At Scots In London Ltd (“SCOTSIN” and "Scotsin" and "Scotsin.com" and "ScotsInLondon.com" and “SIL”  and "Scots In London" and "Scottishin" and "Scotlandin" and "us" and "we"), we believe in protecting the privacy of our Members’ personal information. The term “you” refers to the user of or visitor to our website. This policy explains how SCOTSIN use and treat the processing of your personal data by us from time to time. By using our site, you consent to such processing and you warrant that all data provided by you is accurate. You should read this Privacy Policy in conjunction with the Terms and Conditions and Acceptable Use Policy and Editorial Policy.

 

As our website and our business are established in the United Kingdom we are governed by the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 (‘the Act’). We have a legal duty to protect any information – personal data or sensitive personal data - we collect from you and ensure it is held and processed in accordance with the data protection principles set out in the Act.

For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the Act), the data controller is Scots In London Ltd.

When you register, for the SCOTSIN service, you provide us with and we collect certain personal information about you, which may include your name, contact details, and any other information we may request from you upon registration. We may also collect information about your usage of our website, as well as information about you from content you post to the website and emails or letters and meetings.

Your information will enable us to provide you with access to the appropriate parts of our site upon registration and the ability to process appropriate product or service requests; you will have the ability to edit your information. We also use and analyse the information we collect so that we can administer, support, improve and develop our business.

 

In particular we require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service. It will also enable us to customise content for you and to contact you for customer feedback. Further, where you have consented, we might also use your information to contact you with information which we think may interest you, this may be via email or newsletter. If you decide in the future that you do not wish to be contacted then please contact us [LINK TO CONTACT US] .

 

We may be required, to share your personal details to comply with a criminal investigation or to meet any other legal obligation. We may also use your personal information and details of your IP address in order to limit access to the service if your account is used in violation of the Acceptable Use Policy. Your information depending on your membership status will also be searchable and accessible to the SCOTSIN network and across the world-wide web (according to your privacy settings), including your username, user level and profile picture.

 

Your information is available to other users who have been granted access through your privacy settings. The only legitimate way of making contact with a friend is for a member to send a friend or business connection request. We will notify the Member, using the email address he/she has provided to us that SCOTSIN is holding an email for him/her, and the Member can collect the email when logged in to the SCOTSIN service.

 

Members may check and (if required) change the email address we hold for them at any time through “My details/profile”. Members’ personal notes must NOT include their email address. Sent and received emails may appear in a Member’s Inbox on the SCOTSIN service for a period to be determined by SCOTSIN.

When you use SCOTSIN, you will be asked to, or will need to, provide personal details about yourself, from time to time, such as when you (in no specific order):

2.1    Visit our site;

2.2    Register an interest;

2.3    Register, sign up or subscribe to become a SCOTSIN user;

2.4    Register, sign up or subscribe to SCOTSIN newsletters or email updates;

2.5    Send an e-card/e-postcard;

2.6    Email/Invite/Tell a friend;

2.7    Set up a personal profile;

2.8    Form and manage connections/relationships;

2.9    Send messages;

2.10    Perform searches;

2.11    Add/Submit/Set up events;

2.12    Add/Submit/news;

2.13    Add/Submit/blog(s);

2.14    Add/Submit/ad(s);

2.15    Add/Submit/weblink;

2.16    Add/Submit/enquiries to us/contact us;

2.17    Add/Submit/directory enquiries;

2.18    Form groups;

2.19    Upload media;

2.20    Provide us with your business card or contact details;

2.21    Use SCOTSIN products and services;

2.22    Submit information to us by participating in SCOTSIN surveys;

2.23    Enter online promotions, competitions or prize draws via e-mail or website;

2.24    Add applications; and

2.25    Transmit information through various channels.

An example of how we will use your personal details to communicate with you:

3.1    Service Emails

We will send you notifications regarding new services offered by SCOTSIN that we think you may find valuable. SCOTSIN may send you service-related email announcements through the general operation of the service. Please find below a list of the types of emails (“Service Emails”) you can expect to receive from SCOTSIN to help you use the service most effectively (in no particular order):

•    Validation Email – the email we use to verify your email address when you first register;

•    Welcome Email – emails which explain how to use the site when you first join;

•    Payment Receipt – this is sent if you upgrade to Paid-Up Membership;

•    Automatic Paid-Up Membership renewal alerts – if you have selected automatic renewal of your Paid-Up Membership, we will alert you before this happens;

•    Key Service Messages – if we need to notify you about changes to the service;

•    New Message Notification and Reminders – when you receive messages from SCOTSIN Members wishing to contact you;

•    Notes/Profile and Photo Approval Notification;

•    Service Suspension Notices – if you have violated the Acceptable Use Policy.

3.2    Newsletters and Email Updates
If you opt to register for email updates from us, a copy of the information will be kept securely by us and/or our technology supplier and will be held until such time that you unsubscribe or inform us otherwise. This information is stored to allow us to send information that may be of interest to you and keep you informed about our initiatives, products and services, and other initiatives.

 

This information may be stored on back up tapes to avoid loss of data. We may also notify you by email, mail, fax, land line telephone, mobile phone, where you have provided us with details or consent to us. If you are a website user, you can sign-up or opt-out from SCOTSIN newsletters and email alerts at anytime by logging-in to the My Profile section of the web site and changing your email preference settings.

3.3    Surveys

We may also ask you to voluntarily complete surveys in order to improve services to you. Such answers are confidential. If you do not wish to participate in a survey you are free to decline.

3.4    New People, Company and Club Alerts

We will automatically send you our New People, Company and/or Club Alerts. These are an essential part of the SCOTSIN service because they highlight new information and tell you when people you may know or may wish to connect with have joined the site or have added more information.  If at anytime you don’t want to receive the New People, Company and/or Club Alerts, while you are logged in, please visit the "My Profile" section and amend your email preferences.

3.5    Lend your support / Refer (Invite) a Friend / Register an Interest / Sign-up to Newsletter

If you opt to add your name to a supporters list, register an interest, sign-up to the SCOTSIN newsletter or membership, and/or send an e-postcard and/or tell a friend, only your name as an individual, or a company’s name, will be displayed on the website. Email addresses will not be displayed. We may also share the details you have provided with other SCOTSIN related organisations or associations, only for the purpose of furthering SCOTSIN.

3.6    Server log files

Log files allow us to record visitors’ use of the website. The ISP hosting the website puts together log file information from the site which we use to make changes to the layout of the site and to the information in it, based on the way that visitors move around and interact with it. Log files do not utilise any personal information.

3.7    Email / Refer (Invite) a Friend / Tell a Friend

If you choose to use our invitation service to refer (invite) a friend, tell a friend about our site, we will ask you for your friend's email address and full name.  We will automatically send your friend an invitation to visit the site. Your friend / the recipient will receive an email from the address you entered in “your email address” and a URL link. SCOTSIN stores this information in order to register a friend and to record and track the success of our referral program. Your friend may contact us [LINK TO CONTACT US] .

3.8    Sending an e-Card / e-Postcard

When you send an e-card / e-postcard from the SCOTSIN website, some personal details may be retained other than your message. By clicking the “send” button you agree to this message being held on a web server. The recipient will receive an email from the address you entered in “your email address” and a URL linking to the message. This message may be held for a duration of 12 months and/or until the message has been accessed.

3.9    Mobile Telephone Numbers

SCOTSIN may also collect your mobile telephone number so that we can text you about news and exclusive SCOTSIN offers. If you do not wish to receive any marketing material, you can de-register your mobile telephone number by deleting the mobile phone option in the My Profile section or by contacting us [LINK TO CONTACT US] .

We obtain information about your general internet usage by using a ‘cookie’. A cookie is a small amount of data, a file or unit of information, like a tag, which asks permission to be placed on your computers hard drive. By using cookies, we can track or customise your visit and enhance your website experience.

Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences and pages you have visited. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us nor does it deliver viruses to your computer. Once you agree, the file, or cookie, is added or stored on the user’s computer via the web browser. By default, we use a persistent cookie that stores your login ID to make it easier for you to login when you come back to SCOTSIN.

To enable us to improve our website, we gather certain information about your use of the site, including details about your computer, including where available your IP address, operating system and browser type for system administration and to collate statistical data about our users browsing actions and patterns. The information you provide to us will be held on our computers in the United Kingdom and may be accessed by or given to our staff and others who act for us. Third parties utilise your information for marketing, advertising or other promotional purposes but such data will not include any information which could be used to identify you.

You may refuse to accept cookies by activating the settings on your browser. However, this may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website, as you may be unable to access certain parts of the SCOTSIN service.

SCOTSIN may use information in your profile without identifying you as an individual to third parties. We do this for purposes such as gathering data, personalising advertisements and promotions so that we can provide you with SCOTSIN service. We believe this benefits you.

5.1    Networking communities share information with others

SCOTSIN networking community is about sharing information with others - members, users, friends and people in your networks - while providing you with privacy settings that restrict other users from accessing your information. We allow you to choose the information you provide to friends and networks through SCOTSIN. Our network architecture and your privacy settings allow you to make informed choices about who has access to your information. We do not provide contact information to others without your permission.

5.2    Where you have opted-in to receive information from others

Third parties with whom we share your information may contact you by post, telephone, e-mail or provide you with other information which may be of interest to you or to give you information about forthcoming events, initiatives or other activities. Such third parties shall only contact you when you have provided consent when applying to become a registered SCOTSIN member or subsequently, by accepting our terms and conditions.

If, at any time you wish to withdraw your consent for your personal data to be passed to third parties and/or for such third parties to contact you then contact us [LINK TO CONTACT US] .

5.3    Providing information to Service Providers

We may provide information to service providers to help us provide you with the Service you subscribed for. Specifically, we may use others to facilitate our business, such as to host the service at a co-location facility for servers, to send out email updates about SCOTSIN, to remove repetitive information from our user lists, to process payments for products or services, to provide search results or links (including sponsored links), or to offer an online job application process. In connection with these offerings and business operations, our service providers may have access to your personal information for a limited time in connection with these business activities. Where we utilise third parties for the processing of any personal information, we implement contractual protection limiting the use of that information.

5.4    Controlling your Personal Information

You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways:

5.4.1    whenever you are asked to fill in a form on the website, look for the relevant box that you can click to indicate that you do not want the information to be used by anybody for direct marketing purposes;

5.4.2    if you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by contacting us [LINK TO CONTACT US] ;

5.4.3    if you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by contacting us [LINK TO CONTACT US] .

5.5    Demonstration Accounts

We occasionally provide demonstration accounts that allow non-users a glimpse into the SCOTSIN world. Such accounts have only limited capabilities and passwords are changed regularly to limit possible misuse.

5.6    Provision of Stores / Shops and Services with others

We may offer stores/shops or provide services jointly with other companies on SCOTSIN and we will make this clear on the website. We may share customer information with that company in connection with your use of that store/shop or service.

5.7    When you post or share information with others

When you use SCOTSIN, certain information you post or share, such as personal information, blogs, comments, messages, photos, videos, marketplace listings or other information, may be shared with other users. All such sharing of information is done at your own risk. Please keep in mind that if you disclose personal information in your profile or when posting comments, blogs, messages, photos, videos, marketplace listings or other items, this information may become publicly available.

The principles we apply are:

5.7.1    We, and (where relevant), our credit card processing agents, will not supply your personal data to a third party for commercial exploitation – thus, you can rest assured that we will not sell the lists of our Users’ email addresses to a third party; and

5.7.2    The only circumstances in which we will provide any of your personal data to a third party for non-commercial purposes are those contained in this Privacy Policy.

5.8    Credit Card information

WorldPay Plc and Streamline are our payment providers (both are owned and part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Plc group of companies). We may also use PayPal. Both operate a secure server, to process our credit card payments. They encrypt Users’ credit and debit card information and authorise payment directly. This means that Users’ full credit card details are never revealed to us. WorldPay Plc and Streamline may transfer to, process and hold credit card information in countries within or outside the European Economic Area in connection with performing their duties.

5.9    Changes in the SCOTSIN business

If the ownership of all or substantially all of the assets, of the SCOTSIN business, or individual business units owned by SCOTSIN, which SCOTSIN uses to operate a key area of its business, were to change, or are acquired by a third party, or involved in a merger, we may transfer your user information and personal data we hold to that party so that the acquirer, new owner, or merged entity, can continue to provide the service / continue operations. In any such transfer of information, we will require that the new entity follow any pre-existing Privacy Policy so that your user information would remain subject to the provisions, which you have agreed to on registration.

SCOTSIN may market third party products and services. SCOTSIN may also pass your data to carefully selected third parties who then in turn contact you for marketing or other purposes.

If you do not wish to receive any information about products and services carefully selected by SCOTSIN on the basis of the information, which you have provided on your registration form, then please contact us [LINK TO CONTACT US].

5.10    User Content

Information posted on the Site is done so at your own risk. Although we set privacy options that limit access to your information, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot control the actions of other Users with whom you share your pages and information. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that User Content you post on the Site will not be viewed by unauthorised persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Site. You understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of User Content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other Users have copied or stored your User Content.

Any improper collection or misuse of information provided on SCOTSIN is a violation of the SCOTSIN Terms and Conditions and Acceptable Use Policy of Use and should be reported [LINK TO CONTACT US] .

We are committed to ensuring that your information and all the other information we hold is secure. In order to protect our customer database and prevent unauthorised access or disclosure. SCOTSIN do restrict access to member information to those employees who need access to perform their job functions, such as our customer service personnel and technical staff.

 

We propose to employ 128 bit encryption technology in all areas of the site which require you to provide personal or account information. This is done to prevent unauthorised use of the information you are sending to the server.

We employ a system of user name and passwords (secured by member-created passwords) to ensure that access to the systems is limited to those with authorisation. SCOTSIN is committed to taking precautions to safeguard the privacy of users and their member account information whilst providing a personalised and valuable service.

 

However, whilst SCOTSIN take all reasonable steps to ensure that the information you provide will be kept secure from unauthorised access and protect member information that is stored within our database from unauthorised access, you should note that the internet is not a secure environment and SCOTSIN cannot guarantee that information will be secure during transmission by you to this website.

 

Because we are constantly reviewing and expanding our area of coverage, we may transfer your personal data or sensitive personal data about you to countries or territories outside the European Economic Area which may or may not have data protection laws that provide as much protection as the United Kingdom.

 

Your Responsibility as a User

However, it remains each User’s responsibility to:

6.1    Protect against unauthorised access to your details (My Profile section);

6.2    Ensure no-one else uses the SCOTSIN service on that Member’s machine while it is “logged on” to the SCOTSIN service - your email address, username and password is personal to you and may not be used by anyone else to access SCOTSIN;

6.3    Ensure that you will not do anything which would assist anyone who is not a registered user to gain access to any registration area of SCOTSIN, nor will you assist anyone who is not a subscriber to gain access to subscription services;

6.4    Log-off or exit the SCOTSIN service when not using it;

6.5    Keep his /her password secure; and

6.6    Inform SCOTSIN if you believe that someone may be using your e-mail address, username or password fraudulently.

You should be aware that when you disclose personal information on any public or members   bulletin board, blogs or forum or chat area of this or any website used as a result of this website that information can be collected and used by anyone who views that website. This may result in unsolicited messages from other participants or parties. SCOTSIN is not responsible for any such messages.

 

Personal information passed to any other website will be held in accordance with the Privacy Policy of that website. Please take the time to review these third party Privacy Policies to ensure that you have no objection to them holding your personally identifiable data.

 

SCOTSIN takes appropriate precautions to protect our users' information. Your account information is located on a secure server behind a firewall. When you enter sensitive information, we encrypt that information using secure socket layer technology (SSL). (To learn more about SSL, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Sockets_Layer). Because email and instant messaging are not recognised as secure communications, we request that you do not send private information to us by email or instant messaging services. If you have any questions about the security of the SCOTSIN Web Site, please contact us. [LINK TO CONTACT US] .

As a SCOTSIN member, you will at all times be able to access, and amend most of your personal information data through the Site, which is readily available by the profile editing tools. You will have control over the accuracy of your personal information and should make sure it is keep up-to-date at all times. If, at any time, you wish to check, verify, amend, modify, remove, delete or update your personal profile information you have provided to SCOTSIN, you can do so online by logging into your account and accessing features such as "Edit Profile" on your personal profile page. Information will be updated as soon as possible. Removed information may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time. Where you make use of the communication features of the service to share information with other individuals on SCOTSIN, you generally cannot remove such communications.

A copy of all information is kept securely by SCOTSIN and may be kept by our technology supplier. It will be held by SCOTSIN or until you inform SCOTSIN otherwise. This information may also be stored on back-up tapes to avoid loss of data.

Your use of SCOTSIN, and any disputes arising from it, is subject to this Privacy Policy as well as our Terms and Conditions and Acceptable Use Policy and all of its dispute resolution provisions including arbitration and limitation on damages. Scots In London Ltd reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions and Acceptable Use Policy at any time by updating this page.

 

Non-material and material changes and clarifications will take effect immediately, or as stated. If we make changes, we will post them and will indicate at the bottom of this page the policy's new effective date. If we make substantial material changes to this policy (such as by using the users’ personally identifiable information in a manner materially different from that stated at the time of collection), we will notify you here, by email, or through notice on our home page, and we may provide you with another opportunity to opt-out of having your data held in accordance with the amended Policy.

 

We encourage you to check this page regularly on an ongoing basis to ensure that you understand our current Privacy Policy and are happy with any changes. Unless stated otherwise, our current Privacy Policy applies to all information that we have about you and your account. Regularly reviewing the website ensures you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we will share it with third parties. A User is bound by any changes by continued use of this website.

The SCOTSIN site and/or service contains links to external websites of interest i.e. other web sites, advertising material and/or promotions of third parties. To the fullest extent permitted by law, SCOTSIN is not responsible for the privacy practices, or the content, of other websites of third parties – their content, advertising, information, products and services - including, without limitation, any error, omission or inaccuracy. Once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information, which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and we encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects personally identifiable information. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by SCOTSIN.

Advertisements that appear on SCOTSIN are sometimes delivered (or "served") directly to users by third party advertisers. They automatically receive your IP address when this happens. These third party advertisers may also download cookies to your computer, or use other technologies such as JavaScript and "web beacons" (also known as "1x1 gifs") to measure the effectiveness of their ads and to personalise advertising content. Doing this allows the advertising network to recognise your computer each time they send you an advertisement in order to measure the effectiveness of their ads and to personalise advertising content. In this way, they may compile information about where individuals using your computer or browser saw their advertisements and determine which advertisements are clicked. Some Advertising may not be relevant to you. Some Advertising may be governed by special terms and where this is the case, you are advised to read these carefully as such special terms will take precedence over any conflicting terms in this Agreement. If you have any complaint, question or request relating to advertising material (including if you want to advertise on the Site/in any Service) please contact us [LINK TO CONTACT US] .

SCOTSIN does not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from anyone under the age of 18 or knowingly allow such persons to register. If you are under 18, please do not attempt to register for SCOTSIN or send any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, or email address. No one under age 18 may provide any personal information to or on SCOTSIN. In the event that we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age 18 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have any information from or about a child under 18, please contact per details below.

You have the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with the Data Protection Act (“the Act”). Any access request may be subject to a fee of up to £30 to meet our costs in providing you with details of the information we hold about you.

All notices given by you to us must be given to SCOTSIN at our registered office at Scots in London Ltd, Q Court, 3 Quality Street, Edinburgh, EH4 5BP, Scotland. We may give notice to you at either the e-mail or postal address you provided to us at registration. Notice will be deemed received and properly served immediately when posted on our website, 24 hours after an e-mail is sent, or three days after the date of posting of any letter. In proving the service of any notice, it will be sufficient to prove, in the case of a letter, that such letter was properly, stamped and placed in the post and, in the case of an e-mail, that such e-mail was sent to the specified e-mail address of the addressee.

If you have any questions about the services SCOTSIN provides, wish to make a complaint, or wish to report a violation then please contact our office, per address details on contact page. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

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