HandyAmerican.com PRIVACY POLICY effective December 2006

This privacy policy applies to http://www.HandyAmerican.com and all websites and URL's controlled or operated by Handy Canadian Inc., which link to this policy, unless otherwise specified.

This is a new privacy policy effective as of the date set forth above. Even if you read and approved a prior policy, you need to review this new version as it has been updated and revised.

Titles and headings are provided for general reference and ease of use only, as information may be covered in more than one heading or under other headings.

If users have questions or concerns regarding this statement, they should first contact HandyAmerican.com's privacy department at info@HandyAmerican.com.

Information Collection

HandyAmerican.com is committed to protecting your privacy. Data collected is for the sole purpose of matching you with a service provider. Outside of our network of service provider members, we will not sell, trade or rent your personal information to a third party without your permission. We may send you offers through email or otherwise which we deem relevant to your specific project. You, at any time, may request to no longer receive such offers, at which time you will be removed from the list of offers within a 30 day period.

Registration and Service Professional Enrollment
In order to complete a service request or to enroll as a prospective service professional, a user must first complete a registration form. During registration a user is required to give contact information (such as name and email address). We use this information to contact the user about services on our site for which they have expressed interest, to inform service professionals of leads, and/or inform customers about service professionals they matched to. By providing this information to us, or by submitting a service request, you expressly consent to being contacted by us and by our service professionals and providers via phone, fax, email, mail or other reasonable means, at any of your contact numbers or addresses, in order that we may provide the services set forth on our Website, service your account, reasonably address matters pertaining to your account or for other reasonable purposes related to our business. Unique identifiers (such as username and password) are required.
 
Service Request
We request information from the consumer in our service request interview process. A user must provide detailed information about the service requested. No financial information (such as credit card number, expiration date) is collected from the consumer. This information is used to match consumers with appropriate service professionals. The information may also be used to contact the consumer to verify or clarify their service request or to customize the consumer's Website experience or future HandyAmerican.com communication.

Feedback, Ratings and Reviews and Testimonials
Additionally, we collect feedback from users (called ratings and reviews) about the performance of Service Professionals who work for them. We also collect general feedback and testimonials from users of our service and system. By providing such feedback to us, you consent to our use, publication and/or distribution of such feedback at no compensation to you, and if you are a Service Professional in our system, you acknowledge that all such ratings and reviews are solely owned by HandyAmerican.com, and you consent to the publication of ratings and reviews about you and your business.

Information Use

Profile
We store information that we collect through the Website experience and activities, cookies, log files, clear gifs, and/or third parties to create a profile of our users. A profile is stored information that we keep on individual users that detail their viewing preferences, activities and interactions with HandyAmerican.com. Consequently, collected information is tied to the user's personally identifiable information to provide offers and improve the content of the site for the user. This profile is used to tailor a user's visit to our Website and to direct pertinent marketing promotions and communications to them.

Cookies
A cookie is a piece of data tied to information about the user and stored on the user's computer. We use both session cookies, which terminate when a user closes his browser, and persistent cookies, which remain on the user's computer until manually deleted.

By setting a persistent cookie, we enable our users to not have to log in with a password more than once, thereby saving time while on our Website. If users reject these cookies, they may still use our Website. The only drawback to this is that the experience and/or access of a user may be limited in some areas of our Website. For example, the user may not be able to participate in any of our sweepstakes, contests or monthly drawings that may take place. See the "Profile" section.

We may use third-party advertising companies to serve ads on our behalf and to monitor certain pages of our Website for the purpose of reporting web traffic, statistics, advertisement 'click-throughs', and/or other activities on our site. These companies, which may include Google and Microsoft, Inc., may employ cookies and action tags (also known as single pixel gifs or web beacons) to measure advertising effectiveness. Any information that these third parties collect via cookies and action tags is completely anonymous.

Third Party Advertising
Some of our business partners may use cookies on our Website (for example, advertisers). We have no access to or control over these cookies once our business partners have been given permission to set cookies. This privacy statement covers the use of cookies by HandyAmerican.com only and does not cover the use of cookies by any advertisers.

Log Files
Like most standard Website servers we use log files. This includes internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the Website, track user's movement in the aggregate, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use.

Communications from HandyAmerican.com and its Service professionals

Special Offers and Updates
We send all new members a welcoming email to verify password and username. Established members will occasionally receive information on products, services, special deals, and a bi-monthly newsletter. Out of respect for the privacy of our users we present the option to not receive these types of communications.

Newsletter
If a user wishes to subscribe to our newsletters, we ask for contact information such as name and email address. Out of respect for our users privacy we provide a way to opt-out of these communications. Please see the Choice and Opt-out sections.

Service Announcements
On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Leads Notifications and Free Lead Notifications
If a user either signs up for our free membership program or signs up for our premium (paid) membership service, that user will receive multiple communications from us. Other ways we contact members of our service professional network are via fax, and/or cell text (SMS) messaging. Members of our service professional network (or prospective members enrolled in Free Trial) can designate and opt-in on our Website or by contacting customer service to receive leads in one or more of these formats.

Customer Service
We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regards to issues relating to their account via email, fax, phone or mail, and we reply to user inquiries via email or phone, or other reasonable means, in accordance with the user's wishes where applicable.

Sharing Information to Provide Services and to Conduct Our Business

When you submit information to HandyAmerican.com, you authorize us to share this information with our network of service professionals and partners (Contractors, Tradesmen, Architects) in order to try to provide the services you request. For example, when an approved member of our service professional network accepts a lead from a registered user, and that user indicates what personal information they are willing to share so that the service professional can contact the user, such as telephone numbers and email addresses, that information is shared with our service professionals who have accepted a service request lead. We may also post and publish users’ ratings and reviews of Service Professionals' performance, as well as feedback and testimonials at our sole discretion.

Though we strive to preserve user privacy, due to the existing regulatory environment, we cannot ensure that all of your private communications and other personal information will always remain confidential. By way of example, we may disclose personal information when required by law wherein we have a belief that such action is necessary or advisable to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, legal proceeding, process or investigation served on our business or Website(s), or when we believe parties are misusing or attempting to misuse our Websites or services, including but not limited to violating the law, committing fraud, deception, theft, attempting to harm or divert our business, engaging in threatening or inappropriate behavior or threatening to place, or placing themselves or others in danger. Finally, although we strive to protect your privacy, third parties beyond our control may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications. Therefore, we do not promise, and you should not expect, that your personal information or private communications will always remain private.

HandyAmerican.com will not be responsible or otherwise liable for any use or disclosure of your personal information by a third party to whom HandyAmerican.com is allowed to disclose you personal information under this privacy policy.

Aggregate Information (non-personally identifiable)
HandyAmerican.com may share aggregated activity or statistical information with partners, advertisers or others, but such information shall not contain personally identifiable information.

Business Transitions
In the event HandyAmerican.com goes through a business transition such as a merger, being acquired by another company, or selling a portion of its assets, users' personal information will, in most instances, be part of the assets transferred. See also, section entitled "Changes and updates to this policy..." set forth below.

Choice/Opt-out
Our users are given the opportunity to 'opt-out' of having their information used for purposes not directly related to our Website at the point where we ask for information. For example, our service request form has an 'opt-out' mechanism so users who submit a service request from us, but don't want any marketing material, can keep their email address off of our marketing lists.

Users who no longer wish to receive our newsletter and promotional communications may opt-out of receiving these communications by replying to unsubscribe in the email or email us at customerservice@HandyAmerican.com.

Users of our Website are always notified when their information is being collected by any outside parties (excluding our affiliates, service providers, or agents) for marketing purposes. We do this so our users can make an informed choice as to whether or not they should proceed with services that require an outside party.

Links and Integrated Partnerships
This Website contains links from and to other Websites. Please be aware that HandyAmerican.com is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other Websites. We encourage our users to be aware of this when they leave our Website and to read the privacy statements of each and every Website that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by HandyAmerican.com’s Website.

Governing Law and jurisdiction
This Site is controlled by Handy Canadian Inc. from its offices within the province of Ontario, Canada. By accessing this Site, you and Handy Canadian Inc. agree that the statutes and laws of the Province of Ontario, without regard to the conflicts of laws principles thereof, shall govern all matters relating to your access to, or use of, this Site and any Materials or Services. You and Handy Canadian Inc. also agree and hereby submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of the Superior Court of Ontario with respect to such matters.