MEMBERSHIP CONDITIONS
AND REGULATIONS
SEPTEMBER 1, 2014
Note: that in this document we will use the name Costco to describe Costco Wholesale Canada
Ltd. and its affiliated companies. Acceptance of membership constitutes an agreement to comply
with the following conditions and regulations. These conditions and regulations may be amended
by Costco without prior written notice to or consent of the member, but in such case, the changes
made will apply upon the renewal of your Costco membership.
MEMBERSHIP
• Membership is available to qualifying individuals 18 years of age or older.
• Membership is non-transferable. Costco membership cards can only be used by the
individuals to whom they are issued.
• Costco reserves the right to refuse membership to any applicant.
• Failure to comply with these conditions and regulations or abuse of your membership
privileges may result in your membership being terminated or certain privileges being
curtailed.
• Gold Star Membership fee is $55 per 12-month period from the date of enrollment. This
entitles the primary member to one personalized membership card and Spouse card, available
to a spouse or a family member 18 years of age or older living at the same address.
• Business Membership fee is $55 per 12-month period from the date of enrollment. This entitles
the primary member to one personalized membership card and Spouse card, available to a
spouse or a family member 18 years of age or older living at the same address. Each primary
member may name up to 6 secondary cardholders for $55 each and corresponding Spouse
cardholders at no additional cost.
• Executive Membership is $110 per 12-month period from the date of enrollment. This entitles
the primary member to one personalized membership card and Spouse card, available to a
spouse or a family member 18 years of age or older living at the same address. If upgrading
from a Gold Star Membership or Business Membership, upgrade amount will be prorated
based on the months remaining on your current membership. Secondary cardholders on an
existing Business Membership account that is being upgraded can choose to remain as
add-ons or purchase a Gold Star or Executive Membership on their own.
• All membership fees are subject to appropriate taxes.
PRODUCT AND MEMBERSHIP GUARANTEE
• On Membership: We will refund your membership fee in full if you are dissatisfied.
• On Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction with every product we sell and will refund
your purchase price, with the following exceptions:
1. Electronics: Costco will accept returns within 90 days from the date of purchase for
televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, tablets, camcorders, mp3 players, cellular
phones and other electronic products identified by Costco from time to time.
2. Diamonds: When returning items containing a 1.00 ct diamond or larger, Costco warehouses
will require additional time to verify the diamond, in which case a refund will be approved
upon positive verification. This process will require approximately 2 to 5 business days.
• Costco may in the future restrict its return policy regarding these and other products.
Restrictions will be shown at the point of purchase.
RENEWING, ADDING OR DELETING MEMBERSHIP
• Renewal cardholder changes, including additions or deletions, must be authorized by the
original primary member.
• Renewal of membership must be completed for all cardholders when renewal is processed,
regardless of the membership start date of individual secondary members. Only the primary
member and his/her spouse may renew the membership.
• Renewal is for a 12-month period based on the month of initial enrollment, whether or not
shopping privileges have been exercised.
PURCHASING PRIVILEGES, GUESTS AND OTHER RULES
• No sales will be made to any person unless such person has a valid membership card.
• Each cardholder may bring two guests. However, guests do NOT have purchasing privileges.
• Costco can refuse entry to anyone at any time at its discretion. This includes members who do
not display their Costco membership cards when requested.
• Members will be required to purchase any packages or products opened or damaged by them or
their guests.
TERMS OF PAYMENT
• All purchases must be made by cash, debit card, Costco gift certificate, C ­ ostco Cash Card,
pre­printed personal cheque or by those credit cards accepted by Costco from time to time.
• Costco reserves the right to further limit the payment method applicable to certain purchases.
• Costco reserves the right to limit payment from certain members to cash only.
• Business Members can make purchases with preprinted business cheques. To obtain cheque
writing privileges, a­ pplicants must present two appropriate pieces of identification with their
­membership application. The information collected at that time will be used and retained for
(1) fraud detection, (2) identification purposes, (3) a credit check, which may be conducted if
you choose to pay by cheque and (4) the uses described in our Privacy Statement including
sections 5, 7 and 12. Cheques must be in the exact amount. All cheques must be issued on
member’s chequing account. Cheques must be drawn on a Canadian financial institution
account and preprinted with the member’s name, address and telephone n­ umber. Any
exceptions to cheque c­ ashing rules must be pre-approved in writing by a representative
of Costco.
• When paying for purchases by cheque, the member may be required to show identification for
fraud detection and identification purposes. Only the type of identification will be noted on the
back of the cheque.
• Costco’s out-of-pocket expenses will be payable by the member for any cheque returned by
the member’s financial institution.
• The primary member is responsible for all his/her personal cheques and is jointly and ­severally
(solidarily) liable for all cheques issued by his/her spouse and the business.
• Each secondary member is responsible for his/her personal cheques and is jointly and
­severally (solidarily) liable for cheques issued by his/her spouse.
• Transferable company cards (a “Company card”) can be used by specified employees of the
company. Company cards are no longer being issued. Purchases with the Company card must
be made by preprinted business cheque, cash or those credit cards accepted by Costco from
time to time. Purchases made with this card are for business use exclusively.
• Title to all merchandise passes to the member at the check stand after m ­ erchandise has been
paid for and checked out. Thereafter, the member bears the risk of loss for such merchandise,
except for w ­ ilful or negligent acts of Costco or its employees. See our policy regarding
Receipts below.
SALES TAX (BUSINESS MEMBERS)
• Sales tax (GST, HST, QST or PST) will be charged on all taxable transactions in accordance
with all applicable laws. The member agrees, in the event of his/her failure to pay Costco
such tax, to hold Costco harmless and indemnify Costco from any claim, loss, assessment,
or expense occasioned by such non-payment. Members purchasing merchandise for resale
must advise the cashier of this before the sale is recorded in the cash register. If the member is
purchasing for resale, he/she will need to complete the appropriate application certificate at the
time of his/her purchase. Sales tax will not be charged at the time of purchase only on those
products the member states are specifically for resale.
• If any product is purchased on a sales tax exemption basis and is used in any manner which
qualifies it as a taxable item, the member agrees to report and pay any tax due, including
any penalties.
• Depending on the applicable provincial law, primary members must present, when signing up,
proof of their provincial tax number or of their tobacco tax number regarding merchandise they
desire to purchase for resale on a tax-exempt basis or in the case that they desire to purchase
tobacco for resale. In the event t­hat secondary members will need to use these tax numbers, the
primary member must give Costco written permission of this at the time of s­ igning up.
CALCULATION OF EXECUTIVE REWARD
2% Reward – Executive Members enjoy an annual 2% Reward (the “Reward”)
on certain Costco purchases as described below
The 2% Reward is based on the annual Costco Wholesale purchases (see “Calculation of
Reward” below) made by the primary and spouse cardholders on the membership account.
The Reward coupon is mailed to the primary member with the annual membership renewal
notice and may only be used by the primary member toward Costco Wholesale purchases.
Costco Purchases
The Reward Program is subject to the following restrictions. Costco Wholesale reserves the
right at its discretion to discontinue the Reward Program at any time and to make changes
to the program that will apply upon renewal of your membership. Failure to comply with
these conditions and regulations or abuse of your membership privileges may result in the
cancellation of your membership or curtailment of certain privileges. A member must be an
active, paid Executive Member at the time the Reward is earned and issued in order to receive
the annual 2% Reward. Only purchases made by the primary and spouse cardholders are used
to calculate the Reward.
Calculation of Reward*
The Reward is approximately 2% of pre-tax purchases of most merchandise, and will be
calculated on purchases by Canadian residents of merchandise through the front-end registers
at Costco Wholesale warehouses in Canada and the United States and online at Costco.ca. In
Canada, Rewards will not be calculated: (i) on purchases of cigarettes or other tobacco-related
products; (ii) on purchases that are not recorded through Costco Wholesale’s front-end registers,
such as services, purchases at Costco Wholesale’s gas stations, food courts, optical centres
(Quebec only), and pharmacies; (iii) on purchases of alcoholic beverages; (iv) on membership
fees; (v) on miscellaneous fees, deposits and taxes, including applicable sales tax and goods
and services tax; (vi) on purchases of services, including travel, auto and other services; (vii) on
purchases where prohibited by legal or regulatory restrictions; (viii) on certain other categories as
determined from time to time at Costco Wholesale’s sole discretion; or (ix) on purchases made
by anyone other than the Executive Membership account’s primary and spouse cardholders.
A complete list of exclusions from the calculation of the Reward is available on Costco.ca and
at the Membership Counter in each of our warehouses. Costco Wholesale warehouses outside
Canada can provide a list of exclusions specific to those locations. The period of calculation
will run approximately from the date of the member’s paid enrollment or upgrade to Executive
Membership through the date approximately three months prior to the member’s renewal date.
Purchases from the last three months will be added to the following year’s Reward calculation.
Calculation of a Reward is capped at, and will not exceed, $750 for any 12-month period.
Executive Members who downgrade to Gold Star or Business status or cancel their membership
and receive a refund of their membership fees may not receive a Reward.
Use of Reward
Reward coupons will be mailed with membership renewal notices. Reward coupons
may be redeemed by the primary member toward purchases of most merchandise through
the front-end registers at Costco Wholesale warehouses throughout Canada only. Reward
coupons may be used toward purchases of merchandise only; they have no independent cash
value. Reward coupons may not be used: (i) toward purchases of certain merchandise such as
alcoholic beverages, cigarettes or other tobacco-related products; (ii) toward purchases that
are not recorded through Costco Wholesale’s front-end registers, such as purchases at Costco
Wholesale’s gas stations, food courts, optical centres (Quebec only), pharmacies and online at
Costco.ca; (iii) toward purchases of services, including travel, auto and other services;
(iv) toward purchases where prohibited by legal or regulatory restrictions; or (v) toward certain
other purchases as determined from time to time at Costco Wholesale’s discretion. Reward
coupons will not be replaced if lost or stolen. A complete list of products and services that cannot
be purchased with Reward coupons is available on Costco.ca and at the Membership Counter in
each of our warehouses.
CHANGES OF ADDRESS, ETC.
Please advise a staff member at the warehouse Membership Counter of any change of address,
email address, phone number or c­ ompany name so our records remain accurate.
LOST OR STOLEN CARDS
If a membership card is lost or stolen, the cardholder must immediately notify the Membership
Counter or phone us at 1-800-463-3783. If a co-branded credit card is lost or stolen, the
cardholder must immediately call the credit card issuer.
PRIVACY STATEMENT
Costco is committed to protecting the privacy of its customers. See Customer Privacy Statement.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
• Every member using a shopping cart to carry his/her purchases from the warehouse to his/her
vehicle has the obligation to return the cart to the enclosure identified for this purpose in the
parking lot in order to facilitate the retrieval of same, as well as to avoid carts from becoming
an obstacle to the traffic flow of other members’ vehicles.
• Costco is not responsible for damage or loss caused by a shopping cart to any vehicle of a
member or of any guest.
CHILD SAFETY
• Parents are responsible for their children at all times.
• All children placed in the shopping carts must be secured in the child restraint seats.
INSPECTION
Costco reserves the right to inspect any container, backpack, briefcase, bag or other package
when our members and their guests enter or leave our warehouses. Our members and their guests
consent to such inspections when they enter our warehouses.
RECEIPTS
You will be required to show your receipt for the items you purchased at the warehouse exit. This
ensures that our cashiers processed the items you purchased correctly and that you have been
properly charged for your purchases. It is also one of our most effective methods of maintaining
accuracy in inventory control.
RESTRICTIONS
• Use of cameras or tape recorders, or recording of prices in any manner is not p­ ermitted.
Offenders will be asked to leave the premises and their membership may be revoked.
• There shall be no solicitation for any purpose on Costco premises, nor i­nter­ference with
employees. Offenders will be asked to leave the premises and their membership may be revoked.
• Smoking is prohibited at Costco.
CREDIT
If you choose to pay by cheque or request the extension of credit from Costco, you authorize Costco
to disclose, collect and retain personal information relating to your credit history and credit status
to and from credit-reporting agencies, credit bureaus and financial institutions in order to assess
your creditworthiness and to process the transaction. If you choose to pay by debit or credit card,
you authorize Costco to disclose and collect personal information to and from the debit card and/or
credit card issuer in order to process the transaction.
OTHER
Costco may realize a profit or receive rebates, discounts or other allowances in respect of
contracts with suppliers of member services which Costco shall be entitled to retain for its own
use/credit without accounting to members.
* A complete list of exclusions is available on Costco.ca and at the Membership Counter in each
of our warehouses.
COSTCO USE ONLY
MEMBERSHIP NUMBER
BUSINESS NAME ____________________________________________________
MEMBER NAME _____________________________________________________
FEES________________________________ GST ___________________________
PST____________________________
HST ___________________________
TOTAL _________________________
DATE ISSUED________________________ AMOUNT PAID__________________
GST/HST No. 121 476 329 RT
QST No. 101 819 9561 TQ
COSTCO WHOLESALE CANADA LTD.
CUSTOMER PRIVACY POLICY
SEPTEMBER 1, 2014
This Privacy Policy explains our privacy practices for customer information we collect, use
or disclose, including at Costco warehouses and through our web sites (including through
Costco.ca and other Internet sites, mobile apps, and social media sites, which we will refer to
collectively as “Sites”), as well as our customer service interactions with you. In this Privacy
Policy, the terms “Costco”, “we” and “our” refer to Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd., unless
otherwise indicated. Personal information and personal health information that you provide
when you visit non-Canadian Costco websites or warehouses outside of Canada are governed by
the privacy policies that are posted on those websites or that apply in those warehouses.
This Privacy Policy is incorporated into the Terms and Conditions of Use for our Sites and into
the terms applicable to Costco members and persons applying for Costco membership. By using
our Sites, by applying for membership, or by using a membership, you are consenting to this
Privacy Policy.
1. Costco’s Commitment to Privacy.
Costco is committed to protecting the privacy of our customers. We have and will take measures
that protect the privacy of personal information and personal health information held by us.
This Privacy Policy provides you with details regarding:
• why we collect personal information and personal health information;
• what we do with that information;
• what steps we take to ensure that the information is secure;
• how you can access personal information and personal health information pertaining to you;
and
• who you should contact if you have questions or concerns about our policies or practices.
Since we regularly review our policies and practices, your comments are always welcome. We
reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time; however, any changes or additions
to Section 5 regarding the reasons we use personal information will not apply to you unless you
consent to them.
We will alert you that changes have been made by indicating at the top of the Privacy Policy
the date that it was last updated. This Privacy Policy was last updated on September 1, 2014.
The only other updates since this Privacy Policy came into effect on July 1, 2003 were posted
on October 15, 2004, August 1, 2009, and March 23, 2012. We encourage you to review our
Privacy Policy carefully to make sure that you understand how information that you provide
will be used or disclosed.
Children: We encourage parents to take an active interest in their children’s use of the Internet.
We do not intend to collect information from children who are under 18 years of age. If you are
under 18, please do not provide information on our Sites.
2. What is personal information?
In general terms, personal information means any information about an identifiable individual.
For example, this includes your name, postal and email address, telephone number, credit card
number, the photograph included on your Costco membership card, demographic information
and purchasing history. A special category of personal information is “personal health
information”, which we describe in Section 3 below.
Personal information does not include aggregate information, such as data about a group or
category of products, services or customers, from which individual customer identities have
been removed. For example, information about how you use a service may be collected and
combined with information about how others use the same service, but no personal information
will be included in the resulting data. Likewise, information about the products you purchase
may be collected and combined with information about the products purchased by others.
We may also gather aggregate information about how Costco customers use our Sites.
Aggregate information about product purchases helps us understand trends and customer needs,
and assists us in product selection, product ordering and sizing and the introduction of new
products and services. It can also assist us in determining where it would be appropriate to
build new warehouses by looking at the geographic location of members or to build new Site
functions by looking at anonymized browsing activities.
We may automatically collect some information when you visit our Sites, such as your
computer’s network address and operating system, the site from which you linked to us, and
the time and date of your visit and purchases. This information is not linked by us to personal
information, but rather is only used to compile aggregate information. This information may be
collected through the use of cookies (see our “Online privacy practices” in Section 12 below).
3. What is personal health information?
Personal health information means any information relating to your physical or mental health
collected or generated in the course of our providing you with the health services you request,
such as optical, pharmacy and hearing aid services, and prescription profiles for fulfilment
of pharmacy orders. Examples of personal health information may include your medical
history, drug prescription information, eyeglass prescription information, or health insurance
information, which we may require in order to provide you with pharmacy, hearing aid, optical
and other health-related services. It may also include information you provide to Costco health
services personnel when receiving counselling or advice, or when contacting Costco with a
comment, question or complaint about our health services.
4. When we collect personal information.
We only collect such personal information as is strictly necessary for the purposes outlined in
Section 5. We collect personal information when you:
• apply for membership (including information about your credit history that may be collected,
used, or disclosed if you choose to pay by cheque);
• apply for a Costco co-branded credit card;
• renew your membership;
• contact us with questions, inquiries, comments, complaints or requests;
• sign up for certain products and services (such as rebates, the Costco Services program and
other business and consumer services, collectively the “Costco Services”);
• use our Sites;
• participate in any of our programs;
• place orders, make purchases, return or exchange items, or seek further information about our
products and services;
• place orders or make purchases, return or exchange items, or seek further information
through our affiliated companies, including Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco and its
affiliates are referred to collectively as the “Costco Affiliates”);
• enter into a contest or sweepstakes or respond to one of our surveys; and
• ask us to place you on a “Do Not Email” list so that we can ensure that your wishes
are respected.
Please note that the Costco Services may be provided by third party suppliers. We collect from
such third party suppliers a list of our customers who have signed up for Costco Services and
information about the use our customers make of such Costco Services (for example, frequency
of use and customer feedback).
We may also take video footage on our properties to protect the rights, property or safety of
Costco, its customers, employees, or the public.
5. How we use personal information.
As part of our business operations, we hold and use certain personal information pertaining to you
in order to process your requests, provide you with Costco Services, and to understand your needs
so that we can serve you better.
Specifically, we may use personal information for the following purposes:
• Notifying you of recalls or safety issues;
• Approving you as a member when you apply for membership;
• Managing the provision of goods, services and privileges to you, including monitoring your
membership, processing exchanges or returns, to conduct a credit check if you choose to pay by
cheque, to determine your credit status and for fraud detection and identification purposes;
• Managing invoicing, accounting and information security services related to our transactions
with you;
• Monitoring your satisfaction with our programs, including the Executive Membership Program,
the services offered by our suppliers of Costco Services and contacting you regarding the status
of such programs and services (for example, to inform you of changes to or the termination of
particular Costco Services);
• Protecting against harm to the rights, property or safety of Costco, its customers, employees, or
the public;
• Internal management purposes, including planning, resource allocation, policy development,
quality improvement, monitoring, audit, evaluation and reporting;
• As described in our “Online privacy practices” in Section 12 below;
• Managing our “Do Not Email” lists; and
• Using personal information to create aggregate information as described above in Section 2.
If you ask us to, we will also tell you about news, promotions, special offers and other information
from Costco, regarding Costco, Costco Affiliates and selected partners, such as our promotional
programs. You may unsubscribe from these kinds of messages at any time by visiting Costco.ca
and setting your Communication Preferences.
6. When we share personal information.
Personal information we collect in accordance with this Privacy Policy may be shared with
the Costco Affiliates, for the purposes listed above, provided that such shared information is
required for and is used and disclosed for such purposes only. Personal information may also be
disclosed to unaffiliated third parties in connection with the sale, assignment or other transfer
of our business, in which case we will require such third parties to adhere to the terms of this
Privacy Policy. We will also disclose personal information in accordance with Section 12 below
when the information is collected online at our Sites.
From time to time we engage unaffiliated third parties and their affiliates, agents and
subcontractors (“Service Providers”) to perform certain technological or administrative
services. For example, a Service Provider may be asked to perform credit card processing
services, administer a contest or be asked to run a computer program that identifies which of our
members purchased a particular product so we can notify those members of special programs
regarding the same or similar products. We also may use a Service Provider to host and
administer one or more of our Sites, process and store data, and fulfill similar technology-related
functions on our behalf. In these circumstances, the personal information that the Service
Provider receives is limited to only the personal information held by us that they need in order
to render their service to us. The companies that are provided with the personal information are
first required to sign an agreement that obligates them to keep the information confidential and
secure and prohibits them from using it for unauthorized purposes.
We also may engage Service Providers to provide us with cloud computing services. Cloud
computing is the provision of network-based services, located on remote computers, that allow
individuals and businesses to use software and hardware operated by third parties. Examples
of these services include online file storage, webmail and online business applications. Service
Providers have policies and processes in place to ensure that the confidentiality of information
in their care is properly safeguarded at all times.
You acknowledge that if Service Providers are located in the United States or the European
Union, your personal information may be processed and stored in the United States or the
European Union and the governments, courts or law enforcement or regulatory agencies of
the United States or the European Union may be able to obtain disclosure of your personal
information through a lawful order.
As outlined above, Costco Services (such as rebates, the Executive Membership Program, and
other business and consumer services) may be provided by Service Providers. When you sign
up for Costco Services, we will share your name, membership status, membership number
and type and such other personal information as is necessary with the Service Provider so they
can confirm your eligibility for the Costco Service you requested. Service Providers who are
suppliers of Costco Services can only use the personal information that we share with them
to provide the Costco Services or, if you have consented, to notify you of their offerings and
to evaluate new and existing products, offerings or services. We are not responsible for any
additional information you provide directly to these Service Providers, and we encourage you
to become familiar with their privacy and security practices and policies before disclosing
information to them. There may be instances when we provide information relating to our
business customers to various suppliers such as tobacco companies, so they can conduct market
studies and other promotional activities. In the case of tobacco products, the information we
provide is the business customer’s name, address, the brand name of the tobacco products
purchased and the amount of tobacco products purchased.
When you apply for a Costco co-branded credit card, we will share with our credit card partners
(including the issuing institution, the payment processing network, and other organizations
providing services relating to the Costco co-branded credit card) the information you provide
on the application form. If the application is approved, we will share with these partners your
Costco membership number(s) and start date(s), your Costco membership photograph(s)
that will appear on the co-branded card, your company name and resale permit number (if
applicable) and the type and status of your Costco membership. Our credit card partners also
have privacy policies, which we encourage you to review carefully before applying for a
co-branded credit card.
We may disclose personal information without your knowledge or consent if a law, regulation,
search warrant, subpoena or court order legally authorizes us or requires us to do so. We may
also disclose personal information to protect the rights, property or personal safety of Costco, its
customers, employees or other members of the public.
Except as set out above, we do not sell, rent, share or disclose the personal information or
personal health information we hold or make our membership list available to others for a fee
without your consent
7. When we collect, how we use and when we share personal health information.
In the course of providing you with pharmacy, hearing aid, optical and other health-related
services and programs we introduce from time to time, we collect, use and disclose personal
health information.
Costco, Costco Affiliates and their Service Providers may collect, use or disclose your
personal health information in connection with:
• providing you with the health services you request;
• communicating with your health service providers;
• processing or obtaining payment for government-funded health services (for example,
obtaining authorization from your insurer or provincial authorities for direct payment of
pharmacy services);
• processing or obtaining payment from your health insurance provider;
• internal management purposes, including planning, resource allocation, policy
development, quality improvement, monitoring, audit, evaluation and reporting;
• providing Costco with technological or administrative services as described in Section 6
above; or
• in connection with the sale, assignment or other transfer of our business, in which case we
will require such third parties to adhere to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
We may also disclose personal health information without your knowledge or consent if a
law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order legally authorizes us or requires us to
do so or to protect the rights, property or personal safety of Costco, its customers, employees
or other members of the public. We may also be required to disclose certain personal health
information in order to maintain standing with professional health bodies, including those for
pharmacists, audiologists and opticians.
Personal health information may be stored by Costco or Costco Affiliates in Canada, in
the United States or in the European Union. You acknowledge that if Service Providers are
located in the United States, or the European Union, your personal health information may be
processed and stored in the United States or the European Union, and the governments, courts
or law enforcement or regulatory agencies in the United States or the European Union may be
able to obtain disclosure of your personal health information through a lawful order.
8. How long do we hold personal information and personal health information?
Personal information and personal health information is retained only for so long as is necessary
for the purposes set out above. When no longer required, we will destroy, erase or de-personalize
the personal information and personal health information. Legal requirements may necessitate
our retaining some or all of the personal information and personal health information we hold
for a period of time that is longer than we might otherwise hold it. However, Costco will restrict
access to such information to prevent it from being used except for the fulfilment of these legal
requirements.
9. Accuracy.
To ensure that the personal information and personal health information you provided is accurate,
complete and up-to-date, we urge you to provide us with updates regarding such information and
to inform us of any errors affecting the personal information and personal health information we
hold. You may update, review or correct your Costco.ca online account information at any time by
accessing your password-protected registration page via the “My Account” area of the Sites. To
update any other information, please visit the Membership Counter in any of our warehouses with
your membership card to confirm your identity.
10. Security measures.
We will continue to keep in place security measures in an effort to protect personal information
and personal health information held by us from unauthorized use, access, disclosure, distribution,
loss or alteration. We employ physical, administrative, contractual and technological safeguards to
protect personal information, and insist that our Service Providers do the same. Access to personal
information and personal health information will be restricted to authorized personnel who require
the information in order to perform their duties properly. In addition, access will be limited to only
that information that is strictly necessary for the performance of those duties. Please also see our
“Online privacy practices” in Section 12 below.
We periodically update our policies regarding information security measures in an effort to protect
the personal information and personal health information held by us in the most effective manner
possible.
11. Accessing personal information and personal health information.
Our customers are entitled to access the personal information and personal health information
held by us concerning them. In recognition of the importance we attach to each customer’s
personal information, you can only access personal information and personal health information
we hold about you, but not personal information and personal health information about your
spouse or others who may have been issued a membership card on your account. Under limited
circumstances, we may give you access to personal information or personal health information
that we hold about others, but only if required or permitted by law (for example, a parent or
guardian may, in certain instances, be given access to the personal information or personal
health information of a child or a person who requires a substitute decision maker).
You can access your personal information and personal health information by showing your
membership card at the Membership Counter in each warehouse to confirm your identity and
completing a written request for such information on a form we provide. We will generally
respond to your request for information within thirty (30) days, unless, for reasons beyond our
control, a longer response time is necessary, in which case you will be advised accordingly.
While our response will generally be provided at no cost, you will be informed in advance
of any charges that apply in connection with the information request. Charges may relate to
the transcription, reproduction or transmission of personal information or personal health
information held by us.
In very limited circumstances, we may not be able to supply personal information and personal
health information for reasons of a legal nature, including privileged communications between
professional and client or a pending judicial proceeding. In each case, we will provide written
reasons outlining why your request for access has not been granted.
12. Online privacy practices.
Collection: We may collect personal information and personal health information online when
you visit our Sites as described in Sections 4 and 7 above.
In addition, we may collect cookie and web beacon information when you browse the Sites.
Cookies are small files that are stored on your computer, and web beacons are electronic images
that allow us to count visitors visiting certain Web pages, to access cookies, and to analyze whether
advertising banners on our site or other sites were effective. At Costco.ca, we may use cookies and
beacons to help optimize your shopping experience, to evaluate use of the Sites, and to support
Site analytics and marketing campaigns. In doing so, we may collect technical information such
as your IP address, your browser type, the addresses of referring Sites, and your path through the
Sites.
Cookies help us to customize our home page for you and to better display pages according to your
browser type. While cookies are optional for browsing Costco.ca, they are required for registering,
logging on, purchasing or adding items to your cart. If you wish to purchase items or set up an
account on Costco.ca, you will need to accept a Costco.ca cookie. (In order to control the ability
of website providers to place cookies on your computer, you should consult your browser’s
“Options” and “Help” pages to learn how to adjust your settings to suit your privacy preferences.)
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Use: We use personal information and personal health information collected online as described in
Sections 5 and 7 above. In addition, we use personal information and personal health information:
• to facilitate and monitor certain features of the Sites that you choose to interact with, such as
online forums, feeds and chatrooms;
• to respond to your questions and concerns and to understand your needs and preferences;
• to conduct surveys and other research;
• to provide you with customized Site content and advertising;
• to fulfill your online orders for products and services and to facilitate product deliveries,
pickups and returns;
• to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues; or
• to protect against harm to the rights, property or safety of Costco, its users or the public as
required or permitted by law.
Sharing: We share personal information and personal health information collected online as
described in Sections 6 and 7 above. In addition, we may provide Service Providers with certain
information that is necessary to fulfill an order you have placed with us. For example, if you
request shipment for a purchase, we may provide your address to the shipping carrier and customs
service provider, and if you pay by credit or debit card, your card number and sales transaction
information are passed to the card processor and/or issuer (including their service providers such
as fraud verification services). We also may use Service Providers to host and administer the Sites,
process and store data, and fulfill other technology-related functions on our behalf. However,
we only give or permit access to vendors, suppliers and other Service Providers involved in Site
administration and the commerce distribution chain the limited information needed to perform
their duties and provide you with the products and services you order. We are not responsible for
any additional information you provide directly to these parties.
Protection: Personal information and personal health information we collect on our Sites is stored
electronically, and may be combined with other off-line information. Personal information and
personal health information entered on our Sites is encrypted using a security protocol called SSL
(Secure Sockets Layer). SSL encrypts information entered on our site before it is sent over the
Internet. SSL also allows you to view securely your online account and registration information.
Account information is accessible online only through the use of a password. To protect the
confidentiality of personal information and personal health information, you must keep your
password confidential and not disclose it to any other person. You are responsible for all uses of
our Sites by any person using your password. You are advised that, unlike communication within
our Sites, we have no control over the privacy of your email communications with us while in
transit. We recommend that you do not include confidential, proprietary, personal or personal
health information in emails, including credit card numbers, passwords, prescriptions and other
similar information. Also, if other people have access to your email account, they may be able
to access your password and obtain personal information about you (such as your credit card
information), or change information about your user profile. You should not use an email account
operated by your employer because many employers have the legal right to access such email
accounts. Please advise us immediately by email at service@costco.ca or by dialing
1-888-426-7826 if you believe your password has been misused.
Online links to other sites: Through links provided on our Sites, you can link to other sites
of third parties who have agreed to offer goods and services to our members. Any personal
information you provide on the linked pages is provided directly to that third party and is subject to
that third party’s privacy policy. Except as described above, we are not responsible for the content
or privacy and security practices and policies of sites to which we provide links. Links from our
Sites to third parties or to other sites are provided for your convenience. We encourage you to
learn about their privacy and security practices and policies before providing them with personal
information.
13. Complaint process.
If you are not completely satisfied with or wish to submit comments concerning this Privacy
Policy or its application by us, we invite you to convey your concerns or suggestions to
Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd., 415 West Hunt Club Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2E 1C5
Attention: Privacy Officer. We will reply as quickly as possible and inform you of the steps, if
any, that have been or will be taken in order to address the concern or implement the suggestion.
You can also file a complaint with the Privacy Commissioner in the province in which you
reside or with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in Ottawa.
14. Choice.
If you previously consented to the sharing of the personal information you provided or are a
Business Member and you do not want us to disclose information about your tobacco purchases,
you can change your mind by:
1. Contacting us at any Membership Counter at any Canadian Costco warehouse location;
2. Calling our Member Service representatives at 1-800-463-3783;
3. Emailing Customer Service;
4. Writing us at: Member Service, 415 West Hunt Club Road, Ottawa, Ontario K2E 1C5
Attention: Privacy Officer.
If you wish to unsubscribe from electronic messages providing news, promotions, special offers
and other information from Costco, regarding Costco, Costco Affiliates and selected partners,
such as our promotional programs, you may do so at any time by visiting Costco.ca and setting
your Communication Preferences.