Below, you will find information about which data we collect, why, for what period and how you have control over it.
We ask you to take the time to read our privacy policy thoroughly, together with our general terms and conditions and any other conditions that may apply to our products and services.
1. Who is protected by this privacy policy?
This privacy policy applies to all our customers, i.e. for our consumers and business customers (companies). This privacy policy also applies if you visit our offices and websites, use our apps, or if you are a potential or former customer of EcoWater Systems.
2. What does 'data processing' mean, and who is responsible for it?
We interpret 'data processing' as any processing of personal data. The concept of 'processing' covers the collection, establishment, classification, saving, updating, amending, retrieval, consultation, use, dissemination or making available, combination, archiving, deletion or ultimately destruction of personal data.
Marmon Retail Technologies DMCC, registered & licensed as a freezone company under the rules & regulations of DMCC, whose registered office is at [18th Floor, BB1 Tower, Mazaya Business Avenue, Jumeirah Lake Towers, PO Box-26734, Dubai, UAE, VAT number 1005 3849 7700 003] (hereinafter referred to as “EcoWater”) is responsible for the processing of your personal data.
3. Which data do we process?
We interpret 'personal data' as data relating to an identifiable person (the 'person concerned'), and which (i) you provide to us yourself, (ii) which we allocate to you for the use of our products and services (iii) that we obtain through the use of our products and services, including the use by end-users and (iv) that we have received via third parties. All data that we collect may be combined together to match our offerings and services better to your personal requirements.
We make a distinction between various types of personal data. They enable us to offer our products and services and to improve them where possible:
- User data: this data enables us to identify or contact you. For example: your name, address, telephone number, your language preference, gender, e-mail address, the composition of your household and any other preferences that you make known via social media, campaigns, mobile apps, etc. including your financial data and creditworthiness data;
- Technical data: we need this to be able to ensure proper operation of our products and services. For example: the model and installation date of your water softener;
- Data about your usage: the data that we receive when you use our products and services. For example: when your last maintenance was carried out;
- We do not process any sensitive data such as data about your racial or ethnic origin, political views, sexual preferences or health.
4. What do we use this data for?
We process personal data for different purposes, and in each case, the data processed is that which is necessary to achieve the intended purpose.
We use personal data:
- If we have received permission;
- In the context of the preparation or performance of our contract;
- If EcoWater has a legitimate interest in it, in which case we always endeavour to maintain a balance between that interest and respect for the privacy of the person concerned.
With permission, where this is required, we collect personal data for the following concrete purposes:
In order to process your request for our products and services.
If you visit our website to collect and/or request information about our products and services or if, for example, you register to receive our newsletter, then in any case we will need your address details. All information that we receive about you in this pre-contractual phase is only used to provide you with the information requested, in the way that you want that. When you ultimately decide to become an EcoWater customer, we will ask you to provide some personal details such as your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address, and allocate data to you, such as a customer number and login details.
To offer you the best possible service and inform you about your usage options.
We use your data to set up, maintain and support your products and services and for our administration. For example: we use your data to schedule regular maintenance. By recording certain phone calls with our call centers, we can train our staff and continually improve the service.
To inform you about our (new) products and services.
We can use your data to offer you (in writing, over the phone or electronically) new products, services or special offers that we think you might find interesting. For example: you can receive a reminder e-mail about your maintenance. It is also possible that we will contact you if you are no longer an EcoWater customer, up to 2 years after the end of our relationship. You can opt out of this kind of contact. You can find out how to do that in point 7 of this privacy policy.
To combat fraud.
Depending on the EcoWater products and/or services that you choose, we will also check your credit record. We carry out this check to prevent you taking on financial commitments with us that you cannot afford. We also want to avoid EcoWater invoices not being paid. For this purpose, we may request information from internal and external databases.
To guarantee everyone's security.
In and around our offices and buildings, you will also be filmed by our surveillance cameras. These images will only be stored with a view to the security of goods and persons and to prevent our customers and ourselves becoming victims of abuse, fraud and other offences (we announce the presence of cameras with pictograms that give our contact details).
To monitor our performance.
We can use your data and consumer profile to evaluate our products and services. That includes: requesting feedback about our services (for example via market research), data that we obtain during our maintenance or servicing, our replies to customers' questions, detection of fraud and quality assurance, for example by recording calls at our call centers (this is mentioned at the start of the call).
To meet our statutory obligations.
In a number of cases, we have a statutory obligation to keep certain personal data about you and/or to pass it on to government bodies. This concerns mainly general tax and accounting obligations.
To update studies, tests and statistics, for purposes including trend analysis.
We can use your anonymous, aggregated data to report internally and externally about the use of our services, for example how many maintenance visits were booked in a given period. The data used in this case cannot be linked to a particular individual. The information that we derive from these analyses will be used to evaluate our current product and services portfolio and adapt them to new developments.
5. How do we protect your data?
We do everything in our power to protect your personal data and privacy.
Our staff are trained in handling confidential data correctly. In projects where privacy is a sensitive issue, an assessment is made about security and protection of personal data. To ensure the security of your data, we employ specific staff to monitor compliance with the legislation and our ethical aspirations. We also employ specialist staff to ensure the security of our network, our infrastructure and our IT systems. Moreover, we use all kinds of technical measures to protect your personal data, such as: password-protection, hard disk encryption software, firewalls, anti-virus, intrusion and fault detection software and access controls for our staff. If a data leak should occur with detrimental repercussions for your personal data, then as a customer, you will be personally informed in the circumstances foreseen by law.
The number of employees at our company who have access to your personal information is limited. These employees are only granted access to your personal information where they need that information to carry out their work properly.
Our websites sometimes contain links to third-party sites (social media, trade associations, literature sources, etc.) whose conditions of use do not come within the scope of this privacy policy. Please read their policy on protection of privacy carefully.
6. Do we sell your data to third parties or do we pass on the data?
We neither sell personal data to third parties nor do we pass them on to third parties except:
- To our lawful successors and other companies within the Marmon group.
We pass on your personal data to our possible lawful successors and associated companies (such as subsidiaries or sister companies) for the same purposes as those mentioned in this privacy policy.
- This is necessary for our service provision.
For some aspects of our products and services, we work with third parties or use subcontractors. A good example here are EcoWater certified dealers. The transmission of your data only occurs for the same purposes as at EcoWater itself. We ensure that they, just like us, manage your data securely, respectfully and with due care.
- That is a legal obligation.
We refer in this regard to point 4 of this privacy policy.
- There is a legitimate interest for EcoWater or the third party concerned.
This is only done provided that your interest or your fundamental rights and freedoms do not override that interest.
- You give us your permission for this.
If EcoWater should pass on personal data to third parties in another way (this does not happen at present), then that will be done with explicit communication, providing explanation about the third party, the purposes of the transmission and the processing. Where required by law, we will obtain your express permission. You always have the possibility of objecting.
In some cases, we use anonymous, aggregated data for commercial purposes or for external reporting. This data cannot be linked to a particular individual.
7. How long do we retain your personal data?
EcoWater takes appropriate organisational and technical measures to secure personal data. We are not allowed to keep personal data for longer than is necessary for the purpose for which we collected it. Therefore, the retention period can vary per purpose, and sometimes is laid down by law.
After the expiry of the statutory retention period(s), personal data is anonymised.
Certain data relating to former customers may be used during a 2-year period after the ending of the contract in order to identify the former customer and keep them informed about the activities of EcoWater, unless the customer has indicated that he/she does not agree to this under the procedure described in point 7.
8. What about our websites, cookies and mobile apps?
Besides the data that you share with us voluntarily when using our websites, we also use cookies and other technological resources to collect information.
Websites
You can visit our websites without giving us your personal data. With your permission (where necessary) we can inform you, as a visitor to our websites, about a personalised offering of products and services.
In order to optimize our service provision, we can supplement your customer data with data that we derive from cookies that result from your use of our websites.
Cookies
What are cookies?
We make use of cookies when you open our e-mails and/or when you visit our websites or use our apps. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your own computer or mobile device and which optimize the convenience of using our websites and apps. This enables you to be identified as a visitor to our websites on a future visit, and we can tailor our websites better to your wishes and preferences and make them easier to use. Cookies can also be used to make the content or advertising on the website more personal.
Cookies can be put on the site by EcoWater or by other parties. When we allow third parties to put cookies on our websites, those parties must give a contractual guarantee that the data will be exchanged over a secure connection.
What kind of cookies do we use?
Essential cookies: are necessary to use the website and ensure secure identity control. For example: browsing on the website, ...
Functional cookies: make the functioning of the website easier and ensure a personalised surfing experience by remembering preferences like the language setting.
Analytical cookies: these enable us to analyse our websites. This tells us how many visitors have been on our site, how long they stayed, what they clicked on, which sections are popular, etc. We can also see which pages are not visited frequently, and the problems that visitors have encountered. This way we can continually improve our websites. For this purpose, we also use cookies from third parties like Google Analytics. The information generated about your usage behaviour on our websites is gathered anonymously (by removing the final 8 characters of your IP address) and transferred to Google, where it is stored on servers in the United States. This anonymised data is then analysed by Google on our behalf, and then they send it back to us as aggregated data. Google does not link the IP address to other data recorded by them.
Performance cookies: collect data about visitors in order to improve the website. For example: count visitors, list popular web pages, etc.
Advertising cookies: adapt the advertisements based to your surfing behaviour, your demographic and user data. This means we can make our advertisements more efficient and tailor them to your interests.
The term 'cookies' is also used to refer to similar technologies, such as flash cookies, device fingerprinting, html5-local storage and javascripts.
Management of cookies
If you choose this, you can refuse our cookies on your first visit. After that, you can disable or delete all cookies from your computer or mobile device via your browser settings (usually under 'Help' or 'Internet options'). Each type of browser has its own way to manage cookies. You can find this information on the website of the browser that you use.
Bear in mind that changing the settings may cause the EcoWater websites and other websites to stop working properly.
Other technological resources
In order to measure and improve the success of our advertising campaigns, technologies like web beacons and action tags count the number of visitors on our websites and/or apps as a result of an advert on a third-party site. Certain pages on our websites also work with pixel tags. These pixels see, among other things, which products you look at on our site. Based on that information, we can then display relevant advertisements on Facebook and Google, for example.
Mobile apps
EcoWater offers apps. If you make use of our services, then it may also be necessary to process your personal data. That data is always processed in accordance with this privacy policy.
9. How can I contact EcoWater?
If you want to get in touch with us to amend your privacy settings, for more information about our privacy policy or for complaints about your privacy, including the exercise of your right of access, you can contact us here.
10. Keep informed about changes
The personal data that we collect via various channels is included in the EcoWater databases.
EcoWater may amend this privacy policy from time to time. We invite you to consult the latest version of this policy regularly on www.ecowater.ae/privacy-statement. Naturally, we will inform you via our website or other usual communication channels of any change to the content.
In the event of any contradiction, our general terms and conditions for specific services shall take precedence over this privacy policy.