This Privacy Policy explains how Windsor Motors Ltd., operating as Windsor Ford ("Windsor Ford", "we", "us" or "our"), collects, uses, discloses and protects personal information when you visit windsorford.com (the "Site"), contact us, or do business with our sales, service, parts and finance departments.
We follow Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), the federalPersonal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) where it applies, and Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). Our text messaging also follows wireless carrier rules for business (Application-to-Person, or A2P) messaging.
1. Information we collect
Information you give us
- Contact details: name, email address, phone number (mobile or landline), mailing address and postal code.
- Vehicle details: vehicles you are interested in, your current vehicle and trade-in details, and service or parts requests.
- Financing details, when you apply for credit: date of birth, address history, employment and income, and other information a lender requires.
- Identification, when needed to complete a sale, lease or test drive: driver's licence or other government-issued ID.
- Anything you write to us in a form, email, chat or text message.
Information from advertising platforms
If you fill out a lead form inside an ad on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or another platform, that platform sends us the details you entered (such as your name, email address, phone number and the vehicle or service you asked about) so we can respond. The platform's own privacy policy also applies to what you share with it.
Information collected automatically
- Device and browser information, IP address, pages viewed, and the site or ad that brought you to us (including ad click identifiers and campaign tags).
- Information from cookies and similar technologies, described in section 6.
Phone calls
Our Site shows a call-tracking phone number so we can tell which ads and pages lead to calls. When you call that number, our call-tracking provider records your phone number, the time and length of the call, and how you found us. Calls to these numbers are recorded for training and quality control, and a message at the start of the call tells you so. Some other calls to the dealership may also be recorded; when they are, you will be told the same way.
2. How we use your information
- To answer your questions and send the quotes, pricing and vehicle availability you ask for.
- To book and confirm test drives, service appointments and parts orders, and to send reminders.
- To process vehicle sales, leases, trade-ins and financing applications.
- To complete warranty work and tell you about safety recalls.
- To send promotions and event invitations, where you have consented (see section 3 and section 4).
- To measure and improve our Site and our advertising.
- To meet our legal, tax and regulatory obligations.
We only collect what we need for these purposes, and we ask for your consent before using your information for a new purpose.
3. Text messaging (SMS/MMS)
Consent. Windsor Ford sends text messages only to people who have agreed to receive them: by ticking the optional text-message box on a website form, by telling our staff in person or over the phone, or by texting us first. Giving us your phone number alone is not consent to receive texts. Agreeing to receive text messages is never a condition of buying a vehicle, product or service.
What we send. Replies to your inquiries, vehicle availability and pricing, appointment confirmations and reminders, service updates, and, if you have agreed to marketing messages, offers and dealership promotions.
How often. Message frequency varies with your requests and activity.
Cost. Message and data rates may apply.
Opting out. Reply OPTOUT or STOP to any message to stop receiving texts from us. We will send one message confirming that you are unsubscribed, and then no more. You can also ask any staff member to remove you. To start receiving messages again, reply START.
Help. Reply HELP to any message for help, or call us at(780) 532-9550.
Wireless carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
Your mobile information is not shared. No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. All the categories of sharing in this policy exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
4. Email and other electronic messages (CASL)
We send promotional emails and texts only with your consent. That is either express consent, which you give when you opt in, or implied consent under CASL, for example when you have bought, leased or serviced a vehicle with us in the last two years, or asked us about a product or service in the last six months.
Every promotional message identifies Windsor Ford and includes a way to unsubscribe. We process unsubscribe requests promptly, and always within 10 business days. Transactional messages, such as service reminders, recall notices and replies to your requests, may still be sent after you unsubscribe from promotions.
5. Who we share your information with
We do not sell or rent your personal information. We share it only as follows:
- Our staff, who see only what they need for their job.
- Service providers that work on our behalf: website hosting and security, our customer relationship management (CRM) and messaging platform, email delivery, call tracking, online appointment booking, and our online credit application tool. They may use your information only to provide services to us.
- Lenders, leasing companies and credit bureaus, when you apply for financing. We do this only with your consent, which we ask for as part of the credit application.
- Ford Motor Company of Canada, for warranty, recall and customer-satisfaction purposes.
- Advertising and analytics partners (Google and Meta), as described insection 6. When you submit a form, we may send Meta a scrambled (hashed) version of your email address, name and postal code so it can measure whether our ads led to your inquiry. Meta cannot reverse the hash to read your details. We never send your phone number.
- Authorities, when the law requires it, or to protect our rights, property or safety.
- A buyer or successor, if our business or its assets are sold or transferred.
6. Cookies and similar technologies
Cookies are small files stored by your browser. We and our partners use them, along with similar technologies, for the following purposes:
| Who | What it does |
|---|---|
| Windsor Ford | Remembers the site or ad that first brought you to us (kept for 30 days), so we know which marketing works. Saved vehicles are stored only in your own browser. |
| Google Analytics and Google Ads | Measures how the Site is used and which ads lead to inquiries, and shows our ads to past visitors. |
| Meta (Facebook and Instagram) | Measures which Facebook and Instagram ads lead to inquiries, and shows our ads to past visitors. |
| Call tracking | Shows a tracking phone number during your visit so a call can be matched to the ad or page that led to it. |
| Embedded tools | Maps, videos, appointment booking, payment-plan and credit-application tools may set their own cookies when you use them. |
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Some features may not work properly without them. You can also manage ad personalization in yourGoogle ad settingsand your Meta ad preferences, or install theGoogle Analytics opt-out add-on.
7. Storage and processing outside Canada
Some of our service providers, including our CRM, email, analytics and advertising providers, store or process information outside Canada, mainly in the United States. While your information is there, it is subject to the laws of that country and may be accessed by its courts, law enforcement or national security authorities. We choose providers that protect personal information. To learn more about how our service providers outside Canada handle your information, contact our Privacy Officer (see section 12).
8. How we protect your information
- Information sent through the Site is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS).
- Access to customer records is limited to staff who need it, and staff accounts on our website systems require two-factor authentication.
- Our service providers must protect the information they handle for us.
- Paper records, such as signed contracts, are stored securely at the dealership.
No system is perfectly secure. If a breach creates a real risk of significant harm, we will notify you and the privacy regulators as the law requires.
9. How long we keep it
We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purposes above, or as long as the law requires. For example, sales, financing and tax records must be kept for a set number of years. When we no longer need information, we securely destroy it or make it anonymous.
10. Age
Our Site is not intended for anyone under 16, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. Financing and vehicle purchases require you to be at least 18.
11. Your rights
You may:
- ask to see the personal information we hold about you, and how we have used and shared it;
- ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete;
- withdraw your consent, for example to marketing messages. Withdrawing consent may limit what we can do for you, and we will explain how;
- ask us to delete information we no longer need or are not required to keep by law.
Send your request to our Privacy Officer (see section 12). We will respond within the time the law allows, which is 45 days under Alberta's PIPA. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact theOffice of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Albertaor theOffice of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
12. Contact us
For questions about this policy, to make a privacy request, or to update your preferences, contact our Privacy Officer:
Privacy Officer
Windsor Motors Ltd., operating as Windsor Ford
10001 139 Ave, Grande Prairie, AB T8X 0V3
Phone: (780) 532-9550
Email: marketing@windsorford.com
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as our services change. The "Last updated" date at the top shows when it last changed. If we make a significant change to how we use your information, we will tell you on the Site before it takes effect.