Privacy of personal information
is an important principle to Handcraft Homes, LLC. We are
committed to collecting, using and disclosing personal information
responsibly and only to the extent necessary for the services
we provide. We strive to be open and transparent regarding
how we handle personal information. This document describes
our privacy policies.
What is Personal Information?
Personal information is information about an identifiable
individual. Personal information may include information
that relates to: an individual’s personal characteristics
(e.g., gender, age, income, home address or phone number,
ethnic background, family status); health (e.g., health
history, health conditions, health services received by
them); or, activities and views (e.g., religion, politics,
opinions expressed by an individual, an opinion or evaluation
of an individual). Personal information is different from
business information (e.g., an individual’s business
address and telephone number). This is not protected by
privacy legislation.
Who We Are
We use a number of contractors that may, in the course of
their duties, have limited access to personal information
we hold. We restrict their access to any personal information
we hold as much as is reasonably possible. We also have
their assurance that they follow appropriate privacy principles.
We Collect Personal Information:
Primary Purposes
Like all homebuilders, we collect, use and disclose personal
information in order to serve our clients.
For our clients, the primary
purposes for collecting personal information are as follows:
employment history, credit history, delivery of; estimates,
contracts, plans, change orders and invoices. Examples of
the type of personal information we collect for those purposes
include the following: name, address, phone number, email
address, social security number, past and present employer
contact information.
For contract staff (e.g., temporary
workers), our primary purposes for collecting personal information
are as follows: securing estimates, confirmation of appropriate
insurance coverage, scheduling contract work, payment of
invoices, IRS reporting. Examples of the type of personal
information we collect for those purposes include the following:
name, address, phone number, fax number, email address,
insurance provider’s contact information, social security
number or employer identification number.
Protecting Personal Information
We understand the importance of protecting personal information.
For that reason, we have taken the following steps:
Paper information
is either under supervision or secured in a locked or
restricted area.
Electronic hardware
is either under supervision or secured in a locked or
restricted area at all times. In addition, passwords are
used on computers. All of our cell phones are digital
as these signals are more difficult to intercept.
Paper information
is transmitted through sealed, addressed envelopes or
boxes by reputable companies.
Electronic information
is transmitted either through a direct line or has identifiers
removed or is encrypted.
Staff are trained
to collect, use and disclose personal information only
as necessary to fulfill their duties and in accordance
with our privacy policy.
External consultants
and agencies with access to personal information must
enter into privacy agreements with us.
Retention
and Destruction of Personal Information
We need to retain personal information for some time to
ensure that we can answer any questions you might have about
the services provided and for our own accountability to
external regulatory bodies. We do not want to keep personal
information too long, in order to protect your privacy.
We keep our client files for about 7 years. Our client and
contact directories are much more difficult to systematically
destroy, so we remove such information when we can if it
does not appear that we will be contacting you again. However,
if you ask, we will remove such contact information right
away. We keep any personal information relating to our general
correspondence with people who are not our clients, newsletters,
seminars and marketing activities for about 12 months after
the newsletter, seminar or marketing activity is over.
We destroy paper files
containing personal information by shredding. We destroy
electronic information by deleting it and, when the hardware
is discarded, we ensure that the hard drive is physically
destroyed. Alternatively, we may send some or all of the
client file to our client.
You Can Look at Your Information
With only a few exceptions, you have the right to see what
personal information we hold about you. Often all you have
to do is ask. We can help you identify what records we might
have about you. We will also try to help you understand
any information you do not understand (e.g., short forms,
technical language, etc.). We will need to confirm your
identity, if we do not know you, before providing you with
this access. We reserve the right to charge a nominal fee
for such requests.
If there is a problem,
we may ask you to put your request in writing. If we cannot
give you access, we will tell you within 30 days if at all
possible and tell you the reason, as best we can, as to
why we cannot give you access.
If you believe there
is a mistake in the information, you have the right to ask
for it to be corrected. This applies to factual information
and not to any professional opinions we may have formed.
We may ask you to provide documentation that our files are
wrong. Where we agree that we made a mistake, we will make
the correction and, where appropriate, notify anyone to
whom we sent this information. If we do not agree that we
have made a mistake, we will agree to include in our file
a brief statement from you on the point and, as appropriate,
we will forward that statement to anyone else who received
the earlier information.
Do You Have a Concern?
Our Information Officer, Wayne Grebe, can be reached at
(804) 556-3337 to address any questions or concerns you
might have.
If you wish to make a
formal complaint about our privacy practices, you may make
it in writing to our Information Officer. He will acknowledge
receipt of your complaint, ensure that it is investigated
promptly and that you are provided with a formal written
decision with reasons.
