Version Date: February 6, 2017

This privacy policy applies to the self-service business information services and products (the "Services") that are offered online to small businesses by the Business Information Services Group of Experian Information Solutions, Inc., and its affiliates and vendors ("Experian"). It does not apply to other websites, services, products or applications offered through other channels operated by Experian or by third parties whose names or links may be included on other Experian websites. By using the Site (as defined below), you agree to the terms of this privacy policy. If you do not agree to the terms of this privacy policy, please do not use the Site.

Information Collection and Use

In registering for and using the Experian online self-services websites, including but not limited to SmartBusinessReports.com, sbcr.experian.com, experian.com/businesscreditreport, businesscreditfacts.com, and contractorcheck.com, (collectively, the "Site") Experian will collect various contact, identifying and billing information from you. The type of information that may be collected, and the typical purpose for which it may be used, includes:

  • Contact information, such as your name, company name, address, phone number and email address, which is used for authentication, billing and communication purposes. We may share this information with Experian affiliates, vendors and service providers in order to manage the Site and perform the Services;
  • Type of Services purchased, when Services were purchased and orders fulfilled, information about business reports purchased;
  • Information about your internet connection, the equipment you use to access our Site, IP connections, and usage details such as the dates and times you entered our Site and the time you left our Site;
  • Business identifying information provided by a third party; Internet tracking information associated with linking in from other websites and clicking on links provided on the Site connecting to other websites;
  • Information for billing purposes, including a credit card number, is collected and used to process online purchase transactions; and
  • When registering for Services, Experian will request your name, company name, company telephone number and email address. Other types of personal identification information, such as Social Security number, Federal Tax ID or Driver's License number, are not collected on this Site.

Experian will not willfully disclose this information to a third party or use it for any other purpose except as required for: collection purposes for accounts in collection status; in connection with an audit of our systems; pursuant to a legal proceeding such as a subpoena; or as otherwise described herein. If you need to update your information please contact the Help Desk.

Experian may also disclose your information:

  • To new or additional vendors for Services offered or for website management purposes;
  • To a buyer, including a potential buyer, or other successor in the event of a merger, joint venture, partnership, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of Experian's assets, whether as a going concern or otherwise in which information about you and your use of the Site is among the assets transferred; or
  • For any other purpose disclosed by Experian at the time you provided the information.

Information Sharing
When you become a registered user of these Services, you agree to the use of your information as described herein. Once you have registered for this Site we will retain your information indefinitely. Experian may share your information with affiliates and vendors who help manage and improve the Site and the Services offered. You cannot opt-out from sharing of information with the affiliates or vendors.

Communications from Experian Using the Information, Opt-Out
We will send you email communications periodically, even if you are not actively using the Services, unless you have opted-out, as described below. Experian will send you email communications for one or more of the following purposes:

(1) Regarding your account; in response to communications from you; regarding Services you have ordered; news and information about Experian services or special offers available on the Site. You may not opt-out of receiving such communications.

(2) Offers and promotions from Experian and Experian affiliates. If you prefer not to receive emails regarding these offers and promotions please unsubscribe via the unsubscribe link in contained in the email, or contact the Help Desk and ask to be unsubscribed from offer and promotion emails.

(3) Marketing emails with offers from third parties that Experian believes may be of interest to business owners or managers. If you have opted-in to receive these emails and want to opt-out please unsubscribe via the unsubscribe link contained in the email, or contact the Help Desk and ask to be unsubscribed from third party offer and promotion emails.

Security
We restrict access to the information you provide to Experian, including any nonpublic personal information, about you to those employees who need to know that information to provide the Services. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect the information you provide to Experian for your registration and use of the Services. When ordering online, we do not cache, or save, your personal identification information if you skip to another page before you register. Experian employs a Transport Layer Security (TLS) connection that provides an encrypted connection between your computer and Experian. Personal or secure information is encrypted during transmission and is stored on a secure server. Credit card numbers are encrypted when transmitted and remain encrypted when stored (Experian is in compliance with the PCI Data Security Standard).

The safety and security of your information also depends on you. You established a password for your access to certain parts of the Site and you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask that you do not share your password with anyone.

Transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best, as described herein, to protect your information, Experian cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted to our Site. Experian is not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Site.

Web Logs and Cookies
Web log information is automatically gathered every time you visit our Site by the computer that hosts our Site (called a "webserver"). The webserver automatically records non-personal information, such as the date and time you visited our Site, the pages you visited, the website you came from, the type of browser you are using (e.g. Internet Explorer), and the type of operating system you are using (e.g. Windows 7).

Each time you log on, our server software sets a unique session ID known as a "cookie." A cookie contains the ID of the backend session that you are interacting with each time you make a new connection to the webserver. It is passed back to the server for your subsequent activity, user ID, and criteria set information. The cookies are intended to save you time by allowing you to return to pages previously viewed. They are temporary and will be automatically deleted at the end of each session.

Appropriate Business Use
These Services are not intended for children and all individuals who register and use these services should be 18 years of age or older.

Privacy Policy Changes
Experian reserves the right to change this privacy policy at any time. Therefore, we encourage you to review this privacy policy from time to time to review any changes in our information use practices. If we make material changes to how we treat our user's information we will notify you by the email to the primary email address you entered into your account and by posting a notice on the log-in page or Site home page.

For additional Experian privacy policies please refer to https://www.experian.com/privacy/prod_serv_policy.html.