Privacy Policy

Veterinary Purchasing Company Limited and its divisions, affiliates and subsidiaries (hereinafter “VPCL“) respects the privacy and the integrity of any information that you provide in the use of our Web sites and services. This Privacy Policy explains our policy regarding the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information.

This Privacy Policy will be continuously assessed against new technologies, business practices and our users’ needs. As we update, expand and diversify our products and services, this Privacy Policy may evolve. Please check this Privacy Policy from time to time for updates by checking the date of the “Last Update” at the top of this document. If we make any material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you here. A link to our Privacy Policy will be provided at the bottom of each web page on our Web sites. You acknowledge and agree that your access of our Web sites and your use of our services following any posted changes to the Privacy Policy indicate your acceptance of such changes.

Application of this policy

At VPCL, we are committed to protecting the privacy of our users, which is why we do not sell or rent any personal information or personally identifiable information regarding our users to any third party. We hope this Privacy Policy will answer your questions regarding how we treat personal information gathered from visitors to our Web sites and users of our services.

What is personal information

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, personal information means information that can be used to identify and contact you, specifically your name, address, e-mail address, country of residence, as well as other information when such information is combined with your personal information. Personal information does not include “aggregate” information, which is data we collect about the use of our site and our services. Our privacy policy does not restrict or limit our collection and use of aggregate information.

Collection of personal information

In order to use certain features of our services you must first complete a registration process and establish an account (“Account”). During registration for your Account you will be required to provide basic information such as your company name, name, address and email address and establish a password. VPCL will retain this information and associate it with your Account. In addition, to place an order for services, VPCL will require that you provide payment information such as credit card numbers and billing addresses and VPCL will also acquire your IP address. Credit card information, including the card number, expiry date and security code, is securely collected by us and passed directly to payment processors over a secure socket layer (see the section entitled ”Bambora” below).

Use of your personal information

You acknowledge that VPCL may use personal information that you voluntarily disclose to us to:

  • Provide you with information about new products, services, newsletters, informative e-mails, and research on future product ideas or improvements;
  • Assist us in creating or providing content that is relevant to you;
  • Provide you with special offers that may be of interest to you and to improve your experience on our Web sites or with our services;
  • Assist us in creating better services to meet your needs;
  • Allow you to purchase and download information, obtain access to services or otherwise engage in activities you select;
  • Provide you with technical support;
  • Help you quickly find software, services or product information important to you;
  • Send transaction-related communications such as welcome letters, and product/service order confirmations. VPCL may also send you surveys or marketing communications to inform you of new products or services or other information that may be of interest; and
  • Reports on clinic consumption of products.

You may always choose not to provide personal information, but if you so choose, our products and services may not be available to you. You agree that you are under no obligation to provide us with this information and can access many aspects of our Web sites without providing us any personal information.

While using the service and Website, you may have opportunities to post reviews or other personal information in public forums at your own discretion. Please understand that when you post such information, it is made public and is not subject to this policy.

You should exercise caution when deciding to disclose any personal information in a publically available forum such as the Web site and agree to indemnify VPCL for any damages or claims resulting from any of your postings. VPCL is not obligated to monitor postings and at its discretion may remove any content submitted.

Disclosure of your personal information

Except as otherwise disclosed to you, VPCL will not sell or rent your personal information to any other party and will only use and disclose your personal information for the purposes for which it was collected as described in this Privacy Policy. However, you agree that VPCL may disclose your personal information in the circumstances set out below:

  • VPCL may disclose your personal information with your prior consent;
  • VPCL may be required by law to disclose personal information without your consent in the event of emergency situations or when required by government or other legal authority;
  • VPCL may also disclose personal information to third parties in connection with a corporate re-organization, merger or amalgamation, or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, provided that, where appropriate, any party to whom the information is disclosed is bound by agreements or obligations, and required to use or disclose your personal information in a manner consistent with the use and disclosure provisions of this Privacy Policy, unless you consent otherwise; or
  • VPCL may share your personal information with service providers who perform services on our behalf. For example, we may hire other companies to handle the processing of payments, collect debts, to provide data storage, to host websites, to fulfill orders, to assist in direct marketing, to conduct audits, etc. Those companies will be permitted to obtain only the personal information they need to provide the service. Each company is bound by agreement or obligations with VPCL to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices in order to use and disclose your personal information in a manner consistent with the use and disclosure provisions of this Privacy Policy, unless you consent otherwise.

How long we keep Personal Information

VPCL maintains information about you for as long as we provide service to you, and longer for related business activities. After information is no longer necessary for our business purposes, we destroy the information unless there is an outstanding request or order to preserve the information.

Safeguards we have in place

VPCL stores and process your personal information on our computers principally in Canada. VPCL employs reasonable managerial and technical measures to ensure that your personal information is secure. In addition, our dedicated team of information technology professionals works to maintain data accuracy and prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information. Unfortunately, no security system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Accordingly, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information and cannot assume liability for improper access to it. The Internet is not a secure medium and you acknowledge and agree that the privacy of your e-mail communication and personal information can never be guaranteed as any e-mail communication may be lost, intercepted or altered. By using our Web sites, or providing personal information to us through any means, you agree that we can communicate with you electronically regarding security, privacy, and administrative issues relating to your use of our Web sites and our services.

Safeguards we have in place

This Web site and Service is not intended for use by children, especially those under age 13. No one under age 13 is allowed to register for the Service or provide any personally identifiable information or use our social, community and public discussion areas, photo and video galleries, bulletin boards, forums, chats, blogs, personal/job search and other classified ads, and elsewhere. Minors between the ages of 13 and 17, inclusive, must get the permission of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s) before making purchases, including subscriptions, on this Service.

Access to your personal information

You are responsible for updating and maintaining the truth and accuracy of the personal information you provide to us relating to your Account. If you want to update the personal information, you have provided to us, you should do so by emailing our Privacy Administrator (see address information below).

You can ask to see your personal information. If you want to review, verify or correct your personal information, please contact our Privacy Administrator. Please note that any such communication must be in writing. Generally, your information is kept at our corporate offices in St Marys, Ontario, Canada (see address information below).You are responsible for updating and maintaining the truth and accuracy of the personal information you provide to us relating to your Account. If you want to update the personal information, you have provided to us, you should do so by emailing our Privacy Administrator (see address information below).

When requesting access to your personal information, please note that we may request specific information from you to enable us to confirm your identity and right to access, as well as to search for and provide you with the personal information that we hold about you. We may charge you a fee to access your personal information; however, we will advise you of any fee in advance. If you require assistance in preparing your request, please contact the office of our Privacy Administrator.

Your right to access the personal information that we hold about you is not absolute. There are instances where applicable law or regulatory requirements allow or require us to refuse to provide some or all of the personal information that we hold about you. In addition, the personal information may have been destroyed, erased or made anonymous in accordance with our record retention obligations and practices.

In the event that we cannot provide you with access to your personal information, we will endeavor to inform you of the reasons why, subject to any legal or regulatory restrictions.

Access to your personal information

You acknowledge and agree that from time to time VPCL, its service providers and business partners may collect non-personal information from your use of our Web site and services such as server log files, environmental variables (such as MAC address, computer type (Windows or Macintosh), screen resolution, OS version, Internet browser, and Internet browser version) and from scanning navigational data to collect non-personal information about our users in order to help us deliver better service and user experience. Such non-personal information could include the IP addresses or areas of site being clicked on most frequently. VPCL and our service providers (including ad servers, outbound email vendors, affiliate vendors and search engine advertising agencies, and providers of web analytics tools) and business partners may also use “cookies” as well as so-called “pixel tags,” “web beacons,” “clear GIFs” and other similar technologies to help us deliver better service and user experience and to facilitate your ongoing access to and use of our services. Cookies are files saved to your computers through your Web browser to enable websites or service providers systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information. VPCL, like many other Web services, uses cookies to understand and save your preferences for future visits and to compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction, so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future. If you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, there is a simple procedure in most browsers that allows you to automatically decline cookies, or to be given the choice of declining or accepting the transfer of a particular cookie, or cookies from a particular website, to your computer. If you choose to reject all cookies, you may not be able to access the services. To learn more about cookies, please visit http://www.allaboutcookies.org/. You may find more information about opting out of most third-party service cookies at www.networkadvertising.org or other related sites.

BAMBORA

VPCL uses Bambora (http://bambora.com) as the payment processor for our services. You acknowledge and agree that VPCL may disclose personal information to Bambora such as your name and email address so that Bambora may contact you directly for personal information such as credit card information.

You acknowledge and agree that VPCL makes no representation, warranty, covenant, or claim regarding, and VPCL expressly disclaims and denies any responsibility or liability for, directly or indirectly, the privacy practices in regard to any personal information that we disclose on your behalf or you provide to Bambora directly or any other party in relation to purchasing a product or service from our Web sites.

You acknowledge and agree that our terms and policies do not govern any other party.

You acknowledge our recommendation to review the applicable privacy and data gathering practices, of any third party to which you provide personal information.

Interpretation of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy does not create or confer upon any individual any rights, or impose upon VPCL any obligations, in addition to any rights or obligations imposed by Canada’s applicable federal and provincial privacy laws. Should there be any inconsistency between this Privacy Policy and Canada’s applicable federal and provincial privacy laws, this Privacy Policy will be interpreted to comply with the applicable privacy laws.

Any services provided by VPCL is controlled and operated by us from Canada with servers in the cloud, and we do not intend that our services subject us to the laws or jurisdiction of any state, country or territory other than that of Canada. We do not represent or warrant that the services, or any part of the services, are appropriate or available for use in any particular jurisdiction. Those who choose to access the services do so on their own initiative and at their own risk, and are responsible for complying with all local laws, rules and regulations. We may limit the services’ availability, in whole or in part, to any person, geographic area or jurisdiction we choose, at any time and in our sole discretion.

Inquiries or Concerns?

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or have any concerns about how we manage your personal information, please contact our Privacy Administrator by telephone, in writing or by email. We will endeavor to answer your questions and advise you of any steps taken to address the issues raised by you. If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may be entitled to make a written submission to the Privacy Commissioner in your jurisdiction.

Privacy Administrator

We have appointed a Privacy Administrator to oversee compliance with this Privacy Policy.

  • 485 Queen Street West, PO Box 1150
    St. Marys, Ontario N4X 1B7