Consumers Online Application is committed to protecting your privacy and developing technology
that gives you the most powerful and safe online experience. This Statement of Privacy
applies to the Consumers Online Application Web site and governs data collection and usage.
By using the Consumers Online Application website, you consent to the data practices described
in this statement.
Collection of your Personal Information
Consumers Online Application collects personally identifiable information, such as your e-mail
address, name, home or work address or telephone number. Consumers Online Application also
collects anonymous demographic information, which is not unique to you, such as
your ZIP code, age, gender, preferences, interests and favorites.
There is also information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically
collected by Consumers Online Application. This information can include: your IP address,
browser type, domain names, access times and referring Web site addresses. This
information is used by Consumers Online Application for the operation of the service, to
maintain quality of the service, and to provide general statistics regarding use
of the Consumers Online Application Web site.
Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose personally identifiable information
or personally sensitive data through Consumers Online Application public message boards,
this information may be collected and used by others. Note: Consumers Online Application
does not read any of your private online communications.
Consumers Online Application encourages you to review the privacy statements of Web sites
you choose to link to from Consumers Online Application so that you can understand how those
Web sites collect, use and share your information. Consumers Online Application is not responsible
for the privacy statements or other content on Web sites outside of the Consumers Online Application
and Consumers Online Application family of Web sites.
Use of your Personal Information
Consumers Online Application collects and uses your personal information to operate the Consumers Online Application
Web site and deliver the services you have requested. Consumers Online Application also uses
your personally identifiable information to inform you of other products or services
available from Consumers Online Application and its affiliates. Consumers Online Application may also
contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services
or of potential new services that may be offered.
Consumers Online Application does not sell, rent or lease its customer lists to third parties.
Consumers Online Application may, from time to time, contact you on behalf of external business
partners about a particular offering that may be of interest to you. In those cases,
your unique personally identifiable information (e-mail, name, address, telephone
number) is not transferred to the third party. In addition, Consumers Online Application
may share data with trusted partners to help us perform statistical analysis, send
you email or postal mail, provide customer support, or arrange for deliveries. All
such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to
provide these services to Consumers Online Application, and they are required to maintain
the confidentiality of your information.
Consumers Online Application does not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such
as race, religion, or political affiliations, without your explicit consent.
Consumers Online Application keeps track of the Web sites and pages our customers visit within
Consumers Online Application, in order to determine what Consumers Online Application services are
the most popular. This data is used to deliver customized content and advertising
within Consumers Online Application to customers whose behavior indicates that they are interested
in a particular subject area.
Consumers Online Application Web sites will disclose your personal information, without notice,
only if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is
necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process
served on Consumers Online Application or the site; (b) protect and defend the rights or
property of Consumers Online Application; and, (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect
the personal safety of users of Consumers Online Application, or the public.
Use of Cookies
The Consumers Online Application Web site use "cookies" to help you personalize your online
experience. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page
server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer.
Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the
domain that issued the cookie to you.
One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save
you time. The purpose of a cookie is to tell the Web server that you have returned
to a specific page. For example, if you personalize Consumers Online Application pages, or
register with Consumers Online Application site or services, a cookie helps Consumers Online Application
to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process
of recording your personal information, such as billing addresses, shipping addresses,
and so on. When you return to the same Consumers Online Application Web site, the information
you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the Consumers Online Application
features that you customized.
You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most Web browsers automatically
accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies
if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience
the interactive features of the Consumers Online Application services or Web sites you visit.
Security of your Personal Information
Consumers Online Application secures your personal information from unauthorized access,
use or disclosure. Consumers Online Application secures the personally identifiable information
you provide on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from
unauthorized access, use or disclosure. When personal information (such as a credit
card number) is transmitted to other Web sites, it is protected through the use
of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.
Changes to this Statement
Consumers Online Application will occasionally update this Statement of Privacy to reflect
company and customer feedback. Consumers Online Application encourages you to periodically
review this Statement to be informed of how Consumers Online Application is protecting your
information.
Contact Information
Consumers Online Application welcomes your comments regarding this Statement of Privacy.
If you believe that Consumers Online Application has not adhered to this Statement, please
contact Consumers Online Application at consumersenergybusinesssolutions@cmsenergy.com.
We will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the
problem.