Privacy policy
Why does De Watergroep use personal data?
To fulfil its legal, regulatory and contractual obligations, De Watergroep makes use of personal data in the performance of its activities.
The scope of application of these general terms and conditions covers all personal data received by De Watergroep via any medium, unless specified in more detail.
De Watergroep will act as controller as defined in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). De Watergroep’s contact details for questions related to your privacy are: Vooruitgangstraat 189, 1030 Brussels, tel.: 02 238 94 11.
What does De Watergroep use personal data for?
De Watergroep handles personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), since it attaches importance to the privacy of its customers. Information on the general functioning of De Watergroep is freely available to everyone.
These personal data include (depending on purpose and necessity): identity details, address details, national registry number, consumption data, data on the technical connection, etc.
The personal data you provide to De Watergroep will be included in the files that it manages itself and will be processed for the following purposes:
- Billing;
- Handling miscellaneous requests;
- Debt monitoring;
- Complaint handling;
- Meter readings;
- Technical services;
- Research and development;
- Quality control and monitoring;
- etc.
The personal data collected will only be processed in accordance with these purposes. If the personal data are used for new purposes, you will be informed of this in advance.
De Watergroep processes the personal data in the context of the general interest and in accordance with the principles of, among other things, the following regulations:
For the processing of certain personal data, De Watergroep will request your prior consent.
What are my rights?
You have certain rights with regard to the processing of your personal data. If these rights are exercised, De Watergroep will process your request within one month.
To exercise these rights, De Watergroep must receive proof of identity. To this end, you should send a written or electronic, dated and signed application with a copy of the front side of the identity card to De Watergroep’s data protection officer (see contact details below).
Right of access and inspection
As a customer, you have a legal right to inspect and where appropriate correct your personal data. You can consult your customer data via our online customer area.
Right of rectification, deletion and restriction
You are at all times entitled to rectify, supplement, delete your personal data or to restrict the further processing of, your personal data.
The right to erase data may be granted only in certain cases. De Watergroep will review whether data can be erased on a case-by-case basis.
If De Watergroep decides to erase (certain) data, this may result in a limited service.
It is possible to amend your data in De Watergroep’s customer area or by contacting the data protection officer of De Watergroep (see contact details below).
Right to data transferability
You are at all times entitled to have the data processed by De Watergroep transferred in a structured, conventional and machine-readable form or to receive these data yourself.
Right of objection
You have the right to object to the processing of data. In each specific case, De Watergroep will assess whether it can respond to this request.
Right of withdrawal of consent
If the processing is based on prior consent, you are at all times entitled to withdraw it. This withdrawal will be without prejudice to the lawfulness of the processing carried out on the basis of the consent prior to withdrawal.
What personal data does De Watergroep share with third parties?
The data may, under certain conditions, be transferred to third parties, always with maximum respect for privacy. Some of these third parties work on behalf of De Watergroep or assist it in the performance of its tasks, for example for the execution of works on private premises, for billing and customer administration, for dispute management, etc.
To guarantee the privacy of its customers, De Watergroep enters into a processing agreement with these third parties who process data on behalf of De Watergroep.
The data will not be disclosed to third parties other than those referred to in this privacy statement.
To provide as efficient a service as possible, the Water Group may pass on personal data to the following categories of recipient:
- Legal service providers;
- Service providers relating to customer matters (Doccle, Zoomit, CEVI, OCMW, etc.);
- Other public services (VMM, Vlaamse Ombudsdienst);
- Technical service providers;
- etc.
De Watergroep will not sell, distribute or rent personal data to third parties, unless the client expressly agrees or De Watergroep is legally obliged to do so.
In the event of a judicial investigation or a request from the police, data may be transferred, in accordance with the privacy laws, without the prior consent of the customer.
In some cases, De Watergroep uses Mailchimp to send e-mails. Mailchimp applies a strict privacy policy (privacy shield).
Can my personal data be used for marketing purposes?
The personal data can be used to send e-mails or leaflets about new products or services from De Watergroep or other information that De Watergroep thinks may be of interest to the user.
The user may object to the use of his or her personal data for direct marketing by e-mail to [email protected] or by letter to De Watergroep, Vooruitgangstraat 189, 1030 Brussels, provided a copy of the user’s identity card is attached. De Watergroep will process this objection within the month of submission.
What measures is De Watergroep taking to ensure the safety and confidentiality of my data?
De Watergroep has developed security measures that are technically and organisationally adapted to ensuring data security. They are designed to exclude unauthorised access to and the unauthorised use, loss and theft of your data.
Under no circumstances can De Watergroep be held liable for any direct or indirect damage resulting from the erroneous or unlawful use of personal data by a third party.
De Watergroep hereby informs the user that the website may contain links, hyperlinks or references to other sites that De Watergroep does not control and to which this Privacy & Cookies Policy does not apply. De Watergroep is not liable for the content of these sites to which reference is made nor for the offers, products or services mentioned on them.
What privacy policy applies to the website?
It is possible to use De Watergroep’s website without disclosing your personal data. However, access to certain parts or functions of our website (= customer area) may be reserved for visitors with an account linked to a username and password.
With public access, a limited number of data concerning your browsing profile can be stored on the client system or in a central data system. This is done by means of cookies (link to cookies policy).
On its website, De Watergroep may use services provided by third parties to monitor, analyse and report on the browsing behaviour of website visitors. The third party that provides such services to De Watergroep may collect anonymous data about the use you make of De Watergroep’s website, including your behaviour on the website. Such data allow De Watergroep to identify where errors can be found on its website and how it can improve your user experience on its website.
How long does De Watergroep keep personal data?
All personal data are stored in accordance with the legal time limits.
For those data for which no statutory retention period is provided, De Watergroep will not retain your data for longer than strictly necessary to achieve the purposes set out in this privacy statement.
You have the option at all times of withdrawing your consent to the processing of personal data for those personal data obtained on the basis of your consent. As soon as you withdraw your consent, De Watergroep will remove these personal data.
Where can I go for complaints about the violation of my privacy?
You have the option at all times of lodging a complaint with the Data Protection Authority if you believe that De Watergroep is violating your privacy.
Changes to the Privacy Policy
The privacy policy of De Watergroep may change to reflect changes in tasks that affect the processing of personal data. De Watergroep will publish all changes to the privacy policy and clearly indicate the changes made.