placed on the user's hard drive) to facilitate site navigation, provide additional security, and allow you to customize your access to our Web site. We do not use "cookies" to collect information for distribution to third parties for any purpose. Nor do we use "cookies" to secure information from other Web sites you may visit.

There is information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically collected which can include: browser type, access times and Internet Protocol (IP) address. We use this information for the operation of our site, to maintain quality of service, and to provide general statistics regarding the use of our site. It is impossible to identify you from this information; we use this information for general reporting purposes only.

Communications with our Internet Web site containing confidential information require that a "secure session" first be established. Such communication between Merit finance and its customers is encoded using the most recent release of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology utilizing encryption of up to 128 bits. This ensures that your data is safe as it is transmitted to us.

We value you as a customer and take your personal privacy seriously. We will inform you of our policies for collecting, using, securing, and sharing nonpublic personal information ("customer information") the first time we do business and every year that you are a Merit finance customer.

Our Privacy Principles:

We do not sell customer information. We do not provide customer information to persons or organizations outside our Merit Finance family of companies who are doing business on our behalf, for their own marketing purposes. We contractually require any person or organization providing products or services to customers on our behalf to protect the confidentiality of Merit Finance customer information.

Information We May Collect

We collect and use information we believe is necessary to administer our business, to advise you about our products and services, and to provide you with customer service. We may collect and maintain several types of customer information needed for these purposes, such as those below.

Types of information we may collect and how we gather it:

From you, (on applications for our products, or on other forms, through telephone or in-person interviews, your agent, and our Customer Response Centre) such as your address and telephone number From your transactions with us, such as your payment history, underwriting, documents.

How We Use Information About You

We use customer information to underwrite your financing, ensure proper billing, service your accounts, and offer you other financial products that we believe may suit your needs.

Information Disclosure

We share information about our transactions (such as payment of premiums) and experiences with you within our Merit Finance family of companies and with the agents to better serve you and to assist in meeting your current product and service needs. We may also disclose customer information about you to persons or organizations inside or outside our family of companies as permitted or required by law, We share customer information as necessary to handle your financing and to protect you against fraud and unauthorized transactions. For example, we might share customer information such as name, address, and coverage information with your insurance company.

Your Choice to Share Information

There are two types of information sharing--information sharing within Merit Finance's family of companies and information sharing outside Merit Finance. We do not sell customer information. We do not provide customer information to persons or organizations outside Merit Finance who are doing business on our behalf, for their own marketing purposes.

Merit Finance Protects Customer Information

We maintain physical, electronic, and organizational safeguards to protect customer information. We continually review our policies and practices, monitor our computer networks, and test the strength of our security in order to help us ensure the safety of customer information.

Thank you for choosing Merit Finance. We value you as a customer and appreciate the opportunity to serve you.