The following text comprises the terms & conditions of use of our website, as well as covering things like what information we collect, how we process it, & the information we provide to you. It all sounds very legal; so if you're unsure of any aspect of it, please consult someone who gets paid lots to explain it to you like a solicitor.

1. The Information We Collect

Our primary goal for collecting information from you is to provide you with a smooth, efficient & worthwhile experience while using our services. By doing this we can provide you with the features that you're likely to use, & to make your experience on our site easier & quicker.

Mostly, we don't collect anything from you that you might class as personal information, unless you use our contact pages to get in touch. Then we'll ask you for your personal details in order to contact you & nothing else. This information will be sent automatically to either our members, our committee, or to the company who manages our website. It's not captured or stored anywhere else once it's been sent.

We do automatically track certain information based on how you use our site; in the following two ways...

Firstly, our clever web server automatically keeps track of all visitors to our site using something called 'log files'. These log files contain the Internet address of the computer you were viewing our site from (called your IP address given to you my your ISP), as well as a number of other pieces of information like the time & date you visited, which pages you viewed & if anything was missing when you viewed our site (which hopefully never happens), your operating system & web browser. We also track how you might have arrived at our site, & if you left it using a link to somewhere else. We go through these logs from time to time & process them to produce lots of terribly interesting reports which help us improve our site or see if there's anything wrong with it; & to make sure things are working tickety-boo. Log files don't store any personal information about you other than the details already mentioned.

Our site also sometimes uses something called 'cookies', which may offer some certain services which are only available through the use of a cookie. Cookies are little text files which are stored on your computer during your visit to our site. We use 'session cookies' which mean that when you close our website, the cookie doesn't hang around (it gets deleted). Some of the sites we provide links to may also use cookies, but we don't have any control over other people's sites. Our cookies don't store any of your personal information, so you don't have to worry about that.

Neither of these methods store any type of personal information about you; which makes it a lot easier for everyone.

2. Surveys, Competitions & Contests.

From time to time, we might use our site to run fancy promotions like competitions, or to give stuff away. If we do this, then we may have to ask you for personal information of one form or another in order to get in touch with you or send you what we said we would. If we do, we'll warn you how we're going to use the information at the time.

Any information we do need to take & process is kept on computers within the UK, or in paper files, & never ends up outside the country (unless someone has illegally intercepted it). We don't use data processing methods or call centres from anywhere outside the UK. If we do need to take this information, we'll make sure we only hold it for as long as necessary for our purposes & we'll destroy it securely once we're finished.

We'll always comply with requests from any law enforcement agencies or other authorised bodies to investigate crime, & other ne're-do-wells. It's up to us to decide who's authorised & the validity of such a request.

3. The Information We Give You.

Generally speaking, our site provides you with lots of lovely information about our existing members, news stories, how to join us, & about other selected organisations & partners who generally help us out. Where possible, we'll try to make sure all the information we provide you with is accurate, up-to-date, & free from opinion & speculation. Obviously we don't have control of other people's websites or editorial; especially when you're talking about money. If it's anywhere but on this site - don't necessarily believe that it's official.

Sometimes though, the information people give us might be wrong, or spelled incorrectly. We're really sorry about this; & we'll be sure to correct it as soon as someone tells us.

But we can't be held responsible for anything going wrong if the information on our site should be deemed inappropriate or inaccurate; nor if you loose any bets, hair or sanity because of it. It's not our fault, okay?

Just to let you know that in addition to us having access to our website, there are a number of other people who might have access to it. These might include (But are not limited to) our Internet Service Provider & our webmaster. We've signed data protection acts with them too; & you accept this access by viewing our website.

4. Statement To New / Existing Chamber Members.

When you joined the Chamber, you were probably given a copy of the terms & conditions of membership. In addition to these, you understand that your membership comes with a complimentary listing of your business or organisation on this website. Our webmaster will pop more or less any details in good taste on your entry, & you can change it as often as you fancy within reasonable limits.

By having an entry, you accept that all your normal membership information is added to the membership database shown on the site; & therefore people can view it from all over the place. Whilst the database is stored securely, there's always a very slim chance that it might be used for fraudulent purposes; but our webmaster has done lots of things to avoid this happening.

Just before you ask, no, we haven't got any way of tracking how many times website viewers have looked at your individual entry - sorry!

It's really really terribly important that if any your business details change, just drop a quick note to our webmasters so they can update your listing on the site, as not all of our webmaster's staff have ESP powers. Otherwise all sorts of strange things might happen like bounced emails, complaints from website users which doesn't make any of us look good. Changing your details is easy - just follow the flowchart you were given.