Vantive Partners™ Online Privacy Practices and Principles

Vantive Partners is an H&R Block company that offers a wide range of tax and financial services, including tax preparation. The following guidelines set forth general privacy principles that apply to our Web site. When you establish a business relationship with Vantive Partners, we will make you aware of our privacy practices that apply to that particular business or relationship.

We describe below our general practices regarding information collection through our Internet Web site at www.vantivepartners.com. These practices do not apply to our physical offices you may visit for services, and these practices do not apply to H&R Block, its affiliates nor any specific Web site based relationships you may have with H&R Block or any H&R Block affiliates.

Information We Collect

When you visit vantivepartners.com, we may collect information about you from the following categories and sources:

Information we receive when you request services, or information from us or companies with whom we have business relationships, enter contests or sweepstakes, or complete surveys or polls, such as your name, address, e-mail address and payment or billing information.
Information you provide when you apply for employment with Vantive Partners.
Web technologies. We may collect information through the following Web technologies: We utilize a software technology called "cookies". Internet cookies allow us to customize our Website for you by placing small files on your computer as you visit various components of vantivepartners.com. Through the use of cookies, we can display only those items that may be of interest to you on a particular site, or make it easier for you to access your account information. In most cases, however, information we collect through Internet cookies does not identify you personally.
- We also employ a software technology called clear gifs (also known as web beacons), that help us better manage content on our site by informing us what content is effective. Clear gifs are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies, and are used to track the online movements of Web users. Clear gifs and cookies are not tied to users' personally identifiable information.
- Like most standard Web site servers, Vantive Partners uses log files. Information collected in log files may include internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks. We utilize this information to analyze trends, administer the site, track user's movement in the aggregate, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use.
- When you use calculators and other tools on our Web site that do not require registration, Vantive Partners may collect non-identifiable data from such tools, such as the number of people that use a certain tool. Vantive Partners may also set cookies or clear gifs based upon your use of tools and calculators to help us customize offers and tools to your particular interests. Vantive Partners will not record or track any data you enter into standalone tools and calculators in any way that identifies you personally, unless we specifically inform you that we are doing so at the time you provide such data.

How We May Disclose Your Information

For information collected on vantivepartners.com as described above under "Information We Collect", Vantive Partners may disclose such information to the following categories of persons:

Third Parties. Vantive Partners does not share your personal information with non-affiliated third parties for their promotional or marketing uses.
Affiliates. Vantive Partners may provide information it collects to its affiliates. We disclose information to our affiliates in order to respond to your requests for information or services, or to help limit your receipt of marketing materials you have requested not to receive.
Service Providers. Vantive Partners may disclose information to a service provider in order to perform a service for Vantive Partners or perform a function on our behalf. Examples could include sweepstakes administrators that help us manage contests and sweepstakes we offer, or companies that print letters or manage our electronic mail for us. Service providers will use the information provided to them to perform the requested service as directed by Vantive Partners.
Joint Marketing Arrangements. Vantive Partners may provide information it collects to joint marketers with whom Vantive Partners has a marketing arrangement. For example, Vantive Partners may enter into agreements with airlines or credit card companies to provide you with "miles" or "points" for visiting the Vantive Partners Web site or purchasing certain products or services from Vantive Partners. In such case, Vantive Partners would provide identifying information about you to the company in order to credit your account with such "miles" or "points". The joint marketer may use your information for other purposes permitted by law.
Persons Who Acquire Our Assets or Business. If Vantive Partners sells or transfers any of its business or assets, certain information about our clients may be a part of that sale or transfer. In the event of such a sale or transfer, Vantive Partners will notify you. The notification procedure will be the same as the procedure we use to notify you of a change in our privacy statement as described below.
Persons Who Request Information for Legal Purposes. We may disclose your information to affiliates or non-affiliated third parties when we have a good faith belief that such disclosure is required by law. This may occur in connection with a court order, legal process, or other judicial, administrative or investigative proceeding that produces a request for information from Vantive Partners.

We may disclose aggregate information compiled using your personal information that does not identify you individually or personally. This may include, for example, the total number of visitors to our Web site from a particular state, or the average age of a user of our Web sites.

Links to Other Web sites and Offers for Third Party Products.

Vantive Partners' Web site may contain links to third party Web sites or offers for services from third parties. For any such third party products or services, you should carefully read the privacy policies of the third parties providing such products or services and any terms and conditions applicable to such products or services.

Vantive Partners may also have business relationships with third parties that provide products or services on the Vantive Partners site. These companies are clearly indicated on our Web sites. When you request products or services from such companies, you give Vantive Partners permission to provide these third parties with personal information about you necessary to fulfill or process your request.

Children Under Age 13

Because of the financial nature of the services we provide, we do not market our Web site to children under the age of 13.

Changes to Our Privacy Statement.

If we make a material change to this Privacy Statement, including a material change in the way we use your personal information, we will notify you by using one of the following methods at least thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of such change: (1) we will post a notice on our Web site describing the change; or (2) we will send you electronic mail notifying you of the change.

Contacting Us With Questions

If you have questions or concerns regarding this privacy policy, contact Vantive Partners by clicking here. If you do not receive acknowledgment of your inquiry or your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed within fifteen (15) business days, you may then contact TRUSTe at http://www.truste.org/consumers/watchdog_complaint.php. TRUSTe will then serve as a liaison with the Web site to resolve your concerns.

Vantive Partners is a licensee of the TRUSTe Privacy Program. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to build users' trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices. Because this Web site wants to demonstrate its commitment to your privacy, it has agreed to disclose its information practices and have its privacy practices reviewed for compliance by TRUSTe. The TRUSTe program covers only information that is collected through the Vantive Partners Web site and does not cover information you provide in connection with transactions with H&R Block or any H&R Block affiliate.