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BT Privacy and Security Policy

Who are we?

BT Group plc is the holding company for an integrated group of businesses that provides voice and data services in the UK and overseas. British Telecommunications plc is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and holds virtually all businesses and assets of the BT group. British Telecommunications plc has four lines of business – BT Retail, BT Wholesale, BT Global Services and BT Exact.

BT Retail provides telephone lines to most people in the UK, as well as a wide range of communications products and services to the residential and business markets including mass market internet access. BT Wholesale provides network services and solutions to communications companies. BT Global Services is BT's business services and solutions division serving customers worldwide. BT Exact is BT's research, technology and IT operations business. It offers expertise and experience in information and communications technology.

When we refer to "we" or "our" or "BT" we are referring to BT Group plc (which includes British Telecommunications plc) and their subsidiaries, or any of them, as the context requires.

Why do we have a Privacy Policy?

We have developed this policy because we want you to feel confident about the privacy and security of your personal information. BT is registered under the data protection laws in the United Kingdom and takes all reasonable care to prevent any unauthorised access to your personal information.

When we refer to "personal information" in this Privacy Policy, we mean information which identifies you as an individual, or is capable of doing so. Accordingly, we may hold and use data about you in your capacity as a consumer, a business customer, as an individual acting on behalf of a business customer, as a shareholder, or in any other capacity, for example, when you visit our website

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. If you are visiting any of our websites or using any our services, by continuing to do so, you indicate your agreement to our use of your personal information as set out in this Privacy Policy.

What does this Privacy Policy cover?

This Privacy Policy only applies to how BT deals with your personal information. It does not apply to any other company or to any other company's websites even if you access them through BT. If you disclose your personal information to other companies your information will be dealt with according to their privacy practices.

What personal information do we collect about you, and when do we collect it?

We may ask you for information to enable us to provide a service to you and we collect this information by telephone, written correspondence or via a website. We may ask you for information including your name, private/business address, contact telephone numbers and email address. We may also ask you for other information that relates to the service you are using or ordering. For example, we may need your credit card number to charge you for certain services.

When you (or someone using your telephone line) make a telephone call or send a fax or send an SMS that uses our telephone network or connect to the world wide web, we keep a record of that call (including the number called) to enable BT to charge for it. We also receive from other operators information about calls made over our network, where we need that information for connecting and billing purposes

  • If someone abuses or damages the telephone network, for example by making offensive or nuisance calls, we may keep information relating to that abuse.
  • We have information about your use of our services (such as the amount of time you spend on-line) which we use to manage our network and for billing. We may also use this information for marketing products and services but we will give the option to opt out of receiving this material.
  • If you enter into any of our competitions or promotions, we may ask for information about you which will be made clear at the time you enter. We will also inform you of the purposes for which the information you provide may be used.
  • We may ask you from time to time about what use you make of the services we provide, what other services you would like us to provide in the future, and for other information, such as "lifestyle" data.

What personal information do we collect about you from other Companies and Organisations

  • We may receive personal information about you from other companies and organisations (for example, for marketing purposes) and we rely on these third parties to obtain your consent for us to use this information.
  • We receive information from other telecommunications operators about their customers to enable us to enter their details (together with our own customers' information) in telephone directories. We also make telephone numbers available on directory enquiry services unless customers (of BT or other licensed telecommunications operators) have chosen to be ex-directory.

Please note that when you order goods and services from BT we may make enquiries about you in order for us to fulfil your order. These enquires include searching your records held by Experian / Equifax or any other credit reference agency and checking any details held on you by the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) security alert or any other fraud prevention scheme. At all times where your information is disclosed to us we will protect it in accordance with this Policy and keep it secure.

Do we share your personal information with anyone else?

As a normal part of our business we share with other communications companies information for connecting and charging for calls over each others networks.

We sometimes use other companies to provide services to you or to provide services to us. To enable them to do this, we may need to share your personal information with them. When we do so, these companies are required to act in accordance with the instructions we give them and they must meet the requirements of the Data Protection Act to keep the information secure.

We may share your personal information with other parts of BT to enable them to conduct their own businesses and to market their products and services to you. We provide this information in accordance with our Code of Practice on the Disclosure of Customer Information. This Code limits BT's ability to share information in this manner and is intended to prevent BT gaining unfair competitive advantage over its competitors.

We may share your personal information with other companies so that they can contact you with details of other products or services you may be interested in. We will only do this if you have agreed to this and where the companies agree to use your personal information for that purpose only. If you have agreed to receive information about products and services from another company and later decide not to you will need to contact that company yourself to let them know. You can of course ask us not to continue to provide your personal information to any more companies in future.

We may provide information, in response to properly made requests, for the purposes of the prevention and detection of crime, and the apprehension or prosecution of offenders. We may also provide information for the purpose of safeguarding national security. In either case we do so in accordance with the Data Protection Act. We also provide information when required to do so by law, for example under a court order, or in response to properly made demands, under powers contained in legislation.

If there is a change (or prospective change) in the ownership of BT or any of its assets, we may disclose personal information to the new (or prospective) owner. If we do so, we will require them to keep it confidential.

If you believe the personal information we hold on you is incorrect you may amend it by following the procedure set out below in "How can I change the personal information BT holds about me?"

For how long does BT keep personal information?

The time period for which we keep information varies according to what the information is used for. In some cases, there are legal requirements to keep data for a minimum period. Unless there is a specific legal requirement for us to keep the information, we will retain it for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the data was collected or for which it is to be further processed.

How do we protect your data when it is transferred out of Europe?

Countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) are required to have a similar standard of protection of personal data but this is not always the case in countries outside of the EEA. We do sometimes transfer data outside the EEA but before doing so take steps to ensure that your data will be given adequate protection as required by the Data Protection Act.

How can I find out what personal information BT holds about me?

If you want specific information please tell us and give us any relevant information to enable us to locate the information about you because this will speed up our reply. We may be able to provide the specific information you want without you having to make a formal request.

You can make a formal request if you want to know what personal information BT holds about you. In this case, please put your request in writing and send it to us enclosing a cheque for the administration fee of £10 made payable to British Telecommunications plc. The address is:

Data Subject Protection Manager,
PP LF11, Libra House,
Sunrise Parkway,
Linford Wood,
Milton Keynes,
MK14 6PH.

How can I change the personal information BT holds about me?

If the information we hold about you is inaccurate, please let us know and we will make the necessary amendments and confirm that these have been made.

You can change or remove the details held about you on this site by signing in and using the "Edit Profile" link at the top of the page.

How can I manage BT's contact with me for marketing purposes?

If you no longer wish to receive marketing e-mail related to Web21C, you can set a preference in your account profile. Sign in and follow the 'Edit Profile' link at the top of the page, then tick the 'opt out of mailings' box and save your changes.

For information about opting out of general marketing information from BT, please see the bt.com privacy policy.

How do we protect your personal information?

We are serious about guarding the security of your personal information and the details of any transactions made. We take appropriate organisational and technical security measures to protect your data against unauthorised disclosure or processing. We use a secure server to store the information you give us when you register or make an order (including your credit card details and your password). Any personal data you send us on-line is securely encrypted.

Please note that your billing account number is a sensitive piece of information, which can be used with your telephone number to find out information about your use of BT's services. Please be sure to keep this information safe, and do not share it with others. For access to information such as itemised billing and some business account and ordering services, extra proof of identity and authorisation may be needed.

How do you find out about changes to our Privacy Policy?

We may change our privacy policy from time to time. New policies will be published on our web sites.

When do we use cookies?

A cookie is a small piece of text which is allocated by our server to your web browser when you visit our website. We use a cookie while you are logged in to match your browser session to your account. We do not store any personal information in the cookie, and the cookie does not collect any information regarding the use of your PC or your Internet browsing in any way.

British Telecommunications PLC
81 Newgate Street
London
EC1A 7AJ
Registered in England and Wales No. 4190816