Privacy policy

For end users

We take the protection of your personal data very seriously. This privacy policy informs you about the processing of personal data. The privacy policy applies to our website and the services listed here. Specific or additional privacy policies may apply to certain services.

Controller

The controller of personal data processing is Vaillant Group Belgium SA, Golden Hopestraat 15, 1620 Drogenbos ("we", "us").

More information and our contact details can be found in our terms of use.

We are a company of the Vaillant Group. The Vaillant Group means Vaillant GmbH (Vaillant GmbH, Berghauser Str. 40, 42859 Remscheid, Germany) and the companies associated with Vaillant GmbH. The Vaillant Group includes the brands Vaillant, Saunier Duval, awb, Bulex, DemirDöküm, Glow worm, Hermann Saunier Duval and protherm. More information about the Vaillant Group can be found here.

Legal basis

We generally process your personal data on the basis of your consent, for the conclusion or performance of a contract or insofar as this is necessary for the protection of our or a third party's legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(a), (b) and (f), GDPR. In particular, we process personal data to answer your queries, to provide you with assistance in using our products and services, to prepare or conclude repair, maintenance and other service contracts, to provide you with requested information or services via our website or other means, to customise or improve our internet offers, products and services according to your interests and to support our marketing. Further details can be found in the following notes.

Using the website

You can use our website without identifying yourself or registering. When you use our website, you send us data via your browser that is technically necessary to establish the connection and use our website. This includes in particular the date and time of the connection, your IP address, the web pages accessed and files downloaded, data on the transmission and use of the website, information on the browser and browser settings, the operating system and device, and the internet address from which you accessed our site. The data is stored and processed for technical reasons. We use this information to ensure the security of our web pages, to measure the effectiveness of internet advertising, to compile statistics and to measure website activity with a view to improving our offer. In general, we do not store this data for longer than 30 days.

Use of personalised services

We require personal data for the use of personalised services, in particular so that you can use the respective service, register or so that we can contact you. The intended use of the data results from the respective purpose of the service offered. Not all of the following services are offered on all our websites or at all times.

If you use personalised services or register, we will store the personal data required for the service for the duration of the respective services or for the duration of your registration and thereafter for as long as required and permitted by law. If you are a customer, if we have a contract with you, if you have registered for certain services on our website or for the use of applications, we may also be able to link your enquiries and orders with your existing customer data.

When we ask you to provide us with certain personal information, we indicate whether the information is necessary to provide you with the service in question. Mandatory information is marked with an asterisk (*) or otherwise. All other information you provide to us is voluntary.

If you choose not to provide us with personal data when using services on our website, your decision will not have a material adverse effect on you. However, in that case, you may not be able to receive certain information through the website, you may not be able to use personalised services or register, or we may not be able to respond fully or at all to your queries.

We may pass on your data to Vaillant Group companies if this is necessary for providing the relevant service or for processing your questions and requests.

Insofar as the processing of your personal data is based on your consent, you may withdraw your consent for the future at any time. You can use the contact details below to do so. We will process any notice of withdrawal immediately.

Installer search fonction

We offer you the opportunity to find an installer near you through our installer search function. In general, you can take advantage of this service without entering any personal data, by just providing a location. However, you can enter your exact address manually or enable transmission of your approximate location (city) via your browser. Your browser uses various information to determine your location, in particular your IP address. Details can be found in your browser's privacy policy. The transmission of an address or location is voluntary. Based on the information provided, you will receive a list of installers in your area.

Download or order documentation

As a rule, you can download information and brochures on products and services directly from the website without providing any personal data. In certain cases, we offer the option of receiving selected documentation by e-mail or by post . To this end, you provide us with details of the information you require and your name, title, e-mail address and postal address. In individual cases, we may request additional information necessary for the respective service.

Customer service

We offer several ways to contact our contact centre and customer service. If you contact us by phone, we ask you to provide us with the information necessary to handle your enquiry. This includes in particular name and contact details, details of your device, problem or order, customer number, order number, serial number of the device concerned and details of the description of your problem. We may request further information about the owner of the device or the recipient of the service or invoice. We may supplement your information with other information (e.g. customer number, order number, unit details, fault information, spare parts needed, geodata of the unit's location) to better perform our customer services. We may also ask you to consent to marketing and customer satisfaction surveys and document your consent where necessary. We also supplement the data with information related to processing your request and fulfilling orders related to the services provided. We use the data to process your respective requests, in particular to answer questions about our products and services, accept orders, make appointments with our customer service, document services provided or invoice services. If you have provided us with your phone number, mobile number or e-mail address, we will use it to communicate with you about your request until the order is completed. This includes messages via e-mail or SMS, to confirm or remind you of appointments.

If you agree, we also record phone calls for quality assurance or training purposes. The information is deleted immediately after evaluation, but at the latest within 30 days.

Contact for individual advice

We offer the possibility of requesting an individual consultation. To do so, you provide us with details of the information you need and your name, title, e-mail address and your place of residence or full address. Further information may be requested in individual cases, in particular about your heating system or your needs. With your consent, we will then contact you by e-mail or telephone to confirm your details, discuss your request and arrange an appointment for an individual consultation. If you wish, we will also forward your enquiry to a suitable installer. We may also pass on your details to Vaillant Group companies when necessary to answer your enquiry or provide the service. If you have provided us with your mobile number, we will also communicate with you via text message to process your enquiry.

Newsletter registration

We offer newsletters in general or on specific topics for you to subscribe to. If you want to subscribe to a newsletter, we will need your e-mail address.

After you subscribe to a newsletter, you will receive an e-mail to confirm your subscription. By confirming, you authorise us to send you regular information about our products and services in the form of a newsletter.

When we send a newsletter, we also collect data on the sending and use of the newsletter. To this end, the newsletters contain links to image files stored on our web servers. When you open a newsletter, your e-mail programme uploads these image files from our web server. This allows us to track whether and when our newsletters were opened and what content was read. We use the information collected in this way to make your use of the newsletters more attractive, to control the sending of newsletters and for statistical purposes.

This also applies if you subscribe to one of our newsletters via third-party offers, e.g. within Google or Facebook services. In these cases, the operators of these platforms may also process personal data about you. The providers' privacy policies apply to such third-party offers. We have no influence over third-party offers and their privacy policies.

You can unsubscribe from a newsletter you have subscribed to at any time by sending us a message or via an unsubscribe link included for this purpose in the newsletter.

Registration for events

We offer from time to time to allow you to register for events (e.g. information events, tours, trade fairs). To do this, we require your name and e-mail address and any other information necessary for the planning and execution of the event in question.

Consent for advertising and customer satisfaction surveys

Provided you have given your consent as part of the services we offer or as a customer, we will contact you by e-mail, telephone, fax or SMS or ask you to participate in online customer satisfaction surveys. Depending on the circumstances, we process information about your consent (date and time), about the products and services you use, the sending of the advertising or customer satisfaction survey (in particular, the content of our messages, date and time), information about the delivery and opening of the e-mail, the data for establishing the connection between the website and your browser and device, and the information you provide in connection with the customer satisfaction survey. We link this information to your existing customer data so that we can better understand your interests and send you relevant information and offers. If we conduct an anonymous customer satisfaction survey, we will make specific reference to it. We also use this data for statistical purposes. You may withdraw your consent for advertising and customer satisfaction surveys at any time with effect for the future by sending us a message or via an unsubscribe link included for this purpose in the relevant e-mail.

Use of data for mail advertising and your right to object

To the extent permitted by law, we reserve the right to use your name and postal address - insofar as we have received this data from you within the scope of the contractual relationship - for our own advertising purposes, e.g. to send you interesting offers and information about our products by postal mail. You may object to the use of your data for these purposes at any time by sending us a message, in particular by e-mail or post.

Receiving push messages via the browser

We offer to receive push notifications about our products and services. To sign up for push notifications, you can agree to receive push notifications via your browser or device. For offering push notifications, we use a service offered by CleverPush GmbH, Nagelsweg 22, 20097 Hamburg, Germany ("CleverPush"). The registration for push messages is documented and stored by CleverPush. For this purpose, the time of registration and a push token or device ID are stored. This data is used to document your registration and to send you the push messages. We only analyse push messages statistically to see if and when push messages have been displayed and clicked on. This allows us to tailor push messages to users' interests. You can individually change and adjust the settings and your consent for push notifications in your browser at any time. If you no longer wish to receive push notifications in the future, you can change the notifications accordingly in your browser settings. Detailed instructions on how to activate or deactivate push notifications can be found in your browser's help menu.

Individual information and offers on heating systems

We offer you individual information and quotations on heating systems In particular, you can get an individual proposal for a heating system. To this end, you provide us with information about your current heating system and your future needs, in particular the following: Energy type, size, age and other relevant characteristics of the house or flat, desired time frame for replacement of the heating system, type of heating and hot water generation desired, insulation of the building, location of the building (city or municipality). You can also provide us with your name, title, e-mail address, telephone number and full address. If you arrived at our offer via an advertisement, we store information about the advertising campaign from which you arrived at our website, in order to measure the effectiveness of our internet advertising and for statistical purposes.

Based on the information provided, we will suggest one or more installers. Once you have chosen and given your consent, we will forward your request to the selected installer and you will receive a system proposal from the installer. This also applies if you ask us by phone or other means to pass on your details to an installer so that he can make you an offer for a heating system. With your consent, we will also contact you by e-mail or telephone to confirm your details, discuss your plans and arrange an individual consultation from us or the installer. If you have provided us with your mobile number, we will also communicate with you via SMS to process your enquiry or send messages. We may then process further information about the progress of your project, maintenance orders or other service orders related to your project.

Making appointments with our customer service department and placing orders

We offer the possibility of making an appointment with our customer service department online or by telephone. To do so, we require information in particular about the type of order (repair, maintenance or other), about your problem and the services requested, about the product concerned (e.g. serial number, name, class, type, model, performance), your name, title, e-mail address, telephone number (fixed or mobile) and the location of the device. We also ask you to confirm that you agree to the applicable terms and conditions. We need this information to schedule customer service deployment, to coordinate appointments with you, to confirm the order and to communicate with you during order processing. We check the existence of the location address to avoid incorrect information.

Product registration

We offer you the opportunity to register your product and enjoy special benefits for registered products. For product registration, we require the serial number of the respective product and further details about the device and your contact details. As part of the registration process, you must set a password. You can set your contact preferences during registration and also afterwards. You can also specify your installer to obtain certain benefits. We use your data to provide and manage your registration and the services offered.

Registration for self-service portal

We offer you the opportunity to use certain services independently via a self-service portal. You can register for this using your home address or your customer number. The prerequisite is that you have already had a customer service call at the unit's current location or have registered your product. For registration, you need to enter your customer number, your postcode and your e-mail address. For product registration, we need the product serial number and further details about the unit. You can also register with your full address and e-mail address. In both cases, you will need to create a password. We use your data to provide and manage your registration and the services offered, in particular to arrange repair and maintenance appointments, manage appointments and manage your chosen contact settings.

Cookies, analytics tools, tracking and targeting, social media

We use cookies on our website. Cookies are small files that are temporarily stored on your device via the website. We use cookies for various purposes, which are described below.

We use our own cookies, especially functional cookies, to make our website more user-friendly, to facilitate navigation and the use of forms, to simplify login and registration, to provide certain functions, to store consent to or refusal of cookies and to ensure the security of our website and our systems. The corresponding cookies are therefore necessary for the functional use of our website. Consent is not required for these essential cookies.

We also use third-party cookies, in particular in connection with the use of analytical tools, tracking and targeting technologies.

Measurement and analysis tools are used to better understand the use of our website and optimise it accordingly. With associated cookies, we collect information about how you interact with our website and which pages you have visited. The information we collect or store with these cookies is aggregated and not linked to you personally. Such cookies are activated with your consent, and you can withdraw your consent at any time.

Tracking and targeting technologies are used to optimise the delivery of advertising and other marketing on the internet. These cookies track and collect information about your online activities to help advertisers deliver more relevant advertising to you based on your interests. These cookies may share this information with other organisations or advertisers. Such cookies are activated with your consent, and you can withdraw your consent at any time.

We also integrate certain so-called social media offers or external content on our websites. When you use social media, you also use the respective offers of the social media providers, which also use cookies. Such cookies are activated with your consent, and you can withdraw your consent at any time.

In principle, you can also view our website without cookies. However, most browsers automatically accept cookies as a default setting. However, you can prevent or limit the storage of cookies on your end device. Please refer to your browser manufacturer's instructions to find out how this works in detail. You can also delete cookies already set at any time via your browser. You can also use your browser's "Do Not Track" settings to manage cookies. You can also disable cookies from certain third-party providers on the "Digital Advertising Alliance" page at http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or on the "Your Online Choices" page at https://www.youronlinechoices.com. Not accepting essential cookies may result in functional limitations of our offers.

When using cookies from other providers ("third-party cookies"), it is possible that the data collected may be transferred by the relevant provider to a country outside the EU or EEA that does not provide an adequate level of data protection. In particular, the US does not currently provide adequate protection within the meaning of the AVG, as US government authorities can, under certain circumstances, access personal data held by companies without appropriate means for the data subjects.

Information on cookies and the use of the Cookie Consent Management Tool

You can use the Cookie Consent Management Tool integrated in our website to manage your individual settings for the use of cookies. There you will also find detailed information about individual cookies.

We use the Consent Management Tool from Consentmanager AB (Håltegelvägen 1b, 72348 Västerås, Sweden) on our website. This tool allows you to consent to data processing via the website, in particular the setting of cookies, and to exercise your right to withdraw consent already given. The processing of data and the use of cookies is necessary for the documentation and administration of your settings. The following data are collected and transmitted to the tool provider: date and time of the page call, information about the browser you use and the device you use, anonymised IP address, opt-in and opt-out data relating to the respective cookies. This data is not transmitted to third parties.

For more information on the privacy terms of the cookie consent management tool used, please visit: https://www.consentmanager.net/privacy.php.

Transfer of personal data within the Vaillant Group and to third parties

Personal data is processed by us as the data controller and transferred to processors within the Vaillant Group and to external processors who process the data exclusively on our behalf and according to our instructions for the provision of services. If we use third-party providers who also use the data for their own purposes, we have described this in particular in connection with the information on cookies.

With your consent, we also disclose personal data to specialised professionals or other third parties if this is necessary for the provision of certain services.

The transfer of personal data to domestic and foreign courts, authorities or other government institutions takes place only within the framework of legal provisions.

Third-party data processing and processing outside the EU or EEA

Personal data are processed by us as the data controller and passed on to processors within the Vaillant Group and to external processors who process the data exclusively on our behalf and according to our instructions for the provision of services.

In some cases, data processing is carried out on our behalf by a processor outside the EU or the EEA. In that case, unless the Commission has adopted an adequacy decision in relation to the recipient country, we will agree with an appropriate service provider on appropriate safeguards for the protection of personal data, in particular by agreeing on the applicable EU model contractual clauses.

In particular, in connection with the use of analytics tools, tracking and targeting technologies from third-party providers or the integration of social media offers, the third-party providers may also process data outside the EU or EEA. In particular, third-party providers may process personal data in the US. The US does not currently provide adequate protection under the AVG, in particular because US government authorities are entitled to access personal data held by companies in certain circumstances, without appropriate legal remedies available to data subjects.

Data security

We apply technical and organisational security measures to protect the personal data we manage against destruction, loss, alteration or unauthorised disclosure of or access to personal data. All personal data you provide when using personalised services are sent to us in encrypted form. We use an advanced encryption process for this purpose. Your data is password protected in the systems in which it is stored. Those who have access to it are not allowed to disclose your data to third parties under strict security regulations. Our security measures are constantly being improved.

Your rights

You have the right to request access to and rectification or erasure of your personal data or restriction of processing, or to object to processing, as well as the right to data portability, in each case in accordance with legal provisions.

Where the processing of personal data is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, without prejudice to the lawfulness of the processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

You can also contact our data protection officer to assert your above rights.

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority in accordance with the legal provisions, if you believe that the processing of your personal data is in breach of the legal provisions. To this end, you can apply in particular to the authority in the EU Member State of your habitual residence or of the place of the alleged breach.

The Data Protection Authority (Press Street 35, 1000 Brussels) is responsible for us. You can find their current contact details on the Data Protection Authority's website.

Contact details of the data protection officer

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding data protection, please address them by e-mail or letter to our data protection officer, who can be reached at the following contact details:

By e-mail: gdpr@vaillant-group.be

By post: Vaillant Group Belgium NV - Data Protection, Golden Hopestraat 15, 1620 Drogenbos, Belgium.

Changes reserved

We reserve the right to amend these data protection provisions at any time within the framework of applicable legislation. Please also observe the respective terms of use and general terms and conditions when using our internet pages.

Last update: October 2022