Introduction

Handle My Complaint Pty Ltd (ACN 628 899 614) ("we," "us," "our") is committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information when you visit our website or use our services.

Our service

Handle My Complaint facilitates communication between individuals, businesses, insurance, legal and accounting professionals and government entities, ensuring messages and responses are exchanged privately and respectfully.

We respect the confidentiality of our users’ correspondence and will never publish any message or response without the explicit permission of the individuals or organisations involved.

Security and user responsibility

We are committed to maintaining the accuracy, reliability, and security of the personal information we collect. We retain personal information only as long as necessary for its intended purpose or to meet legal and ethical obligations.

To safeguard your information, we implement strict security measures to prevent unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. We maintain physical security through locks and security systems to protect both paper and electronic records. Our network and system security measures include firewalls, encryption, user authentication, and password protection to control access to stored information. Additionally, we verify user identities through unique passwords and other authentication steps before granting account access.

While we take commercially reasonable steps to protect your data, transmitting data over the internet carries inherent risks, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. Any personal information you share with us is at your own risk.

To help maintain security, you are responsible for safeguarding your password, managing access to your account, and ensuring the confidentiality of any emails exchanged with Handle My Complaint.

Collection of personal information

We may collect personal information directly from you through various means, including:

• When you provide information during complaint submission, updates or resolution processes.
• When you fill out forms on our website.
• When you participate in surveys, polls, or feedback requests on our website.
• When you subscribe to our newsletters or marketing communications.
• When you communicate with us via email, phone, social media, or other channels.
• When you register for events, webinars, or promotions hosted by us.

When you use our site and services, we will maintain your Personal Information for our records unless and until you ask us to delete this information.

Our reasons for collecting personal information

We collect personal information to support our business operations, including:

• Assisting in the resolution of complaints between consumers and businesses.
• Communicating with users regarding their complaints, inquiries, or feedback.
• Generating articles, reports, and insights (excluding personal information) on consumer issues and trends.
• Identifying potential class actions and systemic consumer concerns.
• Improving our services, website functionality, and user experience.
• Managing security, fraud prevention, and risk management.

We may also collect payment information for services requiring a fee.

What information do we collect

We collect various types of personal information to provide our services effectively. Below is a breakdown of the categories of information we handle, along with examples:

How do we use the information we collect from Users

Identity Management

We use personal information to verify user identities when logging into Handle My Complaint, ensuring secure access and preventing unauthorised use.

Complaint Handling

When handling a complaint on your behalf, we collect the necessary information to facilitate communication with the relevant organisation. This may include:

• Personal details such as your name, address, contact information, and date of birth.
• Complaint-related information, including issue details, transaction or service history and any other evidence needed to support your complaint.
• Additional details required by the organisation you are lodging the complaint with (e.g., insurance claim or policy numbers, account numbers, reference numbers, etc).

If you choose to share your personal information when submitting a complaint, the recipient organisation will have access to those details. Otherwise, the submission will be marked as sent by “an anonymous user.” Once shared, this information cannot be revoked, but you may choose to limit personal details in future submissions.

Class Action Management

If you sign up for a class action, we will use the information you provide to register you as a participant. Your details may also be used for investigation, legal documentation, and any related processes necessary to manage the class action.

Other Communications

We may use your contact details to send direct marketing communications, including offers, updates, and newsletters related to our services. You can opt out of these communications at any time.

How do we use the information we collect from Organisations

Each response we receive from Organisations is securely delivered to the relevant User through Handle My Complaint. In some cases, we may share information for external processing.

We may provide personal information to our affiliates, trusted partners, or third-party service providers to process on our behalf. This is done under strict instructions, in compliance with our Privacy Policy, and with appropriate confidentiality and security measures in place.

We may also share personal information with companies, organisations, or individuals outside Handle My Complaint if we have a good-faith belief that such access, use, preservation, or disclosure is reasonably necessary to:

• Comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, or enforceable government requests.
• Enforce our Terms of Use, including investigating potential violations.
• Detect, prevent, or address fraud, security risks, or technical issues.
• Protect the rights, property, or safety of Handle My Complaint users or the public, as required or permitted by law.

Who we disclose personal information to

When you use Handle My Complaint to make a complaint about an organisation, we generally share the information you provide with that organisation so they can identify you and respond appropriately.

In the course of our operations, we may disclose your personal information to:

• Organisations involved in your complaint to facilitate resolution
• Our employees and related bodies corporate
• Third-party suppliers and service providers
• Professional advisers, dealers, and agents
• Payment systems operators
• Regulatory authorities, fair trading bodies, and ombudsman services
• Courts and tribunals for class action proceedings, as well as any other parties as required by law
• Other involved parties, such as insurers, litigation funders, or legal service providers

We may also share information with service providers who assist with our operations, such as mail handling, external data storage, and policy administration systems.

The table below lists our service providers, their data storage locations, and links to their privacy policies.