1. Introduction

This policy covers MB Solutions (Holdings) Ltd’s (MB Ltd) use of personal information that MB Ltd collects when you use countdowncard.com.

To utilise the site you will be asked to register your Countdown card, this card may have been supplied to you directly by Countdown (MB Solutions (Holdings) Ltd) or by an organisation that you work for or belong to. The Countdown card allows you to access the Countdown programme of lifestyle benefits and privileges, which are not available to non-members. By registering your card you will gain access to these offers and benefits by way of on-line listings and information and receive or use services on our website. Such services include access to special offers and details of how to access the Countdown programme. From time to time you may be able to access other services such as newsletters and competitions.

By entering your details in the fields requested, you enable MB Ltd and its service providers to provide you with the services you select. Whenever you provide such personal information, we will treat that information in accordance with this policy. When using your personal information MB Ltd will act in accordance with current legislation and aim to meet current Internet best practice.

2. Visitor Information

During the course of any visit to countdowncard.com, the pages you see, along with a short text file called a 'cookie', are downloaded to your computer. Many websites do this, because cookies enable website publishers to do useful things like find out whether the computer (and probably its user) has visited the website before. This is done on a repeat visit by checking to see, and finding, the cookie left there on the last visit.

Information supplied by cookies can help us to provide you with a better online user experience and assist us to analyse the profile of our visitors. For example: if on a previous visit you went to our Dining offer pages, we might find this out from your cookie and highlight Dining offers on your second and subsequent visits.

3. What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small amount of data, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier that is sent to your browser from a website's computer and stored on your computer's hard drive. Each website can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser's preferences allow it, but (to protect your privacy) your browser only permits a web site to access the cookies it has already sent to you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites.

Cookies record information about your online preferences. Users have the opportunity to set their computers to accept all cookies, to notify them when a cookie is issued, or not to receive cookies at any time. The last of these, of course, means that certain personalised services cannot then be provided to that user and accordingly you may not be able to take full advantage of all of the features available on countdowncard.com. Each browser is different, so check the "Help" menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences.

If you have set your computer to reject cookies you can still browse countdowncard.com anonymously but you will not be able to access any of the actual offers and benefits available through the Countdown programme, until such time as you wish to register your Countdown card. For further information on cookies please visit www.aboutcookies.org.

If you want to delete any cookies that are already on your computer, please refer to the instructions for your file management software to locate the file or directory that stores cookies. Our cookies will have the file name "www.countdowncard.txt". Information on deleting or controlling cookies is available at www.aboutcookies.org. Please note that by deleting our cookies or disabling future cookies you may not be able to access certain areas or features of our site.

4. Use and storage of your personal information

When you supply any personal information to countdowncard.com (e.g. for competitions or membership of the Countdown programme) we have legal obligations towards you in the way we use the collected data. We must collect the information fairly; that is, we must explain how we will use it (see the notices on particular webpages that let you know why we are requesting the information) and tell you if we want to pass the information on to anyone else.

In general, any information you provide to the MB Ltd will only be used by MB Ltd and by its agents and service providers. Your information will be disclosed where we are obliged or permitted by law. We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as you are a Countdown cardholder. Where personal information is held for people who are not yet members of the Countdown programme but have taken part in other countdowncard.com services (e.g. competitions), that information will be held as long as is necessary to ensure that the service is run smoothly. We will ensure that all personal information supplied is held securely, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

If you are notified on countdowncard.com that your information may be used to allow MB Ltd to contact you for "service administration purposes", this means that MB Ltd may contact you for a number of purposes related to the service you have signed up for. For example, we may wish to provide you with password reminders or notify you that the particular service has been suspended for maintenance. We will not contact you for promotional purposes, such as notifying you of improvements to the service or new services on countdowncard.com unless you specifically agree to be contacted for such purposes at the time you submit your information on the site, or at a later time if you sign up specifically to receive such promotional information.

5. Access to your personal information

You have the right to request a copy of the personal information MB Ltd holds about you and to have any inaccuracies corrected. (We charge £10 for information requests.) Please address requests to the Data Protection Officer, MB Solutions Holdings Ltd, 97 Jermyn Street, London SW1Y 6JE