Privacy Statement

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to www.abtechnics.be. This privacy notice explains what we do with your personal data when you visit www.abtechnics.be ("Website") or wish to make a purchase on the Website. It describes how we collect, use and process your personal data, and how we comply with our legal obligations to you in doing so. Your privacy is important to us, and we are committed to protecting and safeguarding your rights.

This Privacy Notice applies to the personal information of our retail customers. If you are not a consumer, please contact us and we will provide you with the applicable Privacy Notice for your situation.

For the purposes of applicable data protection legislation, AB TECHNICS BV, a limited liability company registered under company number 0464.432.436 with its registered office at 2390 Malle, Antwerpsesteenweg 115 (Belgium) whose VAT number is BE0464.432.436 ("we", "our" or "us" or "AB Technics") is the "data controller" of your personal data. This means that we decide why and how your personal data is used and are responsible for its protection. See the end of this notice for our contact and company information.

We may change this Privacy Notice from time to time. Please visit this page regularly as we will post any changes here. Where appropriate, we may also notify you of changes by email. See further the Changes section below.
If you are not satisfied with any aspect of this Privacy Notice, you may have legal rights that we have described below, where applicable.

1. INFORMATION WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU

When you use the Website, we collect and use information about you in connection with the provision of our products and services and customer support. We may collect some or all of the information below to assist us in doing so:

  • information you submit online through the Website, including your name, contact information, etc.
  • information you provide through contact forms on the Website and any correspondence we have with you via email or telephone or through the Get in Touch on the Website;
  • Details about transactions you conduct or orders you place through the Website;
  • additional information you choose to tell us;
  • details about side effects or incidents during the use of our products that you have communicated to us by email, telephone or through the Web chat feature on the Website; and
  • technical information about your visit, including data about your visits to the Website and your navigation on the Website, traffic data, communications data, information about the device you use to access the Website, your Internet Protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet, your login information, browser type and version, time zone setting, types and versions of browser plug-ins, operating system and platform.

We also automatically collect information about how visitors use our Website by using cookies and similar technologies if, when they are not essential to the functioning of the Website, you have given your consent to their use. For more information on how we use cookies and how you can disable them, please see our cookie policy.
Depending on the type of personal data in question and the legal grounds (i.e., the "legal bases") on which we process your personal data, if you refuse to provide us with this data, we may not be able to fulfill our contractual obligations or, in extreme cases, continue our relationship with you.
For details on the legal bases on which we rely to use and process your personal data, see How we use your data.

2. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

2.1. Personal informationThe purposes for which we use your personal data and the legal basis under data protection legislation on which we rely for that purpose are explained below.

2.2. WHEN YOU HAVE GIVEN CONSENTWe rely in certain cases on your consent to send you the following when we invite you to register on the Website for market surveys and related communications and to use your responses to these communications individually, or combined with responses from other individuals, for insight purposes.
We obtain your consent to the use of cookies that are not strictly necessary. For more information, please see our Cookies Policy.
You may withdraw your consent at any time.

2.3. When there is a LEGAL OBLIGATIONWe will use your personal data to comply with our legal obligations, including when the law requires us to

  • to answer or assist the government or police and other criminal investigative agencies;
  • To identify you when you contact us
  • To verify the accuracy of the information we hold about you; and
  • To comply with a request from you regarding the exercise of your rights.

2.4. When it is in your VITAL INTERESTWe will use your personal information to notify you of product safety issues or product recalls.

2.5. WHEN A RIGHTED INTERESTWe may use and process your personal data when it is necessary for us to pursue legitimate interests (either ours, in connection with our business, or those of a third party), except when those interests outweigh your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms, for example, in the following cases:

Processing necessary for providing the Website

  • delivery and design of the Website and to ensure that the content of the Website is presented in the best possible way for you
  • ensure the operation of the Website with strictly necessary cookies (see our Cookie Policy ).

Processing necessary for us to support Website visitors and customers with their inquiries

  • To respond to correspondence you send us and to fulfill requests you make to us regarding our products and services.

Processing necessary for us to respond to changing market conditions and the needs of Website visitors

  • To analyze, evaluate and improve our products and services to make your visit and use of the Website and social media pages more useful and enjoyable (we will generally use data aggregated from many people so that it does not personally identify you);
  • To conduct market research and analysis (or instruct a third party to conduct it on our behalf) so that we can better understand your needs as a customer, but only when we do not rely on your consent (i.e., during any period when the Website does not provide you with an opt-in option for this purpose).

Processing necessary for us to efficiently and effectively carry out the administrative and technical aspects of our business

  • To inform you of changes to our services
  • To administer the Website and for internal operations, including troubleshooting, testing, statistical purposes;
  • To prevent fraud and other criminal activities
  • to verify the accuracy of the information we hold about you and to create a better understanding of you as an account holder or visitor;
  • for network and information security so that we can take measures to protect your data from loss or damage, theft or unauthorized access;
  • To inform you of administrative, legal and business matters;
  • for the purpose of corporate restructuring or reorganization or sale of our business or assets;
  • to enforce or protect our contractual or other legal rights or to institute or defend legal proceedings;
  • To notify you of updates to our terms and policies;
  • for our internal purposes, such as quality control, Web site performance, system administration and to evaluate Web site usage so that we can provide you with better services.

If you are located in the EU, the following applies to you in addition to (and, in case of inconsistencies, above) the other provisions of this paragraph:

  • If the processing of your personal data is based on your consent, the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. You may withdraw your consent at any time (Art. 7(3) GPDR), effective for the future. This does not affect the lawfulness of the processing that took place before you withdrew your consent.
  • If the processing of your personal data is based on a contract between us and you, the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.
  • If the processing of your personal data is based on legal obligations that we must comply with, the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR.
  • If the processing of your personal data is based on our legitimate interests, the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. If you are interested in detailed information about the balancing of your and our interests, please contact us as described in the How to Contact Us section. Insofar as the processing is based on our legitimate interests, you have the right to object to the processing (Art. 21 GDPR).
3. USE OF DEVICE AND SOFTWARE USAGE INFORMATION

We may monitor your use of the Website and record your IP address, operating system and browser type, browser version, previously visited website (referrer URL), screen resolution, operating system and, if applicable, device information (e.g., device type) for system administration purposes.
We collect aggregate statistical data about Website visitors and sales and traffic patterns. This information does not identify users personally, and we do not use this information to build profiles on individual users: it contains only general information about Website users.

4. COOKIES

A cookie (and other technologies such as pixels and beacons) is a small data file placed on your browser or the hardware of your computer or other device to enable a website to recognize you as a user when you return to the website.
We use non-essential cookies when you consent and essential cookies on the website. See our Cookie Policy for more information about the types of cookies and tracking technologies we use on the Website and why, and how to accept and reject them.

5. SHARING YOUR INFORMATION WITH THIRD PARTIES.

We transfer personal data to third parties only when necessary for the provision of our service or when otherwise permitted by law. Within the scope of the purposes stated here, personal data is passed on to service providers involved in the provision of our services. In addition to their legal obligation to comply with all data protection regulations, these service providers are bound by additional contractual data protection requirements. This includes in particular contractual obligations as a processor (in accordance with the requirements of Art. 28 GDPR). In particular, we may share your data with one of the following groups:

  • any of our affiliated entities, where necessary/illegal, and in accordance with data transfer laws;
  • tax, audit or other authorities, when we believe the law or other regulations require us to share this data (for example, because of a request from a tax authority or in connection with an anticipated lawsuit);
  • lawyers who provide us with legal and regulatory advice;
  • outside consultants providing industry insights, market research and technical support;
  • accountants and bookkeepers who prepare and examine financial records, review financial operations and help them become more efficient;
  • IT technical support functions, IT consultants and external analysis service providers who perform testing, research and development on our business technology systems;
  • External market research providers that provide industry insights and assist in product development;
  • third parties for the purposes of credit card clearing, credit reference, order fulfillment, delivery, customer support services and storage services;
  • third party outsourced IT providers with whom we have an appropriate data processing agreement (or similar protection);
6. WHERE WE STORE YOUR INFORMATION

Your personal data may be transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to the third parties described in Sharing your data with third parties.
We want to ensure that your personal data is stored and transferred securely. We will therefore only transfer data outside the EEA where this is in compliance with data protection legislation and the method of transfer provides sufficient safeguards with respect to your data, for example

  • through an intra-group agreement between an AB Technics entity, incorporating current standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission, the Belgian Data Protection Authority or any other competent authority for the transfer of personal data to jurisdictions without adequate data protection laws;
  • by means of a data transfer agreement with a third party, incorporating the current model contractual clauses established by the European Commission, the Belgian Data Protection Authority or another competent authority for the transfer of personal data to jurisdictions without adequate data protection legislation;
  • by transferring your data to a country where the European Commission, the Belgian Data Protection Authority or another competent authority has determined that the level of data protection provided by the legislation of that country is adequate; or
  • When you have consented to the transfer.

Where we transfer your personal data outside the EEA and where the country or territory in question does not maintain adequate data protection standards, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Statement. You may request to see it by contacting us using the contact details below.

7. HOW WE PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION

We care about protecting your information. Therefore, we take appropriate measures to prevent unauthorized access to and misuse of your personal information.
We are committed to taking all reasonable and appropriate steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, loss or unauthorized access. We do this by implementing a range of appropriate technical and organizational measures, including encryption measures and disaster recovery plans.

If you suspect misuse, loss or unauthorized access to your personal data, please let us know immediately by contacting our Data Protection Officer using the details at the end of this notice.
Unfortunately, the transmission of information over the Internet is not completely secure. While we will use our normal procedures and comply with legal obligations to protect your information, we cannot guarantee the security of your information transmitted to the Website and any transmission is at your own risk.

The Website may, from time to time, contain links to and from other websites. If you follow a link to any of those websites, please note that those sites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for those sites or for their privacy policies. Please check those privacy policies before providing your information to those websites.

8. HOW LONG WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION

We will retain your data relating to orders you have placed with us for as long as required by law or otherwise (for example, due to a tax authority request or in connection with an anticipated lawsuit).

If you have contacted us with a complaint or question: we will keep your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to resolve your complaint or question.

The exceptions to the above are when

  • we have carefully considered whether we need to retain your personal data beyond the periods described above in order to possibly bring, institute or defend a legal claim or to comply with a legal or regulatory requirement;
  • we actually initiate or defend a legal action or other proceeding during the period in which we retain your personal data, in which case we will retain your personal data until those proceedings are concluded and no further appeal is possible;
  • you exercise your right to request that we retain your personal data for longer than the retention period specified by us (see further Right to restrict processing below);
  • you exercise your right to have the information erased (if applicable) and we do not need to retain it for any of the reasons permitted or required by law (see further right to erasure below); or
  • in limited cases, a court or regulator requires us to retain your personal data for a longer or shorter period of time.

When it is no longer necessary to retain your data, we will delete the personal data we hold about you from our systems (by erasing or anonymizing that data). After that time, we may retain and retain aggregate data (from which you cannot be identified) for analytical and statistical purposes.

9. YOUR RIGHTS

You have a number of rights in relation to your data under data protection legislation. In connection with certain rights, we may ask you for information to confirm your identity and, if applicable, to assist us in searching for your personal data. Except in rare cases, we will respond to you within one month from either: (i) the date we confirm your identity; or (ii) where we do not need to do so because we already have this information, from the date we receive your request.

9.1. Right to objectWith this right, you may object to the processing of your personal data by us when we do so for any of the following reasons:

  • When we invoke our legitimate interests to process your information;
  • to enable us to perform a task in the public interest or exercise official authority; or
  • For scientific, historical, research or statistical purposes.

Except for the purposes for which we are confident that we can continue to process your personal data, we will temporarily stop processing your personal data in accordance with your objection until we have investigated the matter. If we agree that your objection is justified in accordance with your rights under data protection law, we will permanently stop using your personal data for those purposes. Otherwise, we will provide you with our justification as to why we should continue to use your personal data.

9.2. Right to withdraw consentWhen we have obtained your consent to process your personal data for certain activities, you may withdraw this consent at any time and we will stop using your personal data for that purpose, unless we consider that there is an alternative legal basis that justifies our further processing of your data for this purpose, in which case we will inform you of this condition. If you withdraw your consent, our use of your personal data prior to your withdrawal will still be lawful.

9.3. Right of Access ("Data Subject Access Requests")You may at any time ask us for a copy of the information we hold about you and request that we change, update or delete that information. If we grant you access to the information we hold about you, we will not charge you for doing so, unless permitted by law. If you request further copies of this information from us, we may charge you a reasonable administration fee. If we are permitted by law, we may refuse your request. If we refuse your request, we will always tell you the reasons why.
If you wish to request access to your data, it would assist us in processing your request if you use the heading "Data Subject Access Request" or state this over the phone when you contact us. However, this is not mandatory and we will consider requests even without this mention.

9.4. Right to erasure of dataYou have the right to request that we erase your personal data in certain circumstances. Normally, this right exists when

  • the data are no longer necessary;
  • you have withdrawn your consent for us to use your data and there is no other valid reason to continue;
  • the data were processed unlawfully
  • the data must be deleted to comply with our legal obligations; or
  • you object to the processing of your data and we cannot demonstrate compelling legitimate reasons for our further processing.

We are entitled to refuse to comply with your erasure request only in limited circumstances, and we will always inform you of the reason for doing so.
When we comply with a valid data erasure request, we will take all reasonably practicable steps to erase the data in question.

9.5. Right to restrict processingYou have the right to request that we restrict our processing of your personal data in certain circumstances, for example, if you dispute the accuracy of the personal data we hold about you, if you object to our processing of your personal data for our legitimate interests, or if you require us to retain it in connection with legal proceedings. If we have shared your personal data with third parties, we will notify them of the restricted processing unless it is impossible or disproportionately burdensome to do so. We will of course notify you before we lift any restriction on the processing of your personal data.

We may process your data while the processing is restricted only if we have your consent or if we are legally permitted to do so, for example, for storage purposes, to protect the rights of another individual or company, or in connection with legal proceedings.

9.6. Right to rectificationYou have the right to request us to rectify inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you. If we have shared this personal information with third parties, we will notify them of the rectification unless this is impossible or involves disproportionate effort. You can also request details of the third parties to whom we have provided the incorrect or incomplete personal data. If we believe that it is reasonable for us not to comply with your request, we will explain our reasons for this decision.
You can access and update certain parts of your information by logging into your account on the Website.

9.7. Right to data portabilityIf you wish, you have the right to transfer your personal data between service providers where we rely on your consent or the performance of your contract as the legal basis for the use of that data. In effect, this means that you can transfer the data we hold about you to another third party. To enable you to do this, we will provide you with your data in a commonly used machine-readable format so that you can transfer the data. Alternatively, we may transfer the data directly for you if technically possible.

9.8. Rights in relation to automated decisionsIn certain circumstances, you can challenge a decision made about you based solely on automated processing where the processing is not required by law. You can also ask us to stop making such decisions based solely on automated processing.

9.9. Right to file a complaintYou also have the right to file a complaint with your local supervisory authority, in your case the Belgian Data Protection Authority. You can contact them in the following ways:

  • Phone: +32 (0)2 274 48 00 or +32 (0)2 274 48 35
  • Website: https://www.dataprotectionauthority.be/citizen
  • E-mail: contact@apd-gba.be
  • Address: Printing Press Street 35, 1000 Brussels

9.10. How to exercise your rightsIf you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details under How to contact us. Note that we may keep a record of your communications to help us resolve any issues.

10. CHANGES

We may make changes to this Privacy Notice at any time by posting a copy of the amended notice on the Website or, if applicable, by sending you an email containing that notice. All changes will become effective 7 days from the date of our email or the date we post the amended terms on the Website, whichever is earlier.

11. HOW TO CONTACT US

If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice, including your rights regarding your personal data, please contact us by email at dpo@abtechnics.be or by mail at: Antwerpsesteenweg 115, 2390 Malle (Belgium).

If you wish to contact us with general questions or concerns, please use our "About Us > Contact Us" page or send an e-mail to mail@abtechnics.be or write to us by mail to the above address.

If you contact us by email or post, please use the subject line "Data Protection Question" so that we can refer your question to the appropriate department and address it promptly.

UPDATED June 26, 2023