Privacy Policy

GMS Association and its parent company, GMS & Associates (GMS), respect your right to online privacy. What follows is GMS's online privacy policy, which governs personal information gathered on our Internet sites. Each affiliate web site of GMS has its own privacy and security policies for its web site, consistent with policy established by the GMS Board of Directors. 
 

GMS's Commitment to Online Security 

Physical, electronic and managerial procedures have been employed to safeguard the security and integrity of personal information. GMS encrypts billing information wherever GMS requests it. All GMS agents and contractors with access to personal information obtained on GMS web sites are also bound to adhere to this policy as part of their contract with GMS. 
 

Personal Information that GMS May Collect Online 

GMS collects personal information online, including names, postal and e-mail addresses, phone and facsimile numbers, billing information, vehicle information such as vehicle identification numbers, and complaint information. GMS may also collect business information from sole proprietorships that apply for membership and for program participation, some of which could constitute personal information, as well as personal information from individuals acting solely in their business capacity. GMS does not knowingly collect or maintain any personal information from children under the age of 13. In addition, no parts of our sites are designed with the purpose of attracting any person under age 13.

How GMS Uses Personal Information Collected Online 

Unless you otherwise consent, we will use your personal information only for the purpose for which it is submitted, such as to reply to your emails, handle your complaints, and process billing and business requests related to program participation, and we will use such information to provide operational notices, in program record-keeping and to conduct research on industry marketplace practices. Our research may lead to the publication of aggregate demographical data but will not result in the reporting or publication of any personal information provided to us. At certain points where personal information is collected on our site, there may be a box where you may indicate you would like to be on a mailing list to receive information about other GMS programs and services and about ways to support GMS. This election box only appears in places where the department collecting personal information maintains such lists. At any time you can add or remove your name from a GMS list by contacting us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

How Your Information May Be Shared 

In order to process a complaint, GMS may send the complaint to the GMS affiliate where the complain occured, handle it itself, or refer the complaint to another appropriate organization for handling. By completing a complaint form or sending us a request or inquiry, you are allowing us to forward your information to the appropriate GMS affiliate, if necessary, and potentially also to the proper business. Without submission of the requested information, GMS will not be able to process your complaint. We never sell or rent your personal information.

GMS may also release personal information under the following circumstances:

·         Where release is required by law (for example, a subpoena) or regulation or is requested by a government agency;

·         Where our records indicate a company may be engaged in fraudulent activity or other deceptive practices that a governmental agency should be made aware of;

·         To appropriate governmental authorities, where warranted by a company's failure to participate in the advertising self-regulatory process or respond to an online privacy complaint, or where a company fails to honor the recommendations of the National Advertising Division, Children's Advertising Review Unit or National Advertising Review Board; or

·         To appropriate persons, where your communication suggests possible harm to others.

Computer Tracking and Cookies 

Our web sites are not set up to track, collect or distribute personal information not entered by visitors. Our site logs do generate certain kinds of non-identifying site usage data, such as the number of hits and visits to our sites. This information is used for internal purposes by technical support staff to provide better services to the public and may also be provided to others, but again, the statistics contain no personal information and cannot be used to gather such information.

A cookie is a small amount of data that is sent to your browser from a web server and stored on your computer's hard drive. GMS uses non-identifying cookies to provide easier site navigation and access to forms. You can still use the GMS sites if your browser is set to reject cookies. Our cookies do not generate personal data, do not read personal data from your machine and are never tied to anything that could be used to identify you.

In order to provide you with greater value, some of our pages may provide links to various third party websites. In no case is member information or 'cookies' provided to the third party sites. However, keep in mind that many sites do attempt to capture visitor information when you browse those sites. Once you leave our site, we are not able to alert you should another site attempt to gather information from your browser.

Problems or Complaints with GMS Privacy Policy 

If you have a complaint about GMS compliance with this privacy policy, you may contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it If we are unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you may elect to file a complaint.