I. Protecting Your Privacy
Protecting Your Privacy
At V&C, we understand the importance of protecting your privacy and are committed to safeguarding your personal data, treating it as our own.
If you have any questions regarding our privacy policy, please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
Under applicable law, particularly Regulation [EU] 2016/679 (also known as the GDPR), you have the right to be informed when your personal data is processed (collected, used, stored) by any organization. You also have the right to know the details and purpose of that processing.
This Privacy Notice outlines how we handle the personal data of visitors to our website, www.vcgroup.mt. As the data controller for any personal data processed through our website and in the provision of our services, we guarantee that we will only use and disclose your personal data in accordance with the policies set out here.
II. Information collected by the Website Provider
The majority of the personal information which the Website Provider may collect about each user through this website is only provided by the User on his own volition.
Such personal information may be requested by the Website Provider when directing the user to fill in a form or field, as the case may be (an example may be when the user is being asked to to fill in any other form with questions and comments or any other form or when downloading applications or any kind of information through or from the Website). When emails are sent to the Webiste Provider, personal data will be processed depending on what is demanded or provided via email.
Information collected from users ,may be but is not limited to, the following:
1. Name and Surname;
2. Contact Details;
a. Email address
b. Telephone Number;
The user may provide some additional information to the Website Provider through website access, such as logs recorded through cookies. Please refer to the Cookie Policy for more details.
III. How & Why we use user information
We utilize user information for various purposes, and the subsequent usage depends on the type of information and the intended purpose for which it was collected.
1. User contact history with the Website Provider
What has been consensually subscribed to and/or provided through our various modes of communication such as by way of emails, forms and/or any other channel of communication.
2. User device information (phone or laptop) through which the Website is accessed:
Information about the device (such as phone or laptop) used by the user to access our website will be collected by the Website Provider. When browsing our website or using our app, users may choose to provide us with personal information such as their IP address, device type, location data (if shared), and how they use our website and app.
Providing this personal information is voluntary, but without it, users may not be able to access all of the services we offer and may not receive the best possible customer experience.
The Website Provider may also anonymize and aggregate personal information for various purposes, such as testing IT systems, research, data analysis, improving the website and app, and developing new products and services. This anonymized information may be shared with third parties, but it cannot be used to identify individual users.
The Legal Grounds for Processing
The Website Provider relies on legal grounds for processing user personal data, as required by applicable data protection laws, in some of the ways described above without obtaining user consent.
This includes situations where it is necessary to use the information to perform a contract with the user or to take steps at the user’s request before entering into a contract, such as processing an order or providing customer-care and support services.
In addition, there are circumstances where the Website Provider has a legitimate interest to use the user’s data, while ensuring that proper care is taken in relation to the user’s rights and interests. These include:
- informing the user about any changes to the website or the terms of the Privacy Notice;
- organizing databases efficiently and understanding how clients may make purchases;
- conducting research and analysis of user data (including purchase information) to better understand clients and their interactions with the Website Provider;
- improving and securing the website (for example, for statistical, testing, and analytical purposes and troubleshooting).
Retention Periods
• The Website Provider will hold on to your information for no longer than is necessary, and this, according to the purpose/s (or compatible purposes) for which the data was collected in the first place.
• The Website Provider may also keep hold of some user information if it becomes necessary or required to meet legal or regulatory requirements, resolve disputes, prevent fraud and abuse, or enforce the Website Provider’s terms and conditions.
• Kindly treat the following as guidelines:
– The Website Provider will preserve user personal data throughout the period within which the user/s’ account is kept active (you have an account) or until such time as you ask us to stop communications with you, unless personal data is to be kept for a longer period;
– personal data may be preserved for a longer period, in the instance that legal or statutory requirements would require so; or in the instance that any legal dispute may arise.
IV. Minors/ Persons under the age of eighteen
If you are under the age of 18, kindly seek permission from your parent or guardian before providing any personal information to the Website Provider.
In such cases, we may need to process personal data related to parents or guardians and may also require verification documentation to confirm that consent has been given or authorized by the parent or guardian with parental responsibility.
V. Users Sharing information
The Website Provider assures that they will not sell any personal data, including name, address, and email address, to any third party. Their goal is to gain the trust and confidence of users.
• The Website Provider will generally not disclose personal data without consent, except for legal obligations, administration of justice, fulfilling requests, protecting interests, safeguarding websites, or in the event of corporate changes.
• When sharing data, the Website Provider ensures that other entities use the data only for the intended purpose to prevent surprises for users.
• The Website Provider may share aggregated and anonymized information and analytics about their customers with third parties, ensuring that it does not identify individuals.
• If the Website Provider has to share data with entities outside the European Economic Area (EEA), they will do so in compliance with GDPR requirements.
VI. Adverts
To keep you informed about our activities and make it easier for you to discover our products, we engage in online advertising that utilizes targeted ads. These ads may appear on other websites and apps that provide digital marketing services. To enable this advertising, we use various technologies such as ad tags, cookies, mobile identifiers, and pixels, and we may also use specific services provided by social networks such as Facebook’s Custom Audience service.
The ads you see will be based on information we have about you, such as your search history and the content you have viewed on our website, as well as on previous ads or banners you have clicked on.
VII. User Rights
The website provides users with several rights related to their personal information.
- Users have the right to be informed about how their personal information is being used, which is done through the Privacy Policy kept as up-to-date as possible by the website provider.
- Users also have the right to access the personal information that the website provider holds about them. To process this request, the website provider will ask users to send proof of identity to ensure that they are releasing personal data to the right person. The website provider will carry out its best efforts to process requests within one or two months, depending on complexity. Users can receive a copy of their personal data in electronic format or hard copy.
If the website provider considers the frequency of requests to be unreasonable, it may refuse to comply with the request. In such circumstances, if the user disagrees, they can complain to the data protection authority.
- Users have the right to request the correction of inaccurate personal information held by the website provider. Feedback is appreciated from users to ensure that the records are accurate and up-to-date. If a user believes that the information held about them is inaccurate or incomplete, they should ask the website provider to correct it.
- The Website Provider acknowledges the right of the user/s to request the deletion or cessation of processing or collecting their personal data. However, this right is not absolute, and the Website Provider may have justifiable reasons to retain certain personal data. For instance, they may be required by law to keep some personal data for VAT reporting purposes or in relation to the exercise or defence of legal claims.
- When the user/s requests the deletion of their personal data, the Website Provider assumes that they do not wish to receive any communication from them. Therefore, they will retain only the necessary personal data for suppression purposes, ensuring that the user/s do not receive any special offers in the future.
Apart from the aforementioned reasons, the Website Provider will always comply with the user/s’ requests promptly. They will also make their best effort to notify any third parties with whom the personal data was shared about the user/s’ request, so they can comply as well.
- When the user/s requests the deletion of their personal data, the Website Provider assumes that they do not wish to receive any communication from them. Therefore, they will retain only the necessary personal data for suppression purposes, ensuring that the user/s do not receive any special offers in the future.
- Users have the right to object to direct marketing messages
- Users have the right to object to certain processing based on legitimate interest.
- As a user of the website, the user holds the right to object to the Website Provider’s use of their personal information. This includes instances where the Website Provider uses it for their legitimate interests or for profiling purposes carried out through automated means.
- Users also have the right to request human intervention if automated processing is used to make decisions having legal or similar effects on them.
- Users have the right to withdraw consent for other consent-based processing at any time.
- The right to request that we transfer or port elements of user data either to the user or another service provider
- As a user of the website, one has the right to move, copy or transfer their personal data from the Website Provider to another organization. If a user wishes to transfer their personal data, the Website Provider will provide a copy of the personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format (e.g. a CSV file format). The personal data can be provided directly to the user or, upon request, to another organization.
It should be noted that the Website Provider is not obligated to adopt processing systems that are compatible with another organization, so it may not be possible for the recipient organization to automatically use the personal data provided.
- When making a transfer request, it would be helpful for the user to identify exactly what personal data they wish to transfer. The Website Provider will be happy to assist with the transfer request.
- The right to complain to the data protection regulator — in Malta – the Information and Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC)
If users wish to exercise their rights, make a complaint, or have any questions, they can contact the Website Provider at [email protected].
It is important to note that these rights are subject to certain limitations. For instance, if a user requests information, the Website Provider can only provide information that is relevant to that particular user and not to others. The Website Provider may also ask users to identify themselves and provide verification documentation or information to ensure that information is not disclosed to the wrong person. The Website Provider may refuse to respond to unreasonable requests or charge a reasonable fee for handling such requests.
VIII. User Personal Data Security
The security of user personal data is of utmost importance to the Website Provider.
The Website Portal uses HTTPS where appropriate to maintain the security of user information. However, as no data transmission over the internet can be completely secure, the Website Provider cannot guarantee the security of any and all information sent to them.
The Website Provider strives to keep user information secure and has implemented various security measures for information transmitted over the Portal or stored on their systems. These measures include the use of secure servers, firewalls, encryption, physical access controls at data centres, information access controls, and backup systems.
It should be noted that despite these security measures, no system is entirely foolproof or can guarantee that unauthorized access or theft will not occur.
IX. Changes to how the Website Provider protects user privacy
Our website is continually under review – new functions and features are periodically added and improved to interface, thus changes to the privacy policy may be required from time to time.
Thw Wesbite Proider therefore encourages all users to check the respective privacy policy on a frequent basis.
X. Links to Other Websites
This privacy notice does not cover the links within this website linking to other websites which are beyond the Website Provider’s control. The latter shall not be held liable and/or responsible for the collection or use of your personal information through ANY third-party websites.
Therefore, It is highly recommended that o.
XI. How to contact the Website Provider
We are always happy to hear from you, whether to make a suggestion but especially if you feel we can improve.
Should you have any queries with regards to this privacy policy, or should you wish to make a complaint regarding the manner in which your personal information has been handled, kindly forward such queries or complaints via email at: