H&R Block Online Privacy Practices and Principles
H&R Block offers a wide range of tax and financial services, including tax preparation, mortgages and investment services, through various affiliates and franchisees. Because we offer a variety of services both online (via the Internet) and throughout H&R Block's nationwide network of offices, H&R Block's privacy practices will vary depending on how you interact with H&R Block. The following guidelines set forth general privacy principles that apply to our Web site. When you establish a business relationship with H&R Block, we will make you aware of our privacy practices that apply to that particular business or relationship.
We describe below our general practices regarding information collection through our Internet Web site at hrblock.com. These practices do not apply to our physical offices you may visit for services, and these practices do not apply to specific Web site based relationships you may have with H&R Block Mortgage Corporation, H&R Block Financial Advisors, Inc., H&R Block online tax services, or other affiliates of H&R Block. Those H&R Block affiliates will provide you with their privacy policies when you enter into a business relationship with them. You may also visit the Web site of H&R Block Financial Advisors, Inc. at investment-center.hrblock.com for more information. If you are a user of our digital tax preparation services, you may view the H&R Block Privacy Policy for Digital Tax Services at: http://www.taxcut.com/privacy/
Information We Collect
When you visit hrblock.com, we may collect information about you from the following categories and sources:
How We May Disclose Your Information
H&R Block's disclosure of tax return information we may collect online is addressed in our H&R Privacy Policy for Digital Tax Services, located at http://www.taxcut.com/privacy. Tax return information that H&R Block collects from you is controlled by Section 7216 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Gramm Leach Bliley Act of 1999, certain other laws, and H&R Block policies.
For information collected on hrblock.com as described above under "Information We Collect", H&R Block may disclose such information to the following categories of persons:
We may disclose aggregate information compiled using your personal information that does not identify you individually or personally. This may include, for example, the total number of visitors to our Web site from a particular state, or the average age of a user of our Web sites.
Links to Other Web sites and Offers for Third Party Products.
H&R Block's Web site may contain links to third party Web sites or offers for services from third parties. For any such third party products or services, you should carefully read the privacy policies of the third parties providing such products or services and any terms and conditions applicable to such products or services.
H&R Block may also have business relationships with third parties that provide products or services on the H&R Block site. These companies are clearly indicated on our Web sites. When you request products or services from such companies, you give H&R Block permission to provide these third parties with personal information about you necessary to fulfill or process your request.
As an example, we may have special offers for dial-up or broadband internet service on our Web site through a third party provider. If you click on a link promoting such services you may be linked directly to the third party site or H&R Block may collect and provide information about you to such third party to fulfill your request for such internet services.
Children Under Age 13
Because of the financial nature of the services we provide, we do not market our Web site to children under the age of 13.
Changes to Our Privacy Statement.
If we make a material change to this Privacy Statement, including a material change in the way we use your personal information, we will notify you by using one of the following methods at least thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of such change: (1) we will post a notice on our Web site describing the change; or (2) we will send you electronic mail notifying you of the change.
Updating your Information: Most of the information we collect as described in this Privacy Statement either does not identify you personally or is not stored in an online accessible format. If you obtain online tax preparation services from H&R Block and wish to update your information or limit your receipt of promotional materials from H&R Block, please see the "How You May Opt-Out of Information Sharing or Otherwise Control Use of Your Information" section of our Digital Tax privacy policy at http://www.taxcut.com/privacy. Other affiliates of H&R Block may also have their own procedures for limiting communications from them. The user will need to directly contact the affiliate that they are working with in order to update their information or modify their communication preferences.
Contacting Us With Questions
If you have questions or concerns regarding this privacy policy, contact H&R Block by clicking here. If you do not receive acknowledgment of your inquiry or your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed within fifteen (15) business days, you may then contact TRUSTe at http://www.truste.org/consumers/watchdog_complaint.php. TRUSTe will then serve as a liaison with the Web site to resolve your concerns.
H&R Block is a licensee of the TRUSTe Privacy Program. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to build users' trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices. Because this Web site wants to demonstrate its commitment to your privacy, it has agreed to disclose its information practices and have its privacy practices reviewed for compliance by TRUSTe. The TRUSTe program covers only information that is collected through the H&R Block Web site and does not cover information you provide in connection with transactions with H&R Block Financial Advisors, Inc., H&R Block Mortgage Corporation, other H&R Block affiliates or information that may be collected through H&R Block software, such as TaxCut® or H&R Block DeductionPro software.
Updated: 12/13/2006
© 2006 H&R Block e-solutions, a division of Block Financial Corporation. All rights reserved.
We describe below our general practices regarding information collection through our Internet Web site at hrblock.com. These practices do not apply to our physical offices you may visit for services, and these practices do not apply to specific Web site based relationships you may have with H&R Block Mortgage Corporation, H&R Block Financial Advisors, Inc., H&R Block online tax services, or other affiliates of H&R Block. Those H&R Block affiliates will provide you with their privacy policies when you enter into a business relationship with them. You may also visit the Web site of H&R Block Financial Advisors, Inc. at investment-center.hrblock.com for more information. If you are a user of our digital tax preparation services, you may view the H&R Block Privacy Policy for Digital Tax Services at: http://www.taxcut.com/privacy/
Information We Collect
When you visit hrblock.com, we may collect information about you from the following categories and sources:
- Information we receive when you request services, or information from us or companies with whom we have business relationships, enter contests or sweepstakes, or complete surveys or polls, such as your name, address, e-mail address and payment or billing information.
- Information you provide when you apply for employment with H&R Block or any of its affiliates.
- Web technologies. We may collect information through the following Web technologies:
We utilize a software technology called "cookies". Internet cookies allow us to customize our Website for you by placing small files on your computer as you visit various components of hrblock.com. Through the use of cookies, we can display only those items that may be of interest to you on a particular site, or make it easier for you to access your account information. In most cases, however, information we collect through Internet cookies does not identify you personally.
We also employ a software technology called clear gifs (also known as web beacons), that help us better manage content on our site by informing us what content is effective. Clear gifs are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies, and are used to track the online movements of Web users. Clear gifs and cookies are not tied to users' personally identifiable information.
Like most standard Web site servers, H&R Block uses log files. Information collected in log files may include internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks. We utilize this information to analyze trends, administer the site, track user's movement in the aggregate, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. When you use certain online tax services, IP addresses are tied to personally identifiable information to enable users to file or transmit tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service.
- When you use calculators and other tools on our Web sites that do not require registration, H&R Block may collect non-identifiable data from such tools, such as the number of people that use a certain tool. H&R Block may also set cookies or clear gifs based upon your use of tools and calculators to help us customize offers and tools to your particular interests. H&R Block will not record or track any data you enter into standalone tools and calculators in any way that identifies you personally, unless we specifically inform you that we are doing so at the time you provide such data.
- When you use our office locator service, we may collect data such as address or zip code information you provide so that we can better assess the level of interest in our services in a particular area, and the effectiveness of the locator tool at helping clients actually use our services.
H&R Block's disclosure of tax return information we may collect online is addressed in our H&R Privacy Policy for Digital Tax Services, located at http://www.taxcut.com/privacy. Tax return information that H&R Block collects from you is controlled by Section 7216 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Gramm Leach Bliley Act of 1999, certain other laws, and H&R Block policies.
For information collected on hrblock.com as described above under "Information We Collect", H&R Block may disclose such information to the following categories of persons:
- Third Parties. H&R Block does not share your personal information with non-affiliated third parties for their promotional or marketing uses.
- Affiliates. H&R Block may provide information it collects to its affiliates. We disclose information to our affiliates in order to respond to your requests for information or services, or to help limit your receipt of marketing materials you have requested not to receive.
- Service Providers. H&R Block may disclose information to a service provider in order to perform a service for H&R Block or perform a function on our behalf. Examples could include sweepstakes administrators that help us manage contests and sweepstakes we offer, or companies that print letters or manage our electronic mail for us. Service providers will use the information provided to them to perform the requested service as directed by H&R Block.
- Joint Marketing Arrangements. H&R Block may provide information it collects to joint marketers with whom H&R Block has a marketing arrangement. For example, H&R Block may enter into agreements with airlines or credit card companies to provide you with "miles" or "points" for visiting the H&R Block Web site or purchasing certain products or services from H&R Block. In such case, H&R Block would provide identifying information about you to the company in order to credit your account with such "miles" or "points". The joint marketer may use your information for other purposes permitted by law.
- Franchisees. If you request services in an area served by an H&R Block franchise, or if you enroll in a tax course provided by an H&R Block franchise, H&R Block may disclose your service request or enrollment information to such franchisee.
- Persons Who Acquire Our Assets or Business. If H&R Block sells or transfers any of its business or assets, certain information about our clients may be a part of that sale or transfer. In the event of such a sale or transfer, H&R Block will notify you. The notification procedure will be the same as the procedure we use to notify you of a change in our privacy statement as described below.
- Persons Who Request Information for Legal Purposes. We may disclose your information to affiliates or non-affiliated third parties when we have a good faith belief that such disclosure is required by law. This may occur in connection with a court order, legal process, or other judicial, administrative or investigative proceeding that produces a request for information from H&R Block.
Links to Other Web sites and Offers for Third Party Products.
H&R Block's Web site may contain links to third party Web sites or offers for services from third parties. For any such third party products or services, you should carefully read the privacy policies of the third parties providing such products or services and any terms and conditions applicable to such products or services.
H&R Block may also have business relationships with third parties that provide products or services on the H&R Block site. These companies are clearly indicated on our Web sites. When you request products or services from such companies, you give H&R Block permission to provide these third parties with personal information about you necessary to fulfill or process your request.
As an example, we may have special offers for dial-up or broadband internet service on our Web site through a third party provider. If you click on a link promoting such services you may be linked directly to the third party site or H&R Block may collect and provide information about you to such third party to fulfill your request for such internet services.
Children Under Age 13
Because of the financial nature of the services we provide, we do not market our Web site to children under the age of 13.
Changes to Our Privacy Statement.
If we make a material change to this Privacy Statement, including a material change in the way we use your personal information, we will notify you by using one of the following methods at least thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of such change: (1) we will post a notice on our Web site describing the change; or (2) we will send you electronic mail notifying you of the change.
Updating your Information: Most of the information we collect as described in this Privacy Statement either does not identify you personally or is not stored in an online accessible format. If you obtain online tax preparation services from H&R Block and wish to update your information or limit your receipt of promotional materials from H&R Block, please see the "How You May Opt-Out of Information Sharing or Otherwise Control Use of Your Information" section of our Digital Tax privacy policy at http://www.taxcut.com/privacy. Other affiliates of H&R Block may also have their own procedures for limiting communications from them. The user will need to directly contact the affiliate that they are working with in order to update their information or modify their communication preferences.
Contacting Us With Questions
If you have questions or concerns regarding this privacy policy, contact H&R Block by clicking here. If you do not receive acknowledgment of your inquiry or your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed within fifteen (15) business days, you may then contact TRUSTe at http://www.truste.org/consumers/watchdog_complaint.php. TRUSTe will then serve as a liaison with the Web site to resolve your concerns.
H&R Block is a licensee of the TRUSTe Privacy Program. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to build users' trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices. Because this Web site wants to demonstrate its commitment to your privacy, it has agreed to disclose its information practices and have its privacy practices reviewed for compliance by TRUSTe. The TRUSTe program covers only information that is collected through the H&R Block Web site and does not cover information you provide in connection with transactions with H&R Block Financial Advisors, Inc., H&R Block Mortgage Corporation, other H&R Block affiliates or information that may be collected through H&R Block software, such as TaxCut® or H&R Block DeductionPro software.
Updated: 12/13/2006
© 2006 H&R Block e-solutions, a division of Block Financial Corporation. All rights reserved.