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PRIVACY POLICY
The
Abundance Group, LLC ("AG") (referred to as "Our" and/or "We")
owns and operates a website and an Affiliate Program at
AbundanGroup.com and may also publishe various eBooks
(hereinafter collectively referred to as the "Sites"). "You"
refers to the person using the Sites. We strive to offer You
the many advantages of Internet technology and to provide an
interactive and personalized experience. We may use
"Personally Identifiable Information" (name, e-mail address,
street address, telephone number, IP address, financial
information, social security number and/or other form of tax
identification number, and other information) subject to the
terms of this Privacy Policy. We will never sell, barter, or
rent your email address to any unauthorized third party. We
employ specific security measures when storing, retrieving, or
accessing any form of financial information and/or social
security number and/or other form of tax identification
number.
How We
Gather Information From Users
How we
collect and store information depends on the page you are
visiting, the activities in which you elect to participate and
the services provided. For example, you may be asked to
provide information when you register for access to certain
portions of our site or request certain features, such as
newsletters or when you make a purchase. You may provide
information when you participate in any of Our programs, on or
by the Sites and other interactive areas of the Sites. Like
most websites, we also collect information automatically and
through the use of electronic tools that may be transparent to
You. For example, we may log the name of your Internet Service
Provider or your IP address, or use information available
through the Internet, cookie technology, other forms of
technology, and technologies yet to be conceived and/or
implemented, to recognize You and hold information from your
visit. Among other things, these technologies, in whole or in
part and in any possible combination, may store your user name
and password, sparing You from having to re-enter that
information each time You visit, identify your account number,
or may control the number of times You encounter a particular
advertisement while visiting the Sites, or be used to Our
advantage to market products and services on behalf of Us or
Our Advertisers, or in any other way we see fit. (To learn
more about "IP addresses" or "cookies", find information by
use of an Internet search engine.) As we adopt additional
technology, We may also gather additional types and categories
of information about You and Your use of the Sites, its
Programs, Your use of the Internet, and/or Your implied topics
of interest, usage, or research, and do this through other
means.
In certain
instances, you can choose not to provide us with information,
for example by setting your browser to refuse to accept
cookies, but, if you do, you may be unable to access certain
portions of the site or may be asked to re-enter your user
name and password, or we may not be able to customize the
site's features according to your preferences, or you may not
be able to become a Participant in some or all of the
programs. Furthermore, in some instances (as detailed in the
Terms and Conditions as well as in the paragraph below
entitled "Taxpayer Identification Number") if you fail to
provide us with information we request, you may be ineligible
to participate in some or all of the programs and/or services
offered through the Sites.¹
What We Do
With the Information We Collect
Like other
web services, We collect information to formulate lists of
topics, categories of interest and/or use, and Your implied
specific areas of interest. This may be used to enhance Your
visit, deliver more individualized content and advertising, to
affect our accounting methodology, to secure our database(s),
to protect Us from illicit usage of the Sites, or to disable
certain services or programs for use by You. We respect your
privacy and do not share your information with anyone outside
of Our organization and any subsidiaries We may have.
Additionally, real time transmission of the information may
occur to affect, enable, or enhance other programs and
services.
Aggregate
Information (information that does not personally identify
You) may be used in many ways. For example, we may combine
information about your usage patterns with similar information
obtained from other users to help enhance the Sites and the
services offered therein (e.g., to learn which pages are
visited most or what features are most attractive). Aggregate
Information may occasionally be shared with or sold to The
Abundance Group, LLC and its licensees and subsidiaries, our
advertisers, Our business partners, or the general public.
Again, this information does not include any Personally
Identifiable Information about You or that would allow anyone
to identify You individually. Additionally, periodic
transmission of the aggregate information may occur to affect,
enable, or enhance other programs and services.
We may use
Personally Identifiable Information collected by and/or
retained on the Sites or through any of our Affiliate's links,
to communicate with You about your registration and
customization preferences; our Terms and Conditions (aka
License/Terms and Conditions (of Use)/Terms of Service), this
Privacy Policy, or any other legal documents contained on the
Sites or any other legal documents which pertain to your
participation; services and products offered, now or in the
future, by AHI or by The Abundance Group, LLC; or any other
topics we think you might find of interest. Any such
communication may be in the form of email or by telephone or
any other means suitable to the type of communication,
including any new information delivery technologies that might
become available.
Personally
Identifiable Information collected by and/or retained on the
Sites or through any of our Affiliate's links, may also be
used for other purposes, including but not limited to site
administration, troubleshooting, processing of e-commerce
transactions, administration of sweepstakes and contests, and
other communications with You. Certain third parties who
provide technical support for the operation of the Sites (our
Web hosting service for example), in general, may access such
information. We will use your information only as permitted by
law. In addition, from time to time, as we continue to develop
our business, we may sell, buy, merge or partner with other
companies or businesses. In such transactions, user
information may be among the transferred assets. We may also
disclose your information in response to a court order, at
other times when we believe we are reasonably required to do
so by law, in connection with the collection of amounts you
may owe to us, and/or to law enforcement authorities whenever
we deem it appropriate or necessary. Please note we may not
provide you with notice prior to, or after, disclosure in such
cases.
Occasionally The Abundance Group, LLC is approached by
companies and professional associations seeking to inform our
Members, Participants, Purchasers, and Affiliates, about
products or services that may be of interest to them. We
review these requests and when, in our judgment, we think the
information would be of benefit to these persons or entities,
we cooperate in getting you this information. We view
receiving such information as a benefit for those who are
seeking new tools to help them run their online business. In
such cases, we would provide you with this information
directly, rather than provide your Personally Identifiable
Information to the outside companies and professional
associations. We may initiate the communication of any
information or advertising for Our direct or indirect
financial gain and it is done so without any compensation due
to You or any other recipient of the information.
Financial
Information
We may use
third party merchant payment verification and processing
companies to obtain payment and approvals and to bill users
for goods and services. We do not have complete control over
the actions or intentions of the third party payment
processors or how they use the information that you may
provide during a payment transaction and therefore have no
responsibility for their use of the data specific to the
transaction. These payment processors, and/or Your own
financial institution may, in some circumstances, make
secondary use of Your personal information and purchasing
history; it is Your responsibility to contact the payment
processors and/or Your financial institution for information
regarding their specific usage of the information conveyed
during transactions.
On most
purchases and transactions on the Sites, or through our
Affiliates' links, AG will normally collect and record
merchant/payment processing information. Much of the
determination on what information is collected and/or archived
before, during, and/or after a purchase transaction, is based
on the provisions and/or limitations of the payment processor
systems that are implemented on each of the Sites, and this
may vary from site to site. Purchases will normally be done
via third party merchant transaction or other payment
providers and such information during the post sale
transaction of data and the data communication between their
computer(s) and our computer(s) may not be encrypted nor
protected with SSL or any other form of encryption software,
in some cases.
The actual
account access credentials information is not supplied to Us,
but is available only for purposes of processing and
completing the purchase transaction. The account and/or
credentialization information is only disclosed to specific
third parties as necessary to complete the purchase
transaction, or during the process of financing the
transaction. Additionally, notifications delivered in the form
of email to Us will be delivered unencrypted and clearly
readable in standard character sets defined by or within the
geography of delivery or by or within the receiving computers
configuration. During the entire process of placing and paying
for an order, there may be several steps in the process where
data is transmitted unencrypted and this is variable between
Users partly based on the configuration of web browser
technology or by any other means they access the Sites, or by
the payment method and/or payment or merchant transaction
processor chosen or available at the time of purchase, or by
any third party provider used by the merchant transaction or
associated payment processor, all of which is beyond Our
control. Your payment processor ids, payment processor
transaction identifiers, dates and times of transactions,
contractual obligations or details specific to the
transactions, checksums, electronic forms of signature, and
any other useful information for identifying or explaining or
replicating the transaction may be stored temporarily or
permanently on the Sites.
Requesting
Your Personally Identifiable Information and/or Financial
Information
Upon
written request we may provide You with access to information
that we maintain about You including, but not limited to,
financial information (e.g., payment processor and/or merchant
account information), unique identifier information (e.g.,
customer number or password), transaction information (e.g.,
dates on which You made purchases, amounts and types of
purchases), participation history (e.g. dates on which you
subscribed to lists at the Sites), and/or contact information
(e.g., name, address, phone number). You may also obtain some
or all of this information directly from your Affiliate Back
Office (also referred to as your "Profile). Upon request, we
offer You the ability to have inaccuracies corrected in
contact information, financial information, and/or transaction
information as further detailed in this Sites' Terms and
Conditions.
Affiliated
Sites, Linked Sites and Advertisements.
We expect Our members, partners, advertisers, and Affiliates
to respect the privacy of Our Users. Be aware, however, that
third parties (including, but not limited to, our members
partners, peers, advertisers, Affiliates, The Abundance Group,
LLC entities and personnel, other content providers, or other
advertising services) (collectively referred to as
"Promotional Partners") whose websites may be accessible
through the Sites, may have their own privacy and data
collection policies and practices. For example, during Your
visit to the Sites, or websites that the Sites provide
advertising services to, You may link to or view, certain
content that is actually owned, created, hosted by a third
party, or hosted or advertised by another service, or websites
far removed from and unrelated to the Sites. Also, through the
Site, You may intentionally or unintentionally be introduced
to, or be able to access, information, other websites,
programs, products, services, features, contests or
sweepstakes offered by other parties. We are not responsible
for the actions or policies of such third parties. You should
check the applicable privacy policies of each of those third
parties when providing information on any page operated by a
third party.
While on
the Sites, our Promotional Partners or other third parties may
use cookies or other technology to attempt to identify some of
your preferences or retrieve information about you. For
example, some of our advertising is served by third parties
and may include cookies that enable the advertiser to
determine whether you have seen a particular advertisement
before. Other features available on the Sites may offer
services operated by third parties and may use cookies or
other technology to gather information. AHI does not control
the use of this technology by third parties or the resulting
information, and is not responsible for any actions or
policies of such third parties.
You should
also be aware that if you voluntarily disclose Personally
Identifiable Information on message boards or in chat areas
which may be accessible through the Sites, that information
can be viewed publicly and can be collected and used by third
parties without our knowledge and may result in unsolicited
messages from other individuals or third parties. Such
activities are beyond the control of AHI and this Policy.
¹Taxpayer
Identification Number (Affiliates Only)
Individuals or entities who register as Affiliates
(hereinafter "Payees") AND who are due any monies from their
participation in the AHI Affiliate Program, must provide their
Taxpayer Identification Number (either their social security
number or employer identification number if a United States
citizen or resident, or other form of identification provided
by their country of origin or residence) to AHI. AHI cannot
make any payments to said Payee until the Payee submits their
appropriate Taxpayer Identification Number and supporting
Identification to AHI (as required by the Affiliate Agreement
of the Sites).
Furthermore, AHI may not pay any monies to any United States
resident or citizen that would cause such Payee's cumulative
earnings to meet or exceed $600 during a calendar year, until
that Payee submits an original, signed copy of IRS form W-9 as
per instructions contained in the Sites' Terms and Conditions.
We are required to collect this information from each Payee in
order to report each Payee's earnings to the U.S. Internal
Revenue Service, (and/or to the taxing authorities of any
nation, state, or political subdivision whose laws or
regulations we are obligated to respect), and to issue IRS
form 1099-MISC to the Payee and to the IRS. (To read more
about the IRS Regulations that govern our operation, visit
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99928,00.html.)
If you are
neither a citizen nor a resident of the United States, You do
not need to provide a U.S. taxpayer identification number, but
in this case we are required to withhold a portion of any
monies that may be due to You and remit them to the IRS. (You
are still required to provide us with Personal Identification
as required in the Sites' TERMS AND CONDITIONS.) For more
information on withholdings for foreign persons or entities,
click here. (You must apply to the IRS for a refund of this
money if you do not owe any
United
States
income taxes or are not subject to any laws pertaining to
United States income taxes.) You should not be asked for (and
You should never provide) Your taxpayer identification number,
unless You are applying for a Program that entitles you to
earn monies (whether such monies are derived from credits
converted to cash, or otherwise).
Children
We
designed this Policy to comply with the Children's Online
Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA"). The Abundance Group, LLC
does not knowingly collect or solicit Personally Identifiable
Information from or about children under the age of 13 except
as permitted by law. If we discover we have received any
information from a child under the age of 13 in violation of
this policy, we will delete that information immediately. If
you believe The Abundance Group, LLC has any information from
or about anyone under the age of 13, please contact us at the
address listed below.
User
Emails or Testimonials
If you are
a customer and send an email to the Sites, to AHI, or to The
Abundance Group, LLC, or if you communicate with any of them
by phone or mail or other means, the party you are
communicating with collects information about your
communication. By communicating with the any of them, you give
your permission to collect, archive, retrieve, and otherwise
use any information collected as the Network sees fit.
Any
communication which, in our sole discretion, we deem to be a
testimonial, may be publicized for commercial purposes.
Legal
Disclaimer
The
Abundance Group, LLC uses reasonable precautions to keep the
information disclosed to Us secure. We will use your
information only as permitted by law. Though we make every
effort to preserve user privacy, we may need to disclose
Personal Identifiable Information when required by law wherein
we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to:
1) Conform
to the edicts of the law or to comply with a current judicial
proceeding, a court order, or legal process served on either AHI
or The Abundance Group, LLC;
2) Protect
and defend the rights or property of the Sites or visitors to
the Sites;
3)
Identify persons who may be violating the law, any legal
notice, or the rights of third parties (including those
violating the Terms and Conditions of the Sites);
4)
Cooperate with the investigations of purported unlawful
activities;
In
addition, from time to time as we continue to develop our
business, we may sell, buy, merge or partner with other
companies or businesses. In such transactions, user
information may be among the transferred assets. We may also
disclose your information in connection with the collection of
amounts you may owe to us, and/or to law enforcement
authorities whenever we deem it appropriate or necessary.
Please note we may not provide you with notice prior to, or
after, disclosure in such cases.
The
Abundance Group, LLC does not endorse, nor is it responsible
for the accuracy of the privacy policies and/or terms and
conditions and/or terms of use/service of each or any of the
advertisers within the Sites. The entities which advertise
and/or place ads with The Abundance Group, LLC are independent
third parties and are not affiliated with The Abundance Group,
LLC and are neither owned nor operated by The Abundance Group,
LLC, unless otherwise stated on such site. Furthermore, The
Abundance Group, LLC is not responsible for any breach of
security, misuse of information, or for any other actions of
any third parties that may receive the information.
Contacting
Us
We can be
reached by contacting:
The
Abundance Group, LLC
Gina Gaudio-Graves
4127 Augusta Dr., Suite 130
Crown Point,
IN
46307
Phone: 219-448-1089
Fax: 847-919-3811
Email: Support (at) AbundanceGroup.com
Changes to
This Policy
We reserve the right to change this policy at any time. Please
check this page and the Site's Terms and Conditions
periodically for changes. Your continued use of the Sites
following the posting of changes to this Privacy Policy will
mean You accept those changes. Information collected prior to
the time any change is posted will be used according to the
rules and laws that applied at the time the information was
collected.
Your
Acceptance of These Terms
By agreeing to receive information from Us, by downloading any
AG eBook, or by participating in the AG Affiliate Program, you
agree to this Privacy Policy. We reserve the right, at our
discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of this
policy at any time. All Privacy Policy changes will take
effect immediately upon their posting on the Sites. Please
check this page periodically for changes. Your continued use
of the Site or acceptance of any email from AHI following the
posting of changes to these terms will mean that you accept
these changes.
Governing
Law
This policy and the use of this Site are governed by the laws
of the State of Indiana, in the County of Lake, United States.
If a dispute arises under this Policy we agree to first try to
resolve it with the help of a mutually agreed-upon online
mediator. Any costs and fees (other than attorney fees)
associated with the mediation will be shared equally by each
of us.
If it
proves impossible to arrive at a mutually satisfactory
solution through online mediation, we agree to submit the
dispute to binding arbitration online, under the rules of the
American Arbitration Association. Judgment upon the award
rendered by the arbitration may be entered in any court with
jurisdiction to do so.
In no
case shall the User have the right to go to court or have a
jury trial. Users will not have the right to engage in
pre-trial discovery except as provided in the rules; you will
not have the right to participate as a representative or
member of any class of claimants pertaining to any claim
subject to arbitration; the arbitrator's decision will final
and binding with limited rights of appeal.
Copyright © 2003-2005 by The Abundance Group, LLC. All
Rights Reserved. |