The Franklin Report – helping upscale homeowners and renters find the best home service providers in New York and Chicago

The Franklin Report Privacy Policy Statement

FR expressly reserves the right to change its privacy policies and practices periodically in the future. You should review our Privacy Policy Statement regularly to be sure you are fully current with our practices and procedures in this area. At present, FR uses and discloses the information provided by you only for the purposes described herein.

1. Definitions

• "Visitor": A Visitor is defined as anyone who visits the site. A Visitor is free to browse the site, search for Service Providers and read writeups and any other content. A Visitor cannot submit a report on a new or existing Service Provider without becoming a User. Browsing the site as a Visitor means that the Visitor has accepted the [Terms of Use] for the site.
• "User": A User is someone who submits a report on a Service Provider. A Visitor becomes a User by filling out a Service Provider Report, and in doing so providing his/her e-mail address.
  
• "Personal Information": this is what an individual (home or apartment owner) provides to FR when submitting a Reference Report on a Service Provider. Mandatory information includes an e-mail address or other relevant identifier and optional information includes phone number. This information is protected under this Privacy Policy.
  
• "Service Provider Information": this is what a Service Provider provides to FR when signing up to be a vendor. Mandatory information includes company name, phone number and primary service provided. Optional information includes company address, fax number, company e-mail and other information. Since we need business information in order to create the listing on the site, this information cannot be kept confidential. .
  
• "Comments and Ratings": this is the information contained in Referenece Reports, submitted by all Users of FR. Once submitted, the information in these reports becomes the property of FR, which, using its sole editorial judgment, may incorporate or quote comments and "average" numerical scores in the Service Provider's Profile. The assumption is that these ratings and comments are submitted in order to be made public -- therefore the contents of the reports are not protected by the confidentiality limitations of the Privacy Policy. The identity of the User submitting a comment will not be revealed to visitors, other Users, any third parties or the Provider about whom the comment was made.

2. Identity of Collector

The personal information will be collected by FR and FR's duly designated agents and partners only. Any such agents or partners shall be restricted to the same confidentiality guidelines and procedures as FR itself. It may be used to contact Users about services in which they have expressed interest, or in which FR believes they may be interested, such as new Service Provider listings, special product offerings, etc. Some of these notifications may be promotional opportunities from selected FR partners.

When using "discussion rooms," "bulletin boards," "message centers" and other areas of our website that enable you to communicate with colleagues in our online community, please be sure not to give out your phone number, address or last name as this is personal information that should be kept private.

In the case of notifications from FR partners, only User contact information will have been provided. FR may use the personal information Users provide to create a more personalized experience when the User visits the site.

3. Uses of Information

FR, for a variety of purposes including developing partnerships with other companies, optimizing site design and effectiveness, and marketing of the site, may use membership information in aggregate. This aggregated information may be shared with partners and others, and, is not now, but might in the future be sold. Other means by which FR could store personal information about Users is through personal communications like e-mails with feedback or suggestions for the site. This is clearly voluntary on the part of the User, and will be treated as any other standard business communication.

4. Partners and Links

In the future, FR may enter into marketing partnerships with third parties or display links and advertising on the FR site. FR has no control over the privacy policies of partners, and should Visitors or Users choose to interact with these partner sites, they are advised to review the sites' privacy policies.

5. Service Partners

In the future, FR may enter into partnerships with third parties for the execution of services provided by FR (for example, fulfillment services for products). In the event that FR gives User information to the third party, it will be under an agreement that restricts the third party from using that information for any other purpose than providing the service for which they were hired.

6. Comments and Ratings

Comments and ratings are considered the property of FR once they are submitted. While the comments and ratings are not kept private, FR will protect the identity of the submitting User, taking all reasonable security measures. Please refer to #13 of this policy for further information. The comments themselves may be paraphrased, edited, or quoted and included in Service Provider reports. The ratings will be averaged in with existing ratings for that Provider. FR reserves the right to put a submission on hold until the identity of the User and validity of the report is verified.

7. Withdrawal or Amending of Comments and Ratings.

Because of the editorial process involved in the creation of the Service Provider reports, FR cannot guarantee response times for a request to withdraw or amend a comment or rating. However, because we want to most accurately reflect User opinions, we will try to accommodate. Users should e-mail FR at editor@franklinreport.com and make sure to include sufficient User and Provider identifying information, and the approximate date, so we can match the previous record.

8. Cookies

Cookies are small files that Web sites write to your hard drive. They cannot read data from other parts of your hard drive. They only contain information that you supply. Cookies are used to customize User experiences at FR. They also make it much easier for returning Users to navigate through our site. Users can refuse cookies by turning them off in their browsers. FR also gathers Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and browser information, which are used to optimize the site for a better user experience. FR may also note what URL a visitor came from. Partners and advertisers may also use cookies. FR has no control over the policies of the partners.

9. Data Storage

Data at FR is stored securely and is password protected. The servers are located in a locked environment. Any employees who need to access the database are instructed on the password issues and the privacy policy covering the information submitted by FR Users.

10. Disclaimer

While we believe we have excellent systems in place to protect personal information with a high level of confidence, there exists the possibility that a system may be compromised (hacking, software glitches). We therefore cannot promise that Users' personal information or private communications or report submission identity will always remain private. We can promise that if a situation arises whereby personal privacy is compromised, we will use reasonable efforts to correct the problem as soon as possible.

If we are required to by law or to assist in the resolution of a breach of security, we will (and Users authorize us to do so) provide personal information to law enforcement authorities, judges, etc.

11. FR Employees and Privacy, Policies Practices

FR trains all FR employees about the importance of privacy. It is FR's policy to give access to your information only to those employees who require it to carry out the responsibilities of their jobs or such other third parties with similar designated responsibilities and who are subject to confidentiality restrictions.

12. Changes of Policy

FR may revise its privacy policies and practices periodically, without providing individual notice, by updating this Privacy posting. You agree that it is your responsibility to monitor such updates and that your continued use of the Site after such revisions have been made by FR constitutes your full acceptance of such revised terms and conditions. We reserve the right to, at any time, change or modify this policy. Should we change the policy we will post those changes on this page.

13. Contact

Many questions that you may have concerning our site may be covered in our frequently asked questions, which can be accessed by clicking on the following FAQ's. Should you have other questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy Statement, please e-mail us at editor@franklinreport.com and we will do our best to respond to you as soon as possible.