Data Privacy

1. General

TeleBid is a service provided by Sofina GmbH, Domagkstr. 34, 80807 Munich, Germany.

Your data is collected and processed by us exclusively according to statutory regulations, in particular, the UK's Data Protection Act and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations; and in Germany, the Federal Data Protection Act and Telemedia Act.

You may use TeleBid at any time without registering. When you visit our website, data is saved on our servers in an anonymous format, as is the website that you visit us from, the websites that you proceed to from our site, and your IP address. As this is being done, no personal data is associated with you.

However, we do need some personal information from you so that you can actively participate in TeleBid. We would therefore like to request that you agree to the collection and storage of some of your data. You can revoke your consent any time here.

Once you have registered for "My TeleBid", you are asked to choose a TeleBid user name together with a password, which then allows you to take advantage of all of the TeleBid services.


2. Data Collection

Personal data is the information needed to identify you, for example your name, address, date of birth, e-mail address, mobile phone number, etc. With your consent, personal data are recorded and processed by TeleBid, in particular:

  • When you register with "My TeleBid"
  • When you buy bids
  • When you win an auction
  • We will only collect your account or credit card data if this is necessary in order to process payment.

Usage data are personal data that identify the user, as well as information on the TeleBid services the user utilizes, for example your TeleBid user name together with the associated password and your IP address when you purchase bids or win an auction. We collect these data only to make it possible for you to use TeleBid. The data is stored only for as long as it is necessary to process bids you have bought and auctions you have won.


3. Use of the Data

Personal data such as name, address, etc. are used to process item shipment after an auction is won. We ask for your e-mail address so that we can stay in contact with you by e-mail. We need your account data or credit card data to process payment transactions you are involved with. We also use your personal data to communicate with you regarding orders, to process auctions, marketing retentions and to process other transactions. Similarly, we use your data in order to inform you of marketing promotions or to enable third parties authorized by us to perform technical, logistical, or other services. All data is stored securely on our servers.


4. Newsletter

When you register with TeleBid, you state whether you agree to receive the e-mail newsletter. If you agree, we will use this method to inform you of new functions or promotions on our website. You can revoke this consent here or by using the corresponding link in the e-mail newsletter at any time.


5. Forwarding Personal Data to Third Parties

Your personal information may be passed on to third parties only if this is necessary to process a payment transaction or a business transaction with our partners. Essentially these are respectable businesses that strictly comply with applicable data protection regulations. TeleBid will not release any personal information on you or forward this to third parties insofar as you have not given your express consent to do so, or unless we are required to do so by law.

When you use TeleBid and bid by phone, you consent to have your phone number provided to Sofina GmbH by the phone company so that you can be notified in the case of an item being purchased at auction.

In other situations, personal data will be passed on only to the extent that we are required to do so by law. For example, personal data is passed on to prosecutorial authorities.


6. Providing Data within the Corporate Group

TeleBid is a member of the Sofina GmbH corporate group. You are consenting to allow your data to be provided within this corporate group. We assure you that should data be provided this way, security and confidentiality will be guaranteed with no change, and that the data will continue to be subject to the Data Protection Statement above.


7. Viewing/Changing Personal Data

You can view the information in your TeleBid account at any time and update it as necessary using your TeleBid user name and your TeleBid password. Your mobile phone number for activating your account can only be changed by contacting our Customer Service.

Once we are informed, we will adjust incorrect data accordingly.

We will notify you upon request at any time as to whether and what personal data in respect to your identity or your pseudonym has been stored.


8. Revoking Consent/Deleting Your Account

You can revoke your consent to the storage and processing of your personal data here at any time, effective immediately.

You can delete or deactivate your TeleBid account at any time. When you delete your membership, your personal data is removed from our database unless we are required to save the data. As a rule it takes two to three business days until your information is completely removed from all records.


9. The Use of Cookies at our Website

TeleBid uses so-called "cookies", which are files that are stored on your computer that can be retrieved to assist in customizing your experience with the online service. The information saved supports the functionality of the site, for example by keeping track of your visual preferences or controlling the frequency of "pop-up" windows. These cookies are deleted after one month. You are free to prevent cookies from being saved on your hard drive by adjusting the corresponding settings in your browser. It is not necessary to accept cookies in order to use our service. However, we would like to point out that turning off these settings may result in limited functionality.


10. Security Measures

The information in your TeleBid account and in your TeleBid profile is password protected, so that only you have access to this personal information. Please note that you are not permitted to provide your password to anyone else. TeleBid will never ask for your password in e-mails that you receive unexpectedly or that you did not request. Please remember to log out of your account and to close your internet browser window when you leave the TeleBid site; this is especially important if you use a PC in public locations. At present, this is the safest way to ensure that no one has access to your personal information. We assume no liability for the abuse of login data and passwords used.


11. Protection from Web Crawlers or Spam

TeleBid assures you that we will use your e-mail address with your express consent only for the purposes stated in the Terms of Use. We will not sell your e-mail address to third parties, and we will prevent your e-mail address from being recorded by "web crawlers" or "web spiders" to the best of our ability. If you believe that your e-mail address has been recorded in this way, please let us know immediately.


12. Data Protection Guidelines Changes

When there are changes to the Data Protection Guidelines, we will indicate this on the TeleBid website.

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© TeleBid is a Service of Sofina GmbH - US patent pending.
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