Privacy

This web site (boc.co.nz) is operated by BOC Limited (7748) for and on behalf of itself and its related bodies corporate (collectively referred to as "BOC New Zealand") under the domain name boc.co.nz.

BOC New Zealand is part of the Linde Group. Other Linde Group web sites may contain Privacy Policies which are different from this Privacy Policy to reflect the particular requirements of the different jurisdictions in which they operate. When accessing and/or using these other Linde Group web sites please check the Privacy Policy of each such web site as these Privacy Policies may differ significantly from other Linde Group web sites.

Thank you for visiting the BOC New Zealand web site, and for your interest in our company and our products. We take the protection of your private data and personal information seriously and rely on mutual cooperation. The protection of your privacy is of the utmost importance to us. Therefore, it goes without saying that we comply with statutory provisions for privacy and data protection and in particular, the Privacy Act 1993 (NZ) and the National Privacy Principles developed thereunder. Our employees are obligated to treat all information confidentially and they receive regular training in the areas of data protection and data security. In the sections below, we briefly explain how we protect your data and personal information and what it means for you when you make use of our online offering.

BOC New Zealand is committed to compliance with local data protection and privacy legislation in all jurisdictions in which it operates. We will use our reasonable endeavours to ensure that all information held by BOC New Zealand is gathered, processed, used, disclosed and disposed of in accordance with such legislation.

BOC New Zealand recognises the responsibility it has to all its employees, customers and suppliers, to maintain the highest standards of integrity and efficiency when handling personal data. We recognise that applying such standards is important to those whose data we handle, the successful operation of our business and contributes to maintaining confidence in BOC New Zealand, its practices and procedures. A key building block of personal data protection and privacy legislation is using data relating to employees, customers and suppliers for the purpose or purposes of which they are aware and would reasonably expect. It is this building block which underpins the following principles and commitments to which BOC New Zealand adheres.

BOC New Zealand will collect personal information in a fair and lawful manner, and not in an unreasonably intrusive way.

BOC New Zealand will generally collect personal information for the primary purposes of:

  • maintaining customer records;
  • delivery;
  • supply of goods and services;
  • account keeping;
  • invoicing;
  • debt collection;
  • locating and/or retrieving BOC New Zealand equipment and gas containers;
  • credit reference checks;
  • credit listing


and for the secondary purposes of:

  • marketing activities;
  • marketing planning;
  • product development;
  • product recalls; and
  • customer and market research


A person’s personal information may be disclosed to our agents, distributors, contractors and related entities, to facilitate the primary and secondary purposes mentioned above, or as otherwise required by law. When required by law, this information will be released to the relevant authorities upon proper application.

We are also permitted to use or disclose personal information held about you:

  • if you have consented to the use or disclosure;
  • if we reasonably believe that the use or disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious, immediate threat to someone's health or safety or the public's health or safety;
  • if we reasonably suspect that unlawful activity has been, is being or may be engaged in and the use or disclosure is a necessary part of our investigation or in reporting the matter to the relevant authorities;
  • if such use or disclosure is required under or authorised by law (e.g. responding to a subpoena, a warrant or other order of a court or legal process);
  • if we reasonably believe that the use or disclosure is necessary for prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of crimes or wrongdoings or the preparation for, conduct of, proceedings before any court or tribunal or the implementation of the orders of a court or tribunal by or on behalf of an enforcement body; or
  • if you have requested a service such as installation or hire of a product and we are required to disclose the information to a contractor in order to perform the service.


All customers will have the opportunity to opt out from receiving marketing material including those sent by email, phone, fax and post.

BOC New Zealand will take reasonable steps to ensure that information collected on its customers is accurate, complete and up-to-date. If BOC New Zealand is made aware of an error or change in a person’s personal information, then it will use its reasonable endeavours to correct such errors within 30 days of being notified of the error.

BOC New Zealand will ensure that personal information that BOC New Zealand holds is stored in a secure environment that can only be accessed, modified and disclosed by authorised parties with the knowledge of BOC New Zealand. You also have a responsibility to protect and keep secret your passwords and account information to ensure data security particularly when you are online.

BOC New Zealand cannot ensure and warrant that personal information transmitted to it or from its online products and services will not be accessed by an unauthorised person (eg a hacker) or that unauthorised disclosures will not occur, and users do so at their own risk. However, once such information is received by BOC New Zealand, it will use every effort to ensure its security on its systems.

BOC New Zealand will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify personal information if it is no longer needed for the purposes for which BOC New Zealand is authorised to use it.

This Privacy Policy is available on BOC New Zealand’s web site or on request from BOC New Zealand if you contact us.

Upon written request clearly identifying the personal information you seek access to, BOC New Zealand will provide an individual with access to or advice on the personal information held on that person by BOC New Zealand. A fee may be charged for providing access, although no fee is payable upon application. If you wish to request access please contact us.

A request for access to personal information will not be allowed when such a request:

  • is frivolous or vexatious;
  • would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of another person;
  • would pose a serious and imminent threat to the life or health of any person;
  • would prejudice BOC New Zealand’s legal rights; or
  • cannot be complied with having regard to other legal grounds.

It is unlikely that BOC New Zealand will collect any sensitive information about an individual. If however, any sensitive information is required, it will be collected and used in accordance with the applicable law.

BOC New Zealand will only transmit personal information to some one in a foreign country if BOC New Zealand is confident that such transfer can be done within the bounds of the relevant privacy laws.

BOC New Zealand’s web site may contain links to other web sites and those third party web sites may collect personal information about you. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other businesses or the content of web sites that are linked to our web site. BOC New Zealand encourages users to be aware when they leave the site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects personally identifiable information.

BOC New Zealand reserves its right to amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any amendments become effective when published on this web site. You should review the Privacy Policy regularly for any such amendments.

Access Data

When our Internet pages are called up, BOC New Zealand receives access data that is stored for protective purposes and aids in identification. This data includes:

  • the name of your Internet service provider;
  • the country from which you are accessing the site;
  • the web site that has directed you to our Internet presence;
  • the search term you use, if you come to our site via a search engine;
  • the BOC New Zealand or other Linde Group web sites that you visit;
  • the user tool (web browser, operating system) you use to access our web site;
  • files that you download from our web site (e.g. PDF or Word documents);
  • the duration of your visit; and
  • the date and the time of your visit.


This data is analyzed by BOC New Zealand so that we can familiarise ourselves with and evaluate user behaviour. We do not make use of personal data in the process.


Personal data

Personal data is information that is used explicitly to determine your identity. It includes information such as your name and your postal or e-mail address. The only time we save personal data in addition to your access data is if you give us this information voluntarily, e.g. as part of a registration, a survey, a prize competition, a contact inquiry, registration for a newsletter or to process an online order. Moreover, personal data is used only to the extent necessary and only for the legally permissible purpose for which you gave your consent and in accordance with the Privacy Policy detailed above. To ensure the secure transmission of your data, BOC New Zealand employs encryption procedures in secure areas. This means that communication between your browser and our order system, for instance, cannot be read by others on the Internet. All data is stored exclusively on specially protected servers of BOC New Zealand. Using our order system is regarded as consenting to the storage and use of your data by BOC New Zealand and its partners.


Passing on personal data to third parties

BOC New Zealand provides some of its services together with select partners. These partners are subject to the same strict statutory provisions for data protection as we are and are integrated into the data-protection concept of BOC New Zealand. Personal data is only passed on:

  • when processing order-related data, such as for online orders; and
  • in individual cases, provided you have given your prior consent.


Additional information – such as voluntary statements about your primary areas of interest – is not passed on to third parties by BOC New Zealand. Personal data is conveyed to state institutions and authorities only within the scope of statutory or judicial obligations.


Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are used by many web sites in New Zealand and throughout the world. Cookies are created during your visit to our web site and are placed on your hard disk by our server. Our cookies contain no information about specific individuals. Moreover, cookies placed by our servers can only be read again by us and not by any external web site. Most browsers are set to automatically accept cookies. If you do not wish to enjoy the advantages of cookies, you can deactivate this function in your browser. You can also view our web site without cookies. However, this may restrict the use of some features.


Other active content (e.g. Javascript, ActiveX)

Javascript, ActiveX and other web site control elements and script languages that contain executing elements can be deactivated at any time for security reasons using your browser. Our Internet sites can still be navigated without Javascript.


Google Analytics

This web site uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google"). Google Analytics uses "cookies", which are text files placed on your computer, to help the web site analyze how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the web site will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States.

Google will use this information on behalf of the operator of this web site for the purpose of evaluating your use of the web site, compiling reports on web site activity for web site operators and providing them other services relating to web site activity and internet usage.

The IP-address, which your Browser conveys within the scope of Google Analytics, will not be associated with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this web site. You can also opt-out from being tracked by Google Analytics with effect for the future by downloading and installing Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on for your current web browser.

We also employ other services from Google and other third party vendors, such as online remarketing, or advertising that is targeted at previous visitors to our website. When you visit our websites, cookies are stored on your browser that permit Google and other third-party marketing vendors to display our ads when you visit other websites. You can opt out of targeted ads provided through Google by visiting the Google Ads Settings page. For ads provided through other vendors, visit the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page.

For more information about Google’s use of cookies and opting out, look here. Any data collected will be used in accordance with our own privacy policy and Google’s privacy policy.