Last Modified: 12/18/22
Who we are
California Utility Services, knows how important data protection and
privacy is to everyone. We’ve set up this Privacy Notice to let you know
just what data we’re collecting, why, who else might see it, and how we’re
going to use it.
TYPES OF DATA WE COLLECT
WEBSITE COOKIES
What are cookies, and what are you doing with my data from them?
Yes – we use cookies, cookies are small data files that are placed on your
computer/mobile/tablet/other device as you browse a website. They remember
your device and when it accessed the website, and helps inform what happens
when you’re on the site and after you leave it. Cookies are important for
the effective running of a website, and we can use them to tailor the
service offered to you.
_wp_session, Expiry: Session, Essential session management cookies for
WordPress. Used to maintain information about each visit to the website and
enable core site functionality. These cookies do not contain any personal
information.
AWSELB, Expiry: 1 year, This cookie stores information about which part of
the Amazon AWS server farm was used by your most recent visit. This allows
us to optimise our site, and your experience for various performance and
server management reasons. For more information please see:
http://docs.aws.amazon.com/ ElasticLoadBalancing/ latest/APIReference/
API_CreateAppCookie StickinessPolicy.html
GOOGLE ANALYTICS COOKIES
_ga, Expiry: 2 years, Google Analytics – Google Analytics uses this cookie
to distinguish users and has an expiration of X. This is responsible for
ensuring any session data is sent to the appropriate Google Analytics
profile. This cookie will be followed by a series of numbers to fulfill
this purpose.
_gid, Expiry: Session, This is part of Google Analytics.
_utma, Expiry: Session, This is part of Google Analytics, that uses
multiple UTM parameters to help define the source, medium, device, campaign
name, country, keyword (if avalible) and other generic information tied to
the current session. As there are many different UTM parameters Google
Analytics uses multiple UTM cookies with this cookie name.
_utmb, Expiry: Session, The __utmb and __utmc cookies are brothers, working
together to calculate how long a visit takes. __utmb takes a timestamp of
the exact moment in time when a visitor enters a
site, while __utmc takes a timestamp of the exact moment in time when a
visitor leaves a site. __utmb expires at the end of the session. __utmc
waits 30 minutes, and then it expires. You see, __utmc has no way of
knowing when a user closes their browser or leaves a website, so it waits
30 minutes for another page view to happen, and if it doesn’t, it expires.
_utmc, Expiry: Session, The __utmb and __utmc cookies are brothers, working
together to calculate how long a visit takes. __utmb takes a timestamp of
the exact moment in time when a visitor enters a site, while __utmc takes a
timestamp of the exact moment in time when a visitor leaves a site. __utmb
expires at the end of the session. __utmc waits 30 minutes, and then it
expires. You see, __utmc has no way of knowing when a user closes their
browser or leaves a website, so it waits 30 minutes for another pageview to
happen, and if it doesn’t, it expires.
__utmt, __utmt_, Expiry: Session, This cookie is used to track and log
events in Google Analytics.
__utmz, __utmz, Expiry: Session, keeps track of where the visitor came
from, what search engine you used, what link you clicked on, what keyword
you used, and where they were in the world when you accessed a website. It
expires in 6 months. This cookie is how Google Analytics knows to whom and
to what source / medium / keyword to assign the credit for a Goal
Conversion or an Ecommerce Transaction. __utmz also lets you edit its
length with a simple customization to the Google Analytics Tracking code.
_dc_gtm_, Expiry: Session, Google Analytics ID, injected via Google Tag
Manager. This cookie only appears on sites that integrate Google Analytics
via Google Tag Manager. The purpose of which is to allow for hassle free
implementation of Google Analytics, and additional layers of flexibility in
anonymizing personal identifiable information.
_gat_UA-XXXXXXXX-X, Expiry: Session, This cookie does not store any user
information, it’s just used to limit the number of requests that have to be
made to Google Analytics, and has an expiration of 10-minutes. 10 Minutes
IDE, Expiry: 1 Year, Google uses cookies like IDE to help customize ads on
Google properties, like Google Search. For example, Google use such cookies
to remember your most recent searches, your previous interactions with an
advertiser’s ads or search results, and your visits to an advertiser’s
website. This helps Google to show you customized ads on Google. One of the
main advertising cookies on non-Google sites is the IDE cookie and is
stored in browsers under the domain doubleclick.net. This information is
exchanged between other Google properties, like YouTube, who may also use
these cookies to show you more relevant ads.
_gat, Expiry: Session, This cookie does not store any user information,
it’s just used to limit the number of requests that have to be made to
Google Analytics, and has an expiration of 10-minutes.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE, Expiry: 179 days, These cookies are set by the YouTube
video service on pages with embedded YouTube video. The VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
expires after eight months, and is used to send watch statistics to
YouTube.
YSC, Expiry: Session, These cookies are used to collect anonymous
statistics and performance data for embedded Youtube videos on the website.
YSC is session-based, and expires once the session has ended.
PREF, Expiry: 8 Months, These cookies are set by the YouTube video service
on pages with embedded YouTube video. The PREF cookie may store user
preferences and other information such as dark mode, last set volume, and
preferred resolution.
PYPF, Expiry: Session, PayPal uses Cookies to recognize its customers and
to shorten the time the user needs to log in to his PayPal account by
checking his email on PayPal database.
What information do they collect, and why?
The cookies we have on our site collect information on things like which
pages you visit, which device you’re on, your IP address, and publicly
available information, including details you might have shared through a
public platform like Facebook or Twitter or any other platform who have
consent to share your data. Then it pops it over to Google Analytics,
Adwords, Google Tag Manager and YouTube, so they and us can do things like
show you targeted ads, banner ads, collect information to monitor the
success of campaigns, competitions etc., and trigger automations for us to
get in touch with you. It’s also pretty important for us to effectively run
our website, especially when it comes to things like site navigation,
market research, and customer service. It sounds like a lot, but all this
does is help tailor our communication to you and let us know the kind of
stuff you might like to know more about. We may also keep an eye on the
data coming through for crime and fraud prevention, detection, and related
purposes, or if we have a legal right or duty to disclose your information.
No data is passed on to third party marketers, thus it stays between us,
California Utility Services, and the lovely software companies above.
So, what are these cookies?
Different cookies do different things in different ways. If you want to
find out exactly what, have a look at this page here.
How are cookies managed?
The cookies stored on your computer or other device when you access our
websites are designed by:
third parties who participate with us in marketing programs.
How do I disable cookies, and what happens if I do?
Browse in Incognito/InPrivate/Private mode and No Cookies will be stored.
Google Chrome Incognito (CTRL+SHIFT+N)
Mozilla Firefox in Private Browsing with Tracking Protection (CTRL+SHIFT+P)
Microsoft Edge in InPrivate browsing – tap the “Settings and more” button
in the top-right corner, choose “New InPrivate window.”
Opera in Private Browsing (CTRL+SHIFT+N)
Internet Explorer in InPrivate browsing (CTRL+SHIFT+P)
Another Option:
For Google Chrome:
Choose Settings> Advanced
Under “Privacy and security,” click “Content settings”.
Click “Cookies”
Change the settings according to what you’d prefer.
For Microsoft Internet Explorer / IE Edge :
Click on “Tools”, and then “Internet Options”
Click on the “privacy” tab
Change the settings according to what you’d prefer.
For Safari:
Choose Preferences > Privacy
Click on “Remove all Website Data”
This will get rid of cookies!
For Mozilla firefox:
Choose the menu “tools” then “Options”
Click on the icon “privacy”
Find the menu “cookie” and pick what you’d like to do from there.
For Opera 6.0 and further:
Choose the menu Files”> “Preferences”
Privacy
Then simply change the settings according to what you’d prefer.
MARKETING
California Utility Services will (with your say so) send you updates on
company services, special offers and newsletters. It’s all stuff we think
you’ll find relevant, but if you don’t like it, you can always unsubscribe
by email or by simply contacting us in the email listed below!
LINKS
When you click on links in our store, they may direct you away from our
site. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites and
encourage you to read their privacy statements.
THIRD PARTIES
On our website if you’ve opted into getting information from our trusted
third parties, we’ll only share the information that’s relevant, and
they’ll only contact you for purposes that might serve you well. So, for
example, if you’ve said to us “I’d like to Order a Sub Meter from
California Utility Services” that’s the kind of example we mean. We never
sell data.
Our Trusted Third Parties include people like our team at California
Utility Services and that’s it. Depending on if you say cookies, software,
and tools are third parties, we also share your information with
governmental bodies, regulators, law enforcement agencies, courts/tribunals
and insurers where we need to, comply with our legal obligations or
exercise our legal rights or for the prevention, detection, investigation
of crime or prosecution of offenders, and for the protection of our
employees and customers.
How and why do we use your Data?
There are three main reasons, and a couple of sub-reasons we collect and
process your data:
Consent
– you’ve given us a clear “YES!” on what you want from us, and we’ll
contact you in line with that!
LEGITIMATE INTERESTS
If it’s going to cause you minimal impact, if we think you’ll benefit from
what we’re offering, or if you’ve been in touch before and fallen off the
radar, if processing your data is necessary to serve those interests – then
we’ll get in touch. It could be for selling our services to you; protecting
our team or you for health, safety and welfare purposes; promoting,
marketing, or advertising our services; sending personalized marketing;
understanding client needs, behaviors, preferences, needs, activities;
improving our services; again, for crime and fraud prevention, detection,
and related purposes; handling client complaints, queries, disputes etc.;
and generally fulfilling our duties to our clients, team, and data
subjects! And if it’s really not wanted, you can always tell us to stop
through the email already stated, or through unsubscribe buttons where
applicable.
Legal obligation
– If we’re required to process it by law, we’ll do that.
How do we keep your data safe?
We are committed to keeping your data safe through:
To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and
follow industry best practices to make sure it is not inappropriately lost,
misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.
If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is
encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored with a
AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the Internet or
electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and
implement additional generally accepted industry standards.
How can YOU keep your data safe?
Firstly – we don’t take credit card payments, so you can be damn sure if
someone contacts you asking for these – it’s not us. Don’t do it.
Secondly, if we do send an email asking for payment, and it looks a little
dodgy. Give us an email and check. This goes for other dodgy looking emails
from us – if you’re not sure, just give us an email and ask us. We’re
always happy to help.
It goes without saying, but if you’re on a public network out and about,
it’s unlikely to be very safe. Don’t submit personal details if you’re not
on a trusted network! And in that same vein, you’ll have passwords to
access certain information, which will be secure.
What rights you have over your data
If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request
to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you,
including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we
erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data
we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
So you’ve given your details to us at California Utility Services! You’re
in good hands, but you may be wondering what rights YOU have. In regards to
all the rights below, you can get in touch with – California Utility
Services – at info@cautilityservices.com. Place “[MY DATA – MY RIGHT] in
the subject line, let us know what you’d like, and we’ll get back to you as
soon as we can and in line with GDPR requirements.
If you’ve given us consent, you have the right to withdraw your data from
us at any time! So, If you don’t want us to get in touch any more, just
unsubscribe or get in touch with info@cautilityservices.com.
You can lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. You can get in
touch with the Information Commissioner’s Office. Have a look here for more
details: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/raising-concerns/
You’ve got the right to be informed about the collection and use of
personal data.
If you want to see the data we have for you, you can ask for it.
If the data we have on file for you is outdated, incomplete, or just plain
wrong, you also have the right to change that.
You can ask to be forgotten. It feels like prom all over again, left there
to dance alone. But if you want us to forget you, you can ask us to do that
– just see this guidance from the ICO:
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/right-to-erasure/
You can ask for us to “restrict processing” of your data. If it’s wrong, if
it’s not been processed in line with the GDPR, if you need it for legal
reasons (but we don’t need it any more), or if you’ve asked us to stop
processing your information altogether – while we consider stopping
processing it, you can ask to restrict it.
You’ve got the right to ask for your data. This applies to when you’ve
given us consent to use your data.
You can ask us to stop processing your data at any time.
If we’re marketing to you, or if we’re processing your data on the grounds
of legitimate interests, you can ask us to just quit doing that.
You also have rights related to automated decision making and profiling,
where serious decisions made by automated processing (all systematic, no
human interaction), where you can ask us not to automate any decision
making process, and you can ask us for the information we’ve used to make
that processing possible.
International Transfers
We might possibly have to share your data outside of the European Economic
area (EEA). You should rest easy, though, it’s subject to special rules
under GDPR. If we do have to do this, we’ll make sure it’s done in line and
compliantly with data protection laws to make sure it is secure. If we ever
need to do it, we’ll make sure the standard data protection contract
clauses are signed or at the very least covered by their own data
protection terms.
How long do we keep your data?
We’ll not keep your data any longer than is needed under this notice, and
the longest we’ll hold onto any personal data after the purpose has been
completed is 6 years.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images,
articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact
same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional
third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded
content, including tracing your interaction with the embedded content if
you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Who we share your data with
We do not share any personal data with anyone or any third-parties.