Your Privacy is important to us

Privacy of personal information is an important principle at Acro Energy. We are committed to the practice of insuring that any personal information that is collected, used, and/or disclosed is done so responsibly; and only to the extent necessary for the services we provide.  We strive to be open and transparent regarding how we handle personal information. This document describes our privacy policies.

What is Personal Information?

Personal information is information about an identifiable individual - i.e.: information about you. Personal information includes information that relates to: an individual's personal characteristics (e.g., gender, age, income, home address or phone number, ethnic background, family status); health (e.g., health history, health conditions, health services received by them); or, activities and views (e.g., religion, politics, opinions expressed by an individual, an opinion or evaluation of an individual). Personal information is different from business information (e.g., an individual's business address and business telephone number). Such business information is considered 'public' and is not protected by privacy legislation.

Acro Energy is a full service electrical contractor - meaning all planning and execution of your electrical project is handled by our staff; however; we occasionally subcontract non-electrical duties to other contractors.  Subcontracting is limited to duties such as backhoe operation and hole-digging.  Such a subcontractor would need to be given basic contact information in order to complete their work, such as jobsite address.  State law requires us to provide subcontractors with customer contact information so that the subcontractor can make the customer aware of their status and inform the customer of the subcontractors rights under state law. We restrict subcontractor access to any personal information we hold as much as is reasonably possible. We also have their assurance that they follow appropriate privacy principles.

Like all contractors, we collect, use and disclose personal information in order to serve our customers.

For contracted customers, the primary purposes for collecting personal information are as follows: To complete applications for obtaining building permits, rebate reservations, and utility interconnection agreements for the customer (as applicable); as well as obtaining legal authorization to act on the customer's behalf, in order to resolve any issues that may arise from their utility provider, local building department, or homeowner's association (when applicable).  This is done to assure that projects are as hassle-free for our customers as reasonably possible.  Examples of the type of personal information we collect for those purposes include the following: Name, address, phone numbers, utility account numbers, and proof of property insurance.  Only contact information and notes are stored on computers.  This insures that any of your vital personal information which we hold remains secure until it is returned or destroyed.

For members of the general public, our primary purposes for collecting personal information are as follows: To disseminate information and offer our services to the general public. We do not seek or collect personal information from the public at large; however, we do keep basic contact information on community members who have fielded inquiries regarding our services in order to have a record of offers and verbal agreements so that we can meet their expectations should they become a customer.

Like most organizations, we also collect, use and disclose information for purposes related to, or secondary, to our primary purposes. The most common example of our related and secondary purposes are as follows:

To assist customers with financing of their solar projects. If a customer wishes us to assist them in obtaining financing for a solar generator, we would provide an application and disclose that application to a reputable organization that specializes in such matters. We will never disclose sensitive personal information without the customer's express permission. Customers can choose not to be part of this process by simply declining our offer to help with financing of such projects.

We understand the importance of protecting personal information. For that reason, we have taken the following steps

• Paper information is either under supervision or secured in a locked or restricted area
• Electronic hardware is either under supervision or secured in a locked or restricted area at all times. In addition, passwords are used on computers. All of our cell phones are digital, as these signals are more difficult to intercept.
• Paper information is transmitted through sealed, adressed envelopes or boxes by reputable companies.
• Electronic information is transmitted either through a direct line or has identifiers removed or is encrypted.
• Staff are trained to collect, use, and disclose personal information only as necessary to fulfil their duties and in accordance with our privacy policy.

Retention and Destruction of Personal Information

We need to retain personal information for some time to ensure that we can answer any questions you might have about the services provided and for our own accountability to external regulatory bodies. We do not want to keep personal information too long, in order to protect your privacy. We will keep some of our customers files for 25 years; however, sensitive information is destroyed once it is no longer needed. We will keep contracts, designs drawings and specifications, as well as warranty information for the duration of warranty periods. This is done so that we can be there to assist you in the case that you would potentially need assistance with an equipment warranty, and also to verify the work we have done in the case that we need to correct such work in the future. Our client and contact directories are much more difficult to systematically destroy, so we remove such information, when we can, if it does not appear that we will be contacting you again. However, if you ask, we will remove such contact information right away. We keep any personal information relating to our general correspondence with people who are not our clients, newsletters, seminars and marketing activities for about 2 years after the newsletter, seminar or marketing activity is over.

We destroy paper files containing personal information by shredding. We destroy electronic information by deleting it and, when the hardware is discarded, we ensure that the hard drive is physically destroyed. Alternatively, we may send some or all of the client file to our client.

You Can Look at Your Information

With only a few exceptions, you have the right to see what personal information we hold about you. Often all you have to do is ask. We can help you identify what records we might have about you. We will also try to help you understand any information you do not understand (e.g., short forms, technical language, etc.). We will need to confirm your identity, if we do not know you, before providing you with this access. We reserve the right to charge a nominal fee for such requests.

If there is a problem, we may ask you to put your request in writing. If we cannot give you access, we will tell you within 30 days if at all possible and tell you the reason, as best we can, as to why we cannot give you access.

If you believe there is a mistake in the information, you have the right to ask for it to be corrected. This applies to factual information and not to any professional opinions we may have formed. We may ask you to provide documentation that our files are wrong. Where we agree that we made a mistake, we will make the correction and, where appropriate, notify anyone to whom we sent this information. If we do not agree that we have made a mistake, we will agree to include in our file a brief statement from you on the point and, as appropriate, we will forward that statement to anyone else who received the earlier information.

Do You Have a Concern?

Our COO, Steve Vella, can be reached at (209) 847-2977 to address any questions or concerns you might have.

If you wish to make a formal complaint about our privacy practices, you may make it in writing to our main office. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint, ensure that it is investigated promptly, and provide you with a formal written decision including an explanation.

If you have a concern about the professionalism or competence of our services, or the mental or physical capacity of any of our staff, we would ask you to discuss those concerns with us. If we cannot satisfy your concerns, you are entitled to complain to the professional and trade groups of which we are members.  Both the BBB and the LCH will work diligently to assist you in the case that your grievance cannot be satisfactorily addressed by our company.  Contact information for these groups is as follows:

MidCal Better Business Bureau
11 S. San Joaquin St. Suite 803
Stockton, CA 95202-3202
Phone:  (209) 948-4880
Fax: (209) 465-6302
info@midcalbbb.org
Business Hours 9:00-12:00/1:00-4:00

The League of California Homeowners
99 "C" Street, Suite 209, Upland, CA 91786.
Phone: (800) 692-4663
Fax: (909) 931-1034
lchome@homeowners.org
Business Hours: M-F 8:00-5:00

You may also choose to file a complaint with the California State Contractor's Board if you believe we have broken Contractors License Law.

Contractors State License Board
9821 Business Park Dr.
Sacramento, CA 95827
Phone: (800) 321-2752

For more general inquiries, The California Office of Privacy Protection assists individuals with privacy related concerns, as well as aiding identity theft victims.  California is the first state to create an agency dedicated to protecting privacy rights for citizens.  Acro Energy is also committed to insuring your private information stays safe.  In fact, the 2006 California Business Privacy Handbook is recommended reading for all staff members.

The California Office of Privacy Protection
1625 North Blvd., Suite N324
Sacramento, CA 95834
Phone: (866) 785-966
privacy@dca.ca.gov