Bartholomew County Rural Electric Membership Corporation (the “Cooperative”) is committed to appropriately safeguarding the privacy of its members while it collects and stores information obtained from its website and provided by members so that it can provide services to them. This Privacy Policy describes the Cooperative’s use of this information.
Information Collected
The Cooperative operates the website www.bcremc.com, which contains content related to the Cooperative and links to third-party websites and payment portals for use by the members of the Cooperative.
The Cooperative collects information from members and other website users when they provide identifying information to the Cooperative or browse its website. When filling out a form on its website or otherwise providing requested information to the Cooperative, members may be asked to enter their names, e-mail addresses, mailing addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers or other information pertinent to their request. Additionally, when making a payment through the third-party online payment portal linked through its website, members may be asked to provide their credit card or bank account information; however, such payment information will be collected only by the third-party payment vendor and will not be collected or retained by the Cooperative.
The Cooperative may also collect and provide aggregate statistics about online traffic patterns and related information to reputable third parties, but these will not include any personal identifying information.
Use of Information
Any of the information the Cooperative collects from its members or website users may be used in one of the following ways:
To improve its website based on information and feedback received from website users;
To improve customer service and the effectiveness of the Cooperative’s response to customer service requests and support needs;
To send periodic e-mails, e-newsletters or other information;
To respond to inquiries, requests or other questions;
To update the Cooperative’s internal contact database;
To provide a list of member contact information to candidates running for a seat on the Cooperative’s Board of Directors;
To publish a list of member names to which unclaimed capital credits have been allocated;
To provide member information to collections agencies as necessary for collecting delinquent accounts, in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act;
To respond to a lawful request for the information from law enforcement or pursuant to a valid court order or discovery request.
Disclosure to third parties
The Cooperative does not sell, trade or otherwise transfer to third parties any personal information of members or website users, except as provided in this policy. It may provide collected information to trusted third parties that assist the Cooperative in operating its website, conducting its business or serving its members, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential and adhere to this policy. The Cooperative may also release collected information when appropriate to comply with the law, enforce its policies or protect its or others’ rights, property or safety.
Where the Cooperative’s website contains links to websites operated by third parties, including payment portal sites, users should be aware that such other websites may have privacy policies that differ from this policy. The Cooperative assumes no responsibility for content that appears on linked sites or a user’s privacy while accessing linked sites.
Cookies
Cookies are small files that a website or its service provider transfers to a computer’s hard drive through a web browser (if allowed) that enable the website or service provider to recognize the browser to capture and remember certain information.
The Cooperative reserves the right to use cookies to understand and save users’ preferences for future visits and compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that it can offer better website experiences and tools in the future. The Cooperative may contract with third-party service providers to perform these tasks. Such service providers are not permitted to use the information collected except to help the Cooperative conduct and improve its business.
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance
The Cooperative is in compliance with the requirements of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”); it does not knowingly collect any personal information (as defined by COPPA) from anyone under 13 years of age. Its website, products and services are all directed to people who are at least 13 years old
Security and Consent
The Cooperative expressly disclaims any particular level of security with respect to the information collected through its website. By using the Cooperative’s website, users consent to this privacy policy.
Contact
If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy, contact the Cooperative at:
Bartholomew County Rural Electric Membership Corporation
1697 W. Deaver Road
Columbus, IN 47201
Phone: (812) 372-2546
Email: questions@bcremc.com