Privacy Statement

Name and contact details of the responsible party:

Kärcher NV
Kees Wagtmans (Director)
Boomsesteenweg 939, 
2610 Wilrijk
Tel.: 03 340 08 00
info@be.kaercher.com

(hereinafter: Kärcher) handles all processes concerning data processing (e.g. collection, processing, and transmission) in accordance with legal requirements. This statement provides an overview of what type of data is collected, how it is used and transmitted, what security measures Kärcher takes to protect your data, and how you can exercise your rights.

§1 Collection, use, and storage of personal data

When you visit the Kärcher website, Kärcher stores various data about you, including so-called personal data. This concerns data relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter: data subject).

1. General visits to the Kärcher website

When you visit the Kärcher website, you (for technical reasons) transmit data via your internet browser to our website. The following data is transmitted during an active connection between your internet browser and our web server:

• Date and time of the request
• Name of the requested data
• Page from which the data was requested
• Access status (data sent, data not found, etc.)
• Browser and operating system used
• Full IP address of the device used
• Amount of data transmitted

For technical security reasons, and in particular to defend against attacks on our server, this data is stored by us for a short time. It is not possible to identify individuals based on this data.

The legal basis for storing this data is found in §15 of the TMG.

Further personal data is only collected if you provide it voluntarily, for example as part of a request or registration. The personal data you provide is only used by Kärcher to respond to your inquiries, process your order, and for the technical administration of the websites. These data are used in particular for the following purposes:

2. Online shop

When you visit our online shop, we store the following data to perform the contract concluded between you and Kärcher or to carry out pre-contractual measures in accordance with Article 6(1)(b) GDPR:

a) Order or customer account registration
When you place an order in the online shop, you are asked to enter details in mandatory fields so the order can be processed and executed. These details are: your full name, your e-mail address, your address (billing and delivery address). These details are used only to process your order.

b) Customer account / registration
You can also register when making a purchase at Kärcher. You can link a password to your e-mail address so that you can log in for a future purchase without re-entering your details. Kärcher stores the details you enter for your customer account to record, process, and execute your orders. Kärcher stores the data for future orders as long as you maintain your registration/account. You have the right to revoke, correct, and/or request deletion of your registration data at any time.

c) Storage of your order data
When you provide Kärcher with details for an order, your data is stored for as long as necessary to process your order and for the legally required retention period. To comply with retention obligations, long-term storage is carried out in accordance with Article 6(1)(c) GDPR.

d) Visit to reseller websites
When you visit a reseller’s website during the purchase process by clicking a link on the Kärcher website, Kärcher does not store your order data, since the purchase process continues on the reseller’s website. In such cases, please refer to the reseller’s data protection information.

3. Contact forms

When you contact Kärcher via a contact form on the website, the details you enter are stored so your message can be forwarded to the right person. Your request is processed in accordance with Article 6(1)(b) GDPR. The data you provide via a contact form will not be used for any other purposes, and in particular not for advertising. Once we have handled your request, we delete it together with the personal data linked to it.

4. Market research (e.g. Register & Win)

Kärcher uses your data within the framework of applicable law for market research when you have explicitly given consent by ticking the box next to the following text:

"You may contact me regarding Kärcher market research surveys."

As part of 'Register & Win' or other market research actions, Kärcher stores your title, name, address, email address and phone number, the customer type you specified (private or business) and, if you filled in or ticked the optional fields, your year of birth, product number, product name, purchase date of the Kärcher product and whether you are interested in further surveys. If you have given consent by ticking the box, Kärcher will use your data for market research in accordance with Article 6(1)(a) GDPR. If you have not given consent, your data will only be used if you have won something (see Article 6(1)(b) GDPR).

5. Competitions

In competitions, Kärcher only stores the data needed for prize draws and carrying out the competition (e.g. your name, address, and email address) in accordance with Article 6(1)(b) GDPR. Only if you have given explicit consent by ticking the box allowing us to use your data for other purposes will Kärcher also use your data for further market research and send you our newsletter in accordance with Article 6(1)(a) GDPR.

6. Warranty extension campaign

The warranty extension campaign applies only to business customers of Kärcher. If you participate, you must provide the following required details on the form: your name, address, email address, and information about the product for which you request the warranty extension. This information is necessary to process any warranty claims and to link the extension to the device in accordance with Article 6(1)(b) GDPR. Completing the other fields is optional. We collect this additional information with your consent under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR.

7. myKärcher

By creating a password-protected user account (a myKärcher account), you can more easily use (additional) services such as the online shop and online repair handling.

The following data about you is stored: first and last name, email address, password, and date of birth (mandatory fields); title and (mobile) phone number (optional fields).

This data is stored by our cloud provider (Amazon) in Ireland and/or Frankfurt am Main.

If a purchase is made through the password-protected user area (shop or repair order), address details are also stored. These data are also stored by our cloud provider (Amazon) in Ireland and/or Frankfurt am Main.

The password-protected user area can be deleted by the user at any time via the "Delete account" option.

8. Online repair process

If you use the online repair process on myKärcher or via Kärcher Infonet, we store your name and address, and the device type you entered, in order to process your repair order in accordance with Article 6(1)(b) GDPR.

After the repair order is completed, your data is stored for the legally required retention period. To comply with retention obligations, long-term storage is carried out in accordance with Article 6(1)(c) GDPR.

9. Newsletter

You can receive Kärcher’s email newsletter without giving your name by registering with an email address and explicitly consenting by ticking the box next to the following text:

"I want to receive the Kärcher newsletter and agree with the data protection policy."

Once we have received your consent, which is requested by sending you a confirmation email, Kärcher uses your email address as the recipient address for newsletters, which regularly inform you about Kärcher offers and products. This processing is based on your consent under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR. You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time.

§2 Disclosure and deletion of your personal data

1. Visiting the Kärcher website

Data stored when visiting the Kärcher website (§1) is not passed on to external parties.

2. Online shop

a) Disclosure to resellers
Your personal data is generally only disclosed to external parties within the context of the online shop if this is necessary to perform a contract, issue invoices, or collect payment. If you do not order products directly from Kärcher NV but from one of the integrated resellers (contract partners) in the shop, Kärcher collects the order details on behalf of the reseller you selected as described in §1 and §2. Once your order is completed, Kärcher forwards these details to the reseller to process the order. From that point, the reseller is responsible for the personal data needed to process your order. The reseller only receives the data necessary to fulfil their tasks. Other use of your data by this party is not permitted.

b) Deletion of your customer account
If you registered a customer account in the online shop and want to delete it, you can do so by submitting a request to the Data Protection Officer (see §6).

c) Credit check
Our company regularly checks credit status for new contracts and, in some cases, if there is a legitimate interest, also the credit status of existing customers. For this we work with Graydon Belgium, Uitbreidingstraat 84-b1, 2600 Antwerp, to obtain the necessary data. For this purpose, we provide Graydon Belgium with your name and contact details. Information on Article 14 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation regarding the processing of data at Graydon Belgium can be found here: https://graydon.be/gdpr

3. Contact form

Only if your request or comment relates to another person within Kärcher NV than the recipient of the contact form you used, will your data be forwarded to the correct contact person within the company. Data you provide via an online Kärcher contact form will not be shared with external parties unless you are specifically informed otherwise.

4. Market research

All data collected about you on Kärcher websites for market research is used exclusively for Kärcher’s internal purposes and is not shared with external parties. This data is deleted once it is no longer required for market research.

5. Competitions

Data collected as part of a competition on the Kärcher website is deleted immediately and completely at the end of the competition and is not shared with external parties.

6. Warranty extension campaign

Data collected during the warranty extension campaign is deleted after the extended warranty period expires. The data is not passed on to external parties outside the Kärcher group.

7. Newsletter

The email address you provided for newsletter registration is not shared with external parties. If you no longer wish to receive newsletters (§5.3), your email address will be removed from the mailing list.

8. Transfer to authorities and other public bodies

If a competent authority or institution demands specific (individual) data, Kärcher is obliged to transfer such personal data.

§3 Security notice

1. General technical measures

Kärcher implements several security measures to adequately protect personal data.
All data stored at Kärcher is protected by physical, technical, and procedural measures that limit access to the data in accordance with this privacy policy to authorized persons only.

Kärcher websites are protected by a software firewall to restrict access from other networks connected to the internet. In addition, only employees who need the data to perform a specific task have access to personal data. These employees are trained in security and data protection practices and treat your data confidentially.

2. Secure data transfer

The transfer of your personal data as part of the order process in the online shop is encrypted using SSL technology (SSL version 3).

3. Credit card data

All credit card details you provide are not stored by Kärcher but transmitted directly by the payment service provider in encrypted form via ‘hypertext transfer protocol secure’ (https).

4. Passwords

You must not disclose your password for access to our websites to external parties and should change it regularly. When you leave your customer account in the online shop, you should log out and close your browser to prevent anyone from unlawfully accessing your account.

§4 Cookies / Behavioural Advertising

Based on §15.3 of the TMG, Kärcher creates usage profiles for advertising, market research, and user-oriented design of the Kärcher website, provided the user does not object. The technical measures describe how you can object to this.

1. Use of cookies

Our websites use so-called cookies for Behavioural Targeting. These are small text files placed on your device that collect usage data (websites visited, number of visits, visit times, time spent per page, etc.) and create usage profiles. These usage profiles are anonymized and evaluated in a technical (statistical) process to enable targeted advertising placement on other websites based on the user’s interests. Under no circumstances are personal data such as name, address, or email address stored in cookies.

> Click here to install the opt-out cookie

2. Behavioural Advertising

The IP address is retrieved directly by the Behavioural Targeting service provider (for Kärcher websites this is GroupM Competence Center GmbH). The IP address is stored and processed in shortened or encrypted form, for example by replacing it with another sequence of numbers not related to the original IP address. GroupM Competence Center GmbH also advertises on third-party websites and uses its own targeting systems to deliver user-oriented advertising based on the collected data. More information on data protection and Behavioural Targeting concerning GroupM Competence Center GmbH and their technology can be found at http://www.xaxis.com/de/page/privacy-policy/. You can also object there to anonymous processing of your surfing behavior.
You can also prevent cookies from being stored through your browser settings. However, in this case not all (parts of) Kärcher websites may function fully and/or correctly.

3. Adobe Analytics

This website also uses Adobe Analytics, a web analysis service of Adobe Systems Software Ireland Limited (Adobe). Adobe Analytics uses cookies, which are small text files stored on your device to analyze your use of the website. When the data collected by the cookie about website use is transferred to an Adobe server, the IP address is anonymized before determining geolocation and replaced by a generic IP address before storage. Adobe uses this data on behalf of the operator of this website to evaluate website use by users, compile reports on website activity, and provide other services related to website activity and internet usage to the website operator. The IP address transmitted by your browser as part of Adobe Analytics is not merged with other Adobe data. You can set your browser to prevent cookies from being stored. However, if you do so, you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. You can prevent the collection and processing of data generated by the cookie and related to your website use (incl. your IP address) by Adobe by downloading and installing a browser plug-in available here: http://www.adobe.com/de/privacy/opt-out.html

4. Purpose

As soon as the user visits a website and interacts with ads using Xaxis services, information about your behavior, use, and interactions with the online environment is collected. Xaxis can also collect data and identify the browser and devices with which the user has previously interacted. Data collected via Xaxis services may include: type of internet browser, browser language settings and operating system, IP address, unique IDs available on the user’s device, type of connection (wired or Wi-Fi), region where the device is located, the network to which the device is connected, longitude/latitude of a (mobile) device, mobile provider, the website and the page visited before and after this visit. Ads can also be displayed and data about websites and pages viewed by the user can be collected.

The term “devices” refers to computers, mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, and other digital devices capable of connecting to the internet.

Xaxis does not collect usernames, postal addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, or similar personal data through its services that would allow you to be personally identified.

Xaxis may also receive data from other companies, including their customers, which is collected outside of Xaxis-provided services and made available to Xaxis in connection with the services provided. Xaxis may integrate this data with data collected through their services.

Xaxis uses the data collected through their services to ensure that the user receives the most useful and relevant online advertisements on websites.

§5 Your rights

1. Information

You have the right at any time to access the data collected about you and you have the right to information about the origin, recipient, and purpose of this data. For this, you can contact Kärcher’s Data Protection Officer (§6).

2. Objection (market research)

In accordance with Article 21 of the GDPR, you may at any time object to the future processing of your data. You can specifically object to the processing of your data for marketing purposes. To do this, you can send a short email to: dpo@be.kaercher.com

3. Withdrawal of your consent (e.g. for sending newsletters)

You may withdraw at any time the consent you have given to Kärcher for the use of your personal data, for example for sending the Kärcher newsletter. If you wish to withdraw your consent for receiving the newsletter, click on the "Unsubscribe from newsletter" link at the bottom of the newsletter. In all other cases, please contact the Data Protection Officer of Kärcher NV.

4. Your other rights

You have the right to rectification, deletion, or restriction of the processing of your personal data, the right to object to future processing, and a right to data portability.

As a data subject, without prejudice to other administrative or judicial remedies, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, particularly in the Member State where you reside, work, or where the alleged infringement took place, if you believe that the processing of personal data concerning you violates data protection law.

5. Competent supervisory authority

If you have a complaint about the use of your personal data, you can contact the responsible supervisory authority, the Data Protection Authority, via: https://www.privacycommission.be/nl/

Adjusting the privacy policy

This privacy policy may be changed from time to time. The most recent version will always be published on this website.
You can contact us as follows:
Kärcher NV
Data Protection Officer
Boomsesteenweg 939,
2610 Wilrijk
dpo@be.kaercher.com