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OUR COMMITMENT TO PRIVACY
Royal Pacific Realty Group is committed to maintaining the security,
confidentiality and privacy of your personal information. This Privacy Policy
documents our on-going commitment to you and has been developed in compliance
with the British Columbia Personal Information Protection Act.
SCOPE OF POLICY
This Policy applies to Royal Pacific. This Policy addresses personal information
about identifiable individuals and does not apply to the information collected,
used or disclosed with respect to corporate or commercial entities.
This Policy does not impose any limits on the collection, use or disclosure of
the following information by Royal Pacific:
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your business contact information; and
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certain publicly available information.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Royal Pacific has designated a Privacy Officer who is responsible for
Royal Pacific抯 compliance with this Policy. The Privacy Officer may be
contacted as described below.
PURPOSES
When collecting information, Royal Pacific will state the purpose of collection
and will provide, on request, contact information for the Privacy Officer who
can answer questions about the collection.
Most personal information is collected directly from you through the various
contracts and other documents you complete (e.g. Multiple Listing Contract,
Contract of Purchase and Sale, Property Disclosure Statement), and through
discussions with your REALTOR. Some information may be collected from other
sources such as government departments and agencies (e.g. Land Title Offices,
B.C. Assessment).
Your information may be disclosed to (or accessible by) various Real Estate
Boards in British Columbia and their staff and members, other REALTORs and
their clients, government departments and agencies, financial institutions,
legal advisors, service providers, the British Columbia Real Estate
Association, the Real Estate Council of British Columbia, the Canadian Real
Estate Association and members of the public for the purposes described below.
Not all of your information will be accessible by each of these entities. For
example, once the listing term has ended, the general public will not have
access to your information unless it is otherwise accessible through public
registries such as the Land Title Office or BC Assessment.
Royal Pacific and your REALTOR collect, use and disclose your personal
information for the following purposes:
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Allowing members of Real Estate Boards (including REALTORS and appraisers) to:
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Appraise your property.
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List your property in the Multiple Listing Service?system in order to market
your property. This purpose does not apply if your listing is an exclusive
listing.
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Market your property for sale through any other media (both print and
electronic).
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Help you locate a suitable property to purchase.
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Facilitating the purchase and sale transaction (by cooperating with financial
institutions, legal advisors and government departments and agencies).
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Complying with legal requirements and acting pursuant to legal authorizations.
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Complying with codes of professional conduct and ethics for members of Real
Estate Boards.
The above collections, uses and disclosures are a necessary part of your
relationship with your REALTOR and Royal Pacific.
Other uses:
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Your REALTOR may communicate with you to determine whether you require
additional real estate services.
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Your REALTOR may communicate with you to provide information about other
products or services which may interest you.
You may instruct Royal Pacific to refrain from using or sharing information in
the two ways described above under "other uses" at any time by providing
written notification to Royal Pacific Privacy Officer. Royal Pacific
acknowledges that the sharing of information in the two ways described above is
at your option and you will not be refused services merely because you advised
Royal Pacific to stop using or sharing information in these ways.
When personal information that has been collected is to be used for a purpose
not previously identified, the new purpose shall be identified prior to use and
consent for same shall be obtained from you unless the use is authorized or
required by law.
CONSENT
Royal Pacific will obtain your consent to collect, use or disclose personal
information except where Royal Pacific is authorized or required by law to do
so without consent. For example, Royal Pacific may collect, use or disclose
personal information without your knowledge or consent where:
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the information is publicly available, as defined by statute or regulation;
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Royal Pacific is obtaining legal advice; or
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Royal Pacific reasonably expects that obtaining consent would compromise an
investigation or proceeding.
Other exceptions may apply.
Your consent can be express, implied or given through an authorized
representative such as a lawyer, agent or broker.
Consent may be provided orally, in writing, electronically, through inaction
(such as when you fail to notify Royal Pacific that you do not wish your
personal information collected/used/disclosed for various purposes after you
have received notice of those purposes) or otherwise.
You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal, contractual and other
restrictions, provided that you give reasonable notice of withdrawal of consent
to Royal Pacific. On receipt of notice of withdrawal of consent, Royal Pacific
will inform you of the likely consequences of the withdrawal of consent, which
may include the inability of Royal Pacific to provide certain services for
which that information is necessary.
LIMITS ON COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
Royal Pacific will not collect information indiscriminately and will limit
collection of information to that which is reasonable and necessary to provide
services and which is reasonable and necessary for the purposes consented to by
you. Royal Pacific will also collect information as authorized by law.
LIMITS FOR USING, DISCLOSING AND RETAINING PERSONAL INFORMATION
Your personal information will only be used or disclosed for the purposes set
out above and as authorized by law.
Royal Pacific will keep personal information used to make a decision affecting
you for at least one year after using it to make the decision.
Royal Pacific will destroy, erase or make anonymous documents or other records
containing personal information as soon as it is reasonable to assume that the
original purpose is no longer being served by retention of the information and
retention is no longer necessary for legal or business purposes.
Royal Pacific will take due care when destroying personal information so as to
prevent unauthorized access to the information.
ACCURACY
Royal Pacific will make a reasonable effort to ensure that personal information
it is using or disclosing is accurate and complete.
If you demonstrate the inaccuracy or incompleteness of personal information,
Royal Pacific will amend the information as required. If appropriate, Royal
Pacific will send the amended information to third parties to whom the
information has been disclosed.
When a challenge regarding the accuracy of personal information is not resolved
to your satisfaction, Royal Pacific will annotate the personal information
under its control with a note that the correction was requested but not made.
SAFEGUARDING PERSONAL INFORMATION
Royal Pacific protects the personal information in its custody or control by
making reasonable security arrangements to prevent unauthorized access,
collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification, disposal or similar risks.
Royal Pacific will take reasonable steps, through contractual or other
reasonable means, to ensure that a comparable level of personal information
protection is implemented by the suppliers and agents who assist in providing
services. Some specific safeguards include:
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physical measures such as locked filing cabinets;
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organizational measures such as restricting employee access to files and
databases as appropriate;
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electronic measures such as passwords and firewalls; and
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investigative measures where Royal Pacific has reasonable grounds to believe
that personal information is being inappropriately collected, used or
disclosed.
Note that confidentiality and security are not assured when information is
transmitted through e-mail or other wireless communication.
PROVIDING ACCESS
You have a right to access your personal information held by Royal Pacific.
Upon written request and authentication of your identity, Royal Pacific will
provide you with your personal information under its control, information about
the ways in which your information is being used and a description of the
individuals and organizations to whom that information has been disclosed.
Royal Pacific may charge a reasonable fee for doing so.
Royal Pacific will make the information available within 30 days or provide
written notice where additional time is required to fulfil the request.
In some situations, Royal Pacific may not be able to provide access to certain
personal information (e.g., if disclosure would reveal personal information
about another individual, the personal information is protected by
solicitor/client privilege, the information was collected for the purposes of
an investigation or where disclosure of the information would reveal
confidential commercial information that could harm the competitive position of
Royal Pacific). Royal Pacific may also be prevented by law from providing
access to certain personal information.
Where an access request is refused, Royal Pacific will notify you in writing,
document the reasons for refusal and outline further steps which are available
to you.
Computer, E-mail and Internet Policies
Every employee and Realtor is responsible for using the Company’s information
system and computer system, including e-mail and the internet, properly and in
accordance with Company policies. Any questions about these policies should be
addressed to the General Manager. This policy statement is for all company
personnel including Realtors, support staff employees, and managers.
Computer System
The computers that personnel access for work purposes and the Company e-mail
system are the property of the Company and have been provided for use in
conducting Company business. All communications and information transmitted by,
received from, created or stored in its computer system (whether through word
processing programs, e-mail, the Internet or otherwise) are the property of the
Company.
Access to the Internet is provided for business purposes. However, accommodating
development and awareness needs through personal use of Company-provided
Internet may be appropriate under certain circumstances. Personal use must be
reasonable, i.e. it must not impede or reduce the ability to perform duties,
diminish productivity or effectiveness at work or negatively impact the Company
in any way. Personnel are responsible for any action taken while using the
Internet or e-mail and will be held accountable. Under no circumstances may any
family member, including children or clients, use company computers and other
systems for any purpose.
Software
Personnel are prohibited from making copies of software purchased and owned by
the Company in violation of copyright or trademark laws, or from using software
that does not belong to the Company.
Viruses
Personnel are prohibited from installing applications and/or utilities on the
Company’s computer system (including those downloaded from the internet) and for
which the use has not been expressly authorized by the Company. Personnel are
expressly prohibited from loading or running any executable e-mail attachments,
regardless of their source or content, without having the files reviewed and
approved by the Company. Personnel may not attach, for any reason, personal
computers or laptops to the systems without the consent of the general manager
and with proper installation of security measures.
Any violation of these policies may result in immediate termination of the
personnel with cause and costs of any resultant repairs to the company’s
computer systems, email systems, and software being charged back.
COMPLAINTS
Royal Pacific will, on request, provide information regarding its complaint
procedures.
Any inquiries, complaints or questions regarding this Policy should be directed
in writing to Royal Pacific Privacy Officer.
Contact Information:
Royal Pacific Realty Group
Attention: Privacy Officer, Robert Ning
550 North Tower, 650 West 41st Avenue,
Vancouver, BC, V5Z 2M9
Phone: 604-266-8989
Facsimile: 604-266-8829
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