Privacy Policy

This privacy policy was most recently updated on January 4th, 2008.

This privacy policy governs SoilDirect.com's collection, use and disclosure of non-public personal information ("NPPI"), defined below, received from our current and former customers or collected by us concerning our current and former customers. We reserve the right to modify this privacy policy at any time, so please review it frequently. If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify you here, by email, or by means of a notice on our homepage.

We take the privacy and security of your NPPI seriously and believe it is important that you understand:

What information we collect, and how we collect it;
How we use information we collect;
With whom we share collected information;
What choices you have regarding the use of the information we collect; and
The types of security we use to protect the information we collect.

SoilDirect.com is dedicated to protecting the privacy of our customers. SoilDirect.com's privacy policy and information practices have been independently certified for compliance by the TRUSTe® Privacy Program.1 SoilDirect.com is a licensee of the TRUSTe Privacy Program. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to build users' trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices. This privacy policy covers the site www.SoilDirect.com (the "Web Site"). Because we want to demonstrate our commitment to your privacy, we have agreed to disclose our information practices and have our privacy practices reviewed for compliance by TRUSTe.

What information we collect and how we collect it.

We collect the following categories of NPPI (more particularly defined below): (i) information you provide such as your contact information; (ii) information about your transactions with us or our Providers; and (iii) information about your transactions with a Provider to whom your information is disclosed by us to fulfill a transaction you request. We do not collect credit card information, because all financial transactions DISCUSSION DRAFT are completed through Google™ Checkout. For information about Google's privacy policies applicable to its Google™ Checkout service, see http://www.google.com/privacypolicy.html.

Traffic data

We automatically track and collect traffic data. Traffic data is information that does not identify you personally but may include your IP address, ISP, and other similar types of information that help us administer our site and improve our service offerings. We use cookies and web-beacons to track traffic data and customer transactions for accounting purposes.

No NPPI that identifies a customer or former customer is revealed in the collection and use of traffic data. We do share anonymous traffic and transactional information with our Providers on an aggregate basis for marketing, accounting and site-optimization purposes.

NPPI

NPPI includes: (i) any information you provide to obtain a product or service; (ii) information about you resulting from any transaction involving a financial product or service; or (iii) information that we otherwise obtain about you in connection with providing a product or service that you request. NPPI does not include information that is collected anonymously or for the purpose of tracking movement on our website. In order for you to access many of the products and services offered through this site, you will be required to provide us with NPPI such as:

Name;
Street or postal address;
Delivery address (if different);
E-mail address;
Phone number.

This information is used to identify you, complete your requests for products or services, facilitate requests for other products or services, and for customer service fulfillment.

Categories of information we disclose

SoilDirect.com may disclose the NPPI we collect about you, described above, to our Providers or non-affiliated third-parties, as described below, and as otherwise permitted by law:

To Providers in order to fulfill or respond to your request for products or services; and
To affiliates and service providers who perform professional services for us, such as demographic analysis for marketing purposes and accounting.

SoilDirect.com does not sell, rent or otherwise disclose your NPPI to third-parties except as explained in this privacy policy and as permitted by law.

Why we need your e-mail address

We use your e-mail address to:

Confirm your identity;
Send you information on the status of your transaction;
Contact you if we need your assistance to complete the transaction;
Send you newsletters, and other customer-related material as permitted by law.

SoilDirect.com has a zero tolerance policy for e-mail abuse. If you receive unsolicited e-mails from SoilDirect.com please report it to us at privacy@SoilDirect.com. We are not responsible for communications you may receive from non-affiliated third-parties. We will never ask you to provide NPPI in an e-mail. DO NOT RESPOND to any e-mail that appears to be from us requesting NPPI. Contact us immediately at (888) 688-7645 or by e-mail at privacy@SoilDirect.com.

We do not store e-mail addresses from correspondence sent to us. If you contact us by e-mail we will respond by replying to your email. SoilDirect.com will not use or store your email address in our database from such correspondence.

What choices you have regarding the use of your information

E-mail correspondence. You may opt-out of e-mails in one of two ways:

You may "uncheck" the box next to the offer on the on-line form you complete; or
Click on the "unsubscribe" hyperlink in the e-mail you receive.

When you unsubscribe, you will receive an e-mail confirming your decision to opt-out. Confirmation messages. You may not opt-out of these e-mail messages. They are designed to confirm your identity and your decision to enter into a transaction. Confirmation e-mail messages often contain important instructions about your transaction. If you do not wish to receive this confirmation e-mail, do not sign up for services or products on this Web Site.

Your access to identifying NPPI

If you want to change or delete your identifying NPPI, including your e-mail address, or if you no longer are interested in a service found on this Web Site, you may correct, update, delete or deactivate your identifying NPPI by contacting us at privacy@SoilDirect.com. Information entered on the SoilDirect.com Web Site will be automatically updated each time you apply for a new or different service.

Reserved Disclosure Rights

SoilDirect.com reserves the right to disclose your NPPI, including your e-mail address without your consent:

To comply with Federal, State, or local laws, rules and other applicable legal requirements;
To comply with a properly authorized civil, criminal, or regulatory investigation, or subpoena or summons by Federal, State, or local authorities;
To respond to judicial process or government regulatory authorities having jurisdiction for examination, compliance, other purposes as authorized by law;
To our service providers to verify the integrity of the information collected; or
To our affiliated business partners for accounting purposes.

In addition, in order to accommodate changes in our business, we may sell all or a portion of SoilDirect.com, including the information collected through this Web Site. If SoilDirect.com or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, customer information will be one of the assets transferred to the acquirer.

Important note regarding non-U.S. users and U.S. law

The laws and regulations of different countries and states impose different (and even conflicting) requirements on data protections and the use of the Internet. SoilDirect.com is located in California, in the United States of America, as are the servers that make this Web Site available worldwide. The laws of the State of California and the United States of America govern all matters relating to this Web Site. If you provide information while using this Web Site, you will be deemed to have authorized the transfer of your information to our servers in California.

Children

We do not knowingly solicit information from children or send them requests for information. Although there are links to other sites that may offer services to persons under the age of 18, SoilDirect.com does not offer any services to persons under the age of 18.

This privacy policy applies to www.SoilDirect.com

This privacy policy applies only to the Web Site (http://www.SoilDirect.com) and the users of the Web Site. It does not apply to any other web site, whether it is a site that you may link to or a site that may link to this Web Site. SoilDirect.com is not responsible for the privacy practices on any other site or of any other entity or person. We encourage you to learn about the privacy policies of any site you visit and the companies that operate them.

Privacy policies and non-affiliated third-parties

Because this privacy policy applies only to the SoilDirect.com Web Site, it may be different than the privacy policies of the non-affiliated third-parties to whom your NPPI is disclosed to process the product or service you request or authorize. SoilDirect.com urges you to review the privacy policies of every website you visit where you are required to disclose your NPPI to obtain a product or service.

Your use of this web site

By using this Web Site, you represent to us that you are an adult under the laws of the jurisdiction where you reside and that you have reviewed the terms of this Privacy Policy and the Terms and Conditions posted on this site. Do not use this Web Site or disclose any NPPI if the terms of this privacy policy are not acceptable to you or if you do not agree to all provisions of our Terms and Conditions.

Protect and verify your identifying NPPI

We urge you to take adequate precautions to protect your identifying NPPI, both on and off the Internet. (To learn more go to: http://onguardonline.gov/index.html).

Contact us

If you have questions or concerns regarding this policy, you should first contact our customer service department by telephone at (888) 688-7645 or by e-mail at privacy@SoilDirect.com, or by mail addressed to:

SoilDirect.com
ATTN: Customer Service
8209 Foothill Blvd. Suite A250
Los Angeles, California 91040-1408

If you do not receive acknowledgment of your inquiry or your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed, you should then contact TRUSTe at http://www.truste.org/consumers/watchdog_complaint.php. TRUSTe will then serve as a liaison with the Web Site to resolve your concerns.

Security

SoilDirect.com is a InstantSSL DV secured website and uses a Comodo Group SSL Certificate for encryption. Customer data is securely transmitted by SoilDirect.com to non-affiliated third-parties as permitted by this privacy policy or by law and to Providers through a combination of encryption techniques and other privacy protection measures. SoilDirect.com also maintains and enforces strict internal policies to protect NPPI from unauthorized access by employees or third-parties.

Terms Used in This Statement

Cookies

SoilDirect.com uses cookies, or small text files maintained by your web browser, to enhance your interaction with the Web Site. Some cookies are stored on your hard drive. You may reject or refuse cookies and still visit our Web Site. If you reject cookies, however, you may not be able to access all of the services on our Web Site.

Some of the companies that offer products or services via our Web Site, and some of the companies that send visitors to our Web Site, pass cookies to your computer. Please be aware that we have no control over cookies passed to you from other companies' sites.

If you request information or purchase a product or service, you will be requested to enter NPPI on our Web Site. Selected NPPI is linked to the cookie stored on your computer so it will be easier for you to complete a transaction on your next visit to our web site. If you complete another transaction, you may have to re-enter selected NPPI which is not linked to cookies stored on your computer.

Encryption

SoilDirect.com uses encryption to secure selected NPPI. Encryption is a way to scramble data to make it unreadable to anyone other than the intended recipient. If it is intercepted by a third-party while traveling over a network, it cannot be read. Only the persons sending and receiving the encrypted data have a key to unscramble the data and make it readable. Encryption provides privacy for email, discussion group postings, and other communications as they move over networks. SoilDirect.com uses industry standard SSL, AES and RSA encryption.

Secure Sockets Layer

Secure Sockets Layer ("SSL") is a cryptographic protocol that provides secure communications on the Internet. SSL is the industry standard method for protecting Web Site communications by encrypting information, thus making it unreadable to anyone except the holders of the keys used to read the information. SoilDirect.com uses the SSL protocol to capture selected NPPI via the Internet.

SSL Certificate

A SSL Certificate binds an entity to a pair of electronic keys that can be used to encrypt and sign digital information. A SSL Certificate makes it possible for you to verify that we have the right to use a given key, helping to prevent others from using phony keys to impersonate us. For more information about our certificate, click here.

Third Party Data Sources

We may use third-parties to verify the integrity of selected NPPI you provide so we can confirm your identity.

Web-beacons

A web beacon is a tracking marker that is placed within a web page or in an e-mail message. Web beacons are invisible to your eye and are used to monitor a computer which is accessing a particular web page or e-mail message and to transfer the data to a server. SoilDirect.com uses web beacons to:

Count website visits to specific areas at the SoilDirect.com Web Site;
Track and account for transactional information on the websites of non-affiliated third-parties or service providers;
Collect aggregate transactional data for accounting purposes;
Track statistics about:
- The IP address of the computer that fetched the web beacon;
- The URL of the page on which the web beacon is located;
- The URL of the web beacon;
- The time the item containing the web beacon was viewed;
- The type of browser that fetched the item containing the web beacon;
- A previously set cookie value.

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