Privacy Policy

1. Introduction and Accountability

Smart Geeks ("we", "us", or "our") is deeply committed to maintaining the accuracy, confidentiality, and security of your personal information. This highly detailed Privacy Policy outlines our practices regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information when you visit our physical storefront at 13018 84 Ave Unit 2, Surrey, BC, or interact with our website. This policy is strictly designed to comply with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). We have designated a Privacy Officer who is accountable for our compliance with these principles.

2. Identifying Purposes: What Information We Collect

We limit the collection of personal information to that which is strictly necessary to provide our hardware services. We may collect:

• Identity & Contact Data: First name, last name, email address, physical address, and telephone number.
• Hardware Context Data: The make, model, serial number, physical condition, and password/PIN of the device you leave in our care for hardware servicing (strictly to access the hardware for testing purposes).
• Financial Data: Payment card details (processed securely via highly encrypted third-party payment gateways; Smart Geeks does not store full credit card numbers).
• Usage & Technical Data: IP address, browser type, and interaction data gathered via standard website cookies to improve our digital presence.

3. Consent

By submitting a contact form, requesting a hardware quote, or signing our physical in-store intake form, you provide explicit consent for Smart Geeks to collect, use, and disclose your personal information exactly as described in this policy. You may withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions, by contacting us directly. Please note that withdrawing consent may prevent us from completing your hardware installation or maintenance.

4. Limiting Collection, Use, and Disclosure

We collect personal information exclusively by fair and lawful means. We use your information only to:

• Perform the physical hardware installation and maintenance services you requested.
• Communicate with you regarding service updates, hardware availability, or invoicing.
• Process payments securely.
• Comply with accounting, tax, and legal obligations.

Smart Geeks explicitly does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third-party data brokers, marketers, or external technical support agencies. Information is only shared with trusted third parties (such as our payment processor or invoicing software) strictly for the purpose of running our daily hardware business, and these third parties are bound by strict confidentiality agreements.

5. Retention of Personal Information

We retain personal information only for as long as it is required to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. For example, Canada Revenue Agency requires us to keep financial transaction records (invoices containing your name and address) for seven (7) years. After the required retention period, your data is securely destroyed, erased, or anonymized.

6. Accuracy

We strive to ensure that your personal information is as accurate, complete, and up-to-date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used. If your contact information changes while your hardware is in our care, please notify us immediately so we can reach you when your device is ready.

7. Safeguards and Data Security

Smart Geeks employs robust security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information to protect it against loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.

• Physical Measures: Filing cabinets are locked, and physical access to our technician workstations at our Surrey location is strictly restricted.
• Technological Measures: We use secure network architectures, firewalls, password-protected operating systems, and encrypted data transmission (SSL/HTTPS on our website).
• Data Breach Protocol: In the highly unlikely event of a data breach that poses a real risk of significant harm, we will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC (OIPC) / Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) as required by law.

8. Openness and Individual Access

You have the absolute right to request access to the personal information we hold about you. Upon written request to our Privacy Officer, we will inform you of the existence, use, and disclosure of your personal information and provide you access to that information. If you find errors in our records, you may request that it be amended.

9. Challenging Compliance

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or our data handling practices, please direct your inquiry to our storefront: