Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

The Charge Collective Limited ("The Charge Collective", "we", "us", and "our") is committed to protecting our customers' personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020.

This Privacy Policy will help you understand how we collect, use, disclose, store and protect your personal information when you visit our website and/or use our EV charging, energy management, telecommunications, IoT connectivity, data connectivity and related products and services. This policy has been developed using the same Privacy Act principles that underpin our existing privacy framework and incorporates the additional obligations and considerations relevant to EV charging, connectivity and digital services.

In this privacy policy, the terms "we", "us", and "our" refer to The Charge Collective Limited.

This policy applies to all of our products and services, including our website(s), mobile applications, customer portals, public charging networks, fleet charging solutions, workplace charging solutions, apartment and body corporate charging solutions, residential charging solutions, telecommunications services, IoT connectivity services, managed data services and customer support channels.

By using this website or our products and services, you acknowledge that you have received notice of this policy.

In addition to our Privacy Policy, our Terms and Conditions and Website Terms of Use may apply to your use of our products and services. Please read them in conjunction with this policy.

Personal Information – What Do We Collect?

In order to supply you with EV charging, energy management, telecommunications, IoT connectivity and related products and services, we need some personal information from you.

"Personal information" is any information that identifies you. This can include your name, contact details, payment information, charging session information, connectivity service information or anything else that would enable someone to identify you from that information, even if your name does not appear.

In general, the personal information that we collect about you may include your name, contact details (including phone numbers, email addresses and physical addresses), payment and billing information, account information, communications with our customer support team and information relating to your use of our products and services.

Where you use our EV charging services, we may also collect information relating to charging sessions, including the charging station used, charging station location, charger identification information, session start and finish times, energy consumed, tariffs applied, charging history, transaction references, RFID tag identifiers, mobile application identifiers, vehicle information provided by you and other information reasonably required to provide, administer and support charging services. External EV privacy guidance recognises charging session data, location data, RFID identifiers and transaction data as information that may be capable of identifying an individual when linked to an account.

Where you use our telecommunications, connectivity or IoT services, we may also collect information relating to SIM cards, mobile services, data usage, network connectivity, device identifiers, router or gateway identifiers, service activation information, fault information and other information reasonably required to provide, administer and support those services.

Where applicable, we may also collect technical information relating to devices connected to our services, including device serial numbers, IMEI numbers, SIM identifiers, network identifiers, charger identifiers and other technical information reasonably required to activate, operate, support and secure our products and services.

In some circumstances, we may also request identifying information (such as driver's licence details, passport details or proof of address) or other personal information to verify your identity, assess creditworthiness, prevent fraud or comply with legal obligations.

We may record telephone calls, both when we call you and when you call us. We may keep call recordings for fraud prevention, dispute resolution, internal training, quality assurance and security purposes.

How Do We Collect It?

We collect personal information in a variety of ways, including:

• directly from you during the course of your use of our website, mobile applications, customer portals or services, or when you speak to one of      our team members;

• through your use of our charging infrastructure, telecommunications services, connectivity services and related platforms;

• from third-party service providers such as payment providers, identity verification providers and credit reporting agencies;

• from your representatives, including authorised account contacts, employers, fleet operators, leasing companies, property managers, body corporates or advisers; and/or

• automatically when you use some of our services and online platforms.

If you choose not to provide us with your personal information, then we may not be able to provide you with some or all of our products and services.

Indirect Collection of Personal Information

We may occasionally collect personal information about individuals from someone other than the individual concerned.

Examples include credit checks, identity verification checks, fraud prevention activities and situations where charging, connectivity or other services are provided through employers, fleet operators, leasing companies, property owners, body corporates or other organisations.

Where permitted by law, we may receive personal information from authorised third parties including identity verification providers, credit reporting agencies, fleet operators, employers, leasing companies, property managers, body corporates and business partners.

If you provide personal information to us about another person, you must ensure that you have been authorised by that person to do so, that they are aware their information has been provided to us and that they have been directed to this policy.

You have the right to seek access to and update personal information held about you by us or third parties acting on our behalf. The Privacy Act also requires organisations to be transparent about information collected from sources other than the individual concerned.

How Can I Update It?

You have the right to seek access to and update the personal information that we hold about you.

If you make an access request, we may ask you to verify your identity before providing access to your information.

If you would like to seek access to personal information we hold about you, update your information or make a privacy-related enquiry or complaint, please contact us using the contact details provided at the end of this policy.

How Do We Use It?

Unless we have your permission, or it is otherwise required or permitted by law, your personal information will only be used or disclosed by us for purposes related to supplying and improving our products and services, including but not limited to:

• confirming your identity and assessing eligibility for products and services;

• helping us determine the most appropriate products and services for your requirements;

• establishing and managing your account;

• supplying charging, telecommunications, connectivity and related services;

• authenticating charging sessions and managing RFID and application access;

• processing payments, refunds and billing activities;

• monitoring, maintaining and improving our products and services;

• providing customer support, including monitoring, assessing and following up on requests, queries and complaints;

• provisioning, activating, managing and supporting telecommunications, IoT and connectivity services;

• monitoring connectivity performance and diagnosing network, charger or device faults;

• managing network access and maintaining service security;

• corresponding with you about issues regarding your account or services;

• helping  us to run our business, including staff training, quality assurance, testing and maintenance of our systems;

• administering promotions, loyalty programmes or competitions;

• inviting you to participate in surveys;

• improving our customer services and carrying out market research;

• preventing fraud, misuse and unauthorised activity; and

• complying with our legal, regulatory and contractual obligations.

Where charging session information can reasonably be linked to an identifiable individual, we will treat that information as personal information. EV charging usage information may include charging location, date, time, energy consumed, RFID identifiers and transaction information.

You may, at any time, elect not to receive marketing or promotional communications from us.

Service Usage Information

In order to provide our services, we may collect information relating to how our products and services are used.

This may include transaction information, charging session information, charger utilisation information, account activity, operational information, payment information, device information, network connectivity information, telecommunications service usage information, IoT service usage information and other service usage information necessary to provide, support and improve our products and services.

We may also collect technical and diagnostic information from connected devices for fault diagnosis, cybersecurity, network management, service monitoring, remote support and service improvement purposes.

Where charging services are provided through an employer, fleet operator, vehicle leasing company, property owner, body corporate, accommodation provider or other organisation, we may share relevant usage, reporting and billing information with that organisation where reasonably necessary to administer the services provided to you.

This may include charging session information, energy consumption information, charging costs, reimbursement information, fleet reporting information and operational reporting information.

Payment Information

We may collect and process payment information in connection with the products and services supplied by us.

Payments may be processed through trusted third-party payment providers and financial institutions.(Stripe, Windcave & Nayax)

Where supported by our payment providers, card details may be tokenised and securely stored by the relevant payment provider. We take reasonable steps to ensure payment information is handled securely and in accordance with applicable privacy and security obligations.

How Do We Protect It?

In accordance with the Privacy Act 2020, we take all reasonable steps to ensure that any personal information we collect, hold, use or disclose is secure, accurate and up to date and is protected by security safeguards against loss, theft, unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure or other misuse.

We use a combination of technical, physical and operational security measures, including secure systems, encryption technologies, access controls, monitoring tools and processes designed to protect customer information.

We may transfer, store and process your personal information in New Zealand and overseas using services provided by trusted third-party service providers.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the information remains protected and is handled in a manner consistent with New Zealand privacy laws and applicable contractual requirements. The Privacy Act places obligations on organisations disclosing personal information outside New Zealand.

How Long Do We Keep It?

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to provide our services, meet legal and regulatory obligations, resolve disputes, maintain appropriate business records and enforce our agreements.

When personal information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to securely delete, anonymise or destroy that information.

Who Do We Provide It To?

In order to fulfil the purposes listed above, we may disclose your personal information to, but not limited to, the following:

• our employees, contractors, agents, representatives and suppliers;

• our related companies;

• our service providers for the purposes of meeting our obligations to you or communicating with you on our behalf;

• technology, software, hosting and cloud service providers;

• EV charging platform providers and software providers;

• charger manufacturers, maintenance providers and support partners;

• payment providers and financial institutions;

• telecommunications providers, mobile network operators, data connectivity providers, IoT      connectivity providers and technology partners involved in delivering connectivity services;

• credit reporting agencies and debt collection agencies;

• professional advisers, including legal, accounting and insurance advisers;

• government agencies, regulators, courts and law enforcement authorities where required by law;

• roaming and interoperability partners that facilitate charging network access;

• fleet  operators, employers, leasing companies, property owners, landlords, site hosts and body corporates where required to administer services; and

• other organisations where disclosure has been authorised by you or is otherwise permitted or required by law.

Other than as stated in this Privacy Policy, we will not use, disclose, sell, distribute or share your personal information with third parties except where required by law or where authorised by you.

Where we disclose personal information to third parties for any of the above purposes, this will be done on a confidential basis and subject to appropriate protections.

Business Transfers and Service Transitions

If we acquire, sell, transfer or restructure any part of our business, customer information may be transferred as part of that transaction where reasonably necessary to ensure the continued provision of services.

This may include customer account information, charging history, billing information, transaction records, support history, account preferences and payment references or payment tokens where applicable.

Any such transfer will be undertaken in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and appropriate security arrangements.

What Happens If There's a Privacy Breach?

A privacy breach occurs when personal information is subject to unauthorised or accidental access, modification, disclosure, use, destruction or loss, or where an event prevents us from accessing information that we hold.

We have policies and procedures in place to identify, contain, assess, investigate, notify and prevent the recurrence of privacy breaches.

In the event of a privacy breach, we will take reasonable steps to contain the breach, secure affected systems, recover information where possible, investigate the cause, reduce the risk of harm and prevent a recurrence.

If we suffer a privacy breach that causes, or is likely to cause, serious harm, we will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020.

Links to Other Websites

Our website, mobile applications and customer portals may contain links to third-party websites or services for your convenience.

Please note that these websites may have different privacy and security policies and we do not accept responsibility for the privacy practices or content of those websites.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit.

Information Collected Via This Website

When you visit our website, mobile applications or online services, we or third parties may use cookies, analytics tools and similar technologies to collect information about your interactions with our services.

This information may include browser information, device information, operating system information, usage information and other technical information.

We generally use this information in aggregated or anonymised form to improve the performance, functionality and customer experience of our products and services.

You can manage cookie and tracking preferences through your browser settings where available.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

We may from time to time and at our discretion review and update this policy, including taking account of changes in law, technology, industry requirements and our business operations.

All personal information held by us will be governed by the most recent version of this policy.

Any changes will take effect immediately once they are published on our website. We will also specify the date of the last update.

We recommend that you routinely review our Privacy Policy.

Contact Us

The Charge Collective Limited

Email: privacy@thechargecollective.co.nz
Website: www.thechargecollective.co.nz

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or the way we collect, use, disclose, manage or store personal information, please contact us.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.