Privacy Policy

RELIANT BUSINESS VALUATION, LLC – PRIVACY STATEMENT

We are Reliant Business Valuation. Formally, we are Reliant Business Valuation, LLC and Reliant Equipment Appraisals, LLC (collectively, “Reliant Business Valuation”, “we”, “us” and “our”). Among other things, we provide business valuations, equipment valuations, and other related services to support the SBA lending community. As part of this effort, we provide you with the ability to request an appraisal and to upload certain data in order for us to perform our appraisal, via the website at https://reliantvalue.com and all subdomains (the “Reliant Business Valuation Site”) (collectively, the “Services”). While we facilitate communication and collection of necessary information online, we do not provide automated online appraisals.

Each person or entity who uses our Services is referred to as a “user” or “you” or “your”. This Privacy Statement and our Terms of Service (“Terms”) apply to each user.

This document is our statement of our privacy practices (“Privacy Statement”). Among other things, it explains how we and some of the companies we work with collect, use, share and protect the information you provide to us (your “Content” or “User Content”). The User Content may include any personally-identifiable information, including without limitation name, address, telephone numbers, electronic mail and postal addresses, and other sensitive information that identifies or is uniquely associated with an individual (collectively, “Personal Data”). This Privacy Statement also discusses your choices about the collection, storage and use of your Personal Data.

Any Content that is not Personal Data is referred to as “Non-Personal Data.” Non-Personal Data may include without limitation information about how users use the Services, what Services users select, how users respond to service offerings, demographic statistics of our users (e.g. average age or geographical allocation of our users), number of visitors, what pages users access or visit, average time spent on the Reliant Business Valuation Site, how users share information with others, and what users say they like and dislike, all of which we may aggregate into larger data sets that do not identify individuals (collectively, “Behavioral Data” which is a type of Non-Personal Data).

As set forth more fully within this Privacy Statement, we will not actively collect Personal Data for the purpose of sale or marketing in a way that specifically identifies the individual. In other words, we don’t sell customer lists. You may withdraw your consent to our processing of your Personal Data at any time by sending an email to [email protected]. However, withdrawing consent may result in your inability to continue using the Reliant Business Valuation Site and/or the Services.

Please note that this Privacy Statement does not apply to any other websites, mobile applications, or businesses. This Privacy Statement applies to any Personal Data and other Content we collect or process via any means, including via our Services; although the focus of this Privacy Statement is on Content we collect via our Services.

By using our Services, you consent to the collection, transfer, analysis, transformation, storage, disclosure and other uses of your Content, including your Personal Data, as described in this Privacy Statement.

For the purpose of any privacy laws which use the terms “controller” and “processor” with regard to Personal Data, Reliant Business Valuation is the “Data Controller”, meaning that Reliant Business Valuation is the legal person which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of Personal Data. Our service providers and contractors who process Personal Data are each the “Data Processor”, meaning that they process Personal Data at our direction.

1.  Information We Collect

As noted above, we collect Content from you while providing the Services. Some of the Content is Personal Data that we may use to contact you, and which is necessary to provide the Services. Other Content we collect from you may include Behavioral Data and other Non-Personal Data that we aggregate, share, and use to improve our Services, and the services of others.

We collect many different types of information from you, both directly and indirectly.

Information you provide us directly

We may collect the following information from you.

  • Email and Order Information. If you use the Services to place an order or request a quote with us, we may collect and store the contents of your email, order, or quote, as well as related communications and documents provided by you.
  • Account Information. We may collect information about your company (such as company name, address and contact information), our users (such as user name, address, phone number, email address, appraisal designations, performance and usage statistics, and language preferences) and information regarding properties/appraisals (such as property and location information, as well as information about an entity/property related to your appraisal request. Before you provide us with information from your clients, you are responsible for complying with all applicable laws and regulations that require you to obtain consent from your clients to share their information with us or with anyone else.
  • Location Information. We may ask for the address of your company or your geographic location information.
  • Communications between you and Reliant Business Valuation. We may send you emails, SMS or text messages, and other electronic communications for sales and delivery, notices of changes/updates to features of the Services or our appraisal services, technical and security notices, and for other purposes. We may collect and store these communications.

Information we gather from your use of our Services

We collect the following information from your use of our Services.

  • Analytics. We may use third-party analytics tools to help us measure traffic and usage trends and other Non-Personal Data (as that term is defined in our Privacy Statement) for the Services. These tools collect information sent by your device or our Services, including the web pages you visit, add-ons, and other information that assists us in improving our Services. We collect and combine this analytics information with analytics information from other users so that it cannot be used to identify any particular individual user. One of the analytics tools we use is Google Analytics. For more information and steps you can take to control Google’s collection and use of your data, please visit Google’s page, “How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services”. Google also provides an opt-out plugin for web browsers, available here.
  • Metadata. Metadata is usually technical data that is associated with other data, including User Content. For example, metadata can describe how, when and by whom an item of User Content was collected and how that User Content is formatted. Reliant Business Valuation may collect and store metadata, including about each user’s public posts on the Services.
  • Log Data. Our servers automatically record information (“log data”) created by your use of the Services. Log Data may include information such as your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, browser type, operating system, the referring web page, pages visited, location, your mobile carrier, device and application IDs, search terms, and cookie information. We receive log data when you interact with our Services, for example, when you visit our website, sign into our Services or interact with our email notifications. Reliant Business Valuation uses log data to review how we provide our Services and to measure, customize, and improve the Services.

2.  How We Store Your Information

We currently provide the Services from within the United States, and we store all User Content, including Personal Data, that we currently collect and retain on servers inside the United States.

Certain types of User Content you submit to us might reveal your gender, ethnic origin, nationality, age, religion, sexual orientation, or other Personal Data about you or others.

By using our Services, or by submitting your personal information to us, you consent to the collection, storage, processing and onward transfer of your personal information as stated in the current version of this Privacy Statement and the current version of our other online documents, including the Terms of Service.

3.  How We Use Your Information

We share and use your Personal Data in the following circumstances.:

  • To provide and maintain the Services, including to monitor the usage of our Services.
  • To manage Your Account: to manage your registration as a user of the Services. The Personal Data You provide can give you access to different functionalities of the Services that are available to you as a registered user.
  • Opt-in with Your Consent. We may ask for your permission to share your Personal Data with other people and organizations outside of Reliant Business Valuation, including to provide you with Services. As with any opt-in procedure, you are under no duty to agree to a request that you opt-in.

Partners and Affiliates of Reliant Business Valuation. We may share your Personal Data with our business partners.

  • Cookies. Cookies are unique identifiers that we transfer to your device to enable our systems to recognize your device and to provide features and remember your personalization choices. We may use cookies to make it easier to access and use our Services. The help feature on most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, or how to disable cookies altogether. Additionally, you can disable or delete similar data used by browser add-ons, by changing the add-on’s settings or visiting the website of its manufacturer. Because cookies allow you to take advantage of some of the Services’ essential features, we recommend that you leave them turned on.
  • Do not Track. Because the “Do Not Track” setting has been found to enable the fingerprinting of user devices, we do not honor the “Do Not Track” setting.
  • Opt-out Email \ Address. If you supply us with your email address you may receive periodic emails from us with information on new products and services. If you do not want to receive such emails, please let us know by sending an email to us at the “opt-out” address, below. We will remove your name from the list we use internally. Opting-out of these emails does not mean we remove your email from our system entirely, because we still retain your email addresses for other purposes.
  • Required by Law. We may access, preserve and share your Personal Data in response to a legal request (like a search warrant, court order or subpoena). We may also access, preserve and share Personal Data when we have a good faith belief that it is necessary to: help to ensure security and integrity generally to the extent that your Personal Data is reasonably necessary and proportionate for those purposes; detect, prevent and address fraud and other illegal activity; to protect ourselves, you and others, including as part of investigations; and to prevent death or imminent bodily harm. Information we receive about you may be accessed, processed and retained for an extended period of time when it is the subject of a legal request or obligation, governmental investigation, or investigations concerning possible violations of our terms or policies, or otherwise to prevent harm.
  • Change of Control. If we sell or otherwise transfer part or the whole of Reliant Business Valuation or our assets to another organization (e.g., a merger, acquisition, or reorganization), your Personal Data such as user name and email address, User Content and any other information collected through the Services may be among the items sold or transferred. You will continue to own your User Content, but the license you grant to us in the Terms may be transferred to others at Reliant Business Valuation’s sole discretion. In such event, this Privacy Statement will continue to apply.
  • Non-Personal Data. We may share Non-Personal Data publicly and with publishers, researchers or connected sites. For example, we may share aggregated Non-Personal Data publicly to show trends about the general use of our Services. Non-Personal Data includes aggregated or collective information about multiple users that does not reflect or reference an individually-identifiable user.
  • Other. In addition to some of the specific uses of information we describe in this Privacy Statement above, we may use Personal Data that we receive to:
    • help you efficiently access your information after you sign in.
    • remember information so you will not have to re-enter it during your visit or the next time you visit the Services.
    • provide personalized Content and information to you and others.
    • provide, improve, test, and monitor the effectiveness of our Services.
    • develop and test new services and features.
    • monitor metrics such as total number of visitors, traffic, and demographic patterns.
    • diagnose or fix technology problems.

4.  Your Right to Review, Request Changes, and Disclose Personal Data

Where required by applicable laws and regulations, each user may inspect and receive a copy of his or her Personal Data as stored in the Services. In rare circumstances, we may deny a request, and we may provide you with an explanation. If we deny your request, you may request a review by another professional, who will be chosen by Reliant Business Valuation, and we will comply with the outcome of the review.

Subject to applicable laws and regulations, the Personal Data you provide to us remains completely under your control. If you believe the Personal Data we have is incorrect or incomplete, you may in writing request an amendment to your Personal Data. We will approve or deny each request, and notify you of our decision. If approved, we will amend the Personal Data. We will also make a reasonable effort to notify people to whom the Personal Data was released. In the case of a denial, we will provide the reason for the denial and instructions on how to appeal.

5.  Changes to this Privacy Statement

We reserve the right to change this Privacy Statement at any time. If we decide to change this Privacy Statement in the future, we will post an appropriate notice on our Privacy Statement page at https://reliantvalue.com/privacy. Any non-material change (such as clarifications) to this Privacy Statement will become effective on the date the change is posted and any material changes will become effective 30 days from their posting on the Reliant Business Valuation Site. Unless stated otherwise, our current Privacy Statement applies to all Personal Data that we have about you. The date on which the latest update was made is indicated at the top of this document. We recommend that you print a copy of this Privacy Statement for your reference and revisit this policy from time to time to ensure you are aware of any changes. Your continued use of the Reliant Business Valuation Site signifies your acceptance of any changes.

6.  Different Locations, Different Laws

The laws and regulations that address privacy rights and responsibilities (collectively, “Laws”) are different from one to another. Indeed, some of the Laws do or do not apply depending on different factors, including:

  • Location or residence of the user.
  • Location or residence of the individual that is the subject of the Personal Data (“Data Subject”).
  • Location or residence of the person or organization that employs or contracts with the Data Subject.
  • Location of each server or other machine where the Personal Data is received, stored, processed or forwarded to.
  • Location of the relevant office of Reliant Business Valuation or any company that processes Personal Data.

Several of the Laws that concern users and Reliant Business Valuation are discussed in this Section, but these are not all of the Laws that may apply. In addition, if there is any conflict or ambiguity between the statements made in this Privacy Statement and an applicable Law, then the Law will control.

6.1  Consent to United States Law

All Personal Data and other data provided by users will be stored in the United States under United States law.  Accordingly, United States law will apply to all users.  All users consent to the application of the law of the United States in connection with the Services. From time to time, Personal Data may be moved between servers in the same location or may be moved to a different location. When we receive a verified request by a user, we will provide the user with information required by applicable laws regarding the location and storage of their Personal Data.

6.2  United States Federal and State Laws

Several of the federal Laws in the United States may apply to the Personal Data collected by us. Congress has passed several federal information privacy and security laws, while each state in the United States has passed and enforces information privacy and security laws that apply to data subjects, data, and businesses resident in that state.

6.2.1  Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”)

Currently, COPPA should not apply to the Services. Each user must be 18 years of age or older. As noted in this Privacy Statement, if we learn any user is under the age of 18 (“Minor User”), or if any parent or guardian contacts us, we will delete all information provided by the individual from our Services.  Moreover, users of the Services are responsible and liable for compliance under COPPA and are prohibited from collecting, using, and/or disclosing personal information from and about children in connection with the use of the Services, or assisting any third party in doing so.  

If you are the parent or guardian of a Minor User, and you become aware that your Minor User has provided us with Personal Data or User Content, please contact us at [email protected] and we will delete the information or User Content.

6.2.2  Your Privacy Rights Under State Laws

This section supplements the information contained elsewhere in our Privacy Statement and applies to all visitors, users, and others (“consumers” or “you”). This notice of privacy rights has been adopted in order to comply with United States state and federal laws, and any terms defined in such laws have the same meaning when used in this notice.

6.2.3  Specific Rights Under State Laws

Under several state privacy and data protection laws (for example, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia), residents of those states may have one or more of the following rights and may exercise these rights free of charge. Since these state laws are generally modeled on the GDPR, the following list mirrors the GDPR section below:

  • Right to lawfulness, fairness and transparency. Requires that we follow these principles when processing your personal information
  • Right to Access. Access to your personal information and to certain other supplementary information that this Privacy Notice is already designed to address
  • Right to Rectification. Require us to correct any mistakes in your information which we hold
  • Right to Be Forgotten: Require the erasure of personal information concerning you in certain situations
  • Right to Data Portability: Receive the personal information concerning you which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and have the right to transmit those data to a third party in certain situations
  • Right to Object to Direct Marketing: Object at any time to processing of personal information concerning you for direct marketing
  • Right to Object to Automated Individual Decision Making: Object to decisions being taken by automated means which produce legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affect you
  • Right to Restriction of Processing:
    • Object in certain other situations to our continued processing of your personal information
    • Otherwise restrict our processing of your personal information in certain circumstances

You may also have the right to claim compensation for damages caused by our breach of any data protection laws.

6.2.4  California

6.2.4.1  Disclosure of Personal Data to Third Party for Direct Marketing

 If you are a California resident, California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits you to request information once per year, free of charge, regarding the disclosure of your Personal Data within the prior calendar year by us to third parties for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, see the section “How to Exercise Your Rights,” below.

  • Pursuant to California Civil Code Section 1798.83(c)(2), we do not share users’ Personal Data with affiliate companies or others outside Reliant Business Valuation for those parties’ direct marketing use, if a user has exercised an option that prevents that information from being disclosed to third parties for those purposes.

6.2.4.2  Rights of Minors

As stated in the section titled “Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”)”, minors are not permitted to register to use our site. However, if you are under the age of 18, and a registered user of any site where this Privacy Statement is posted, California Business and Professions Code Section 22581 permits you to request and obtain removal of content or information you have publicly posted. Also, if you are a minor 16 years of age or older (whether you’re a registered user or not), you have the right to opt-out from the collection and sale of your Personal Data. To make such a request, please send an email or letter with a detailed description of the specific content or information to the addresses provided in the section below titled “How to Exercise Your Rights.” Please be aware that such a request does not ensure complete or comprehensive removal of the Content or information you have posted and that there may be circumstances in which the law does not require or allow removal, even if requested.

6.2.5  Rights Regarding Sensitive Data

Under state laws, you may have the right to opt-out of our processing Sensitive Personal Data, or the right to prevent our processing your Sensitive Personal Data without your affirmative consent. “Sensitive Personal Data” is defined differently by each state, but generally includes Personal Data relating to one or more of the following categories:

  • Social security, driver’s license, state identification card, or passport number.
  • Account log-in, financial account, debit card, or credit card number in combination with any required security or access code, password, or credentials allowing access to an account.
  • Precise geolocation.
  • Racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, or union membership.
  • Genetic data.
  • Biometric and health information.
  • Information regarding a consumer’s sex life or sexual orientation.
  • Citizenship or immigration status
  • Personal Data regarding a known Minor User.

6.3  Your Rights under the GDPR and UKDPA

If you are covered by the GDPR or by the United Kingdom Data Protection Act 2018 (“UKDPA”), you may have a number of important rights. In summary, those include:

  • Right to lawfulness, fairness and transparency. Requires that we follow these principles when processing your personal information
  • Right to Access. Access to your personal information and to certain other supplementary information that this Privacy Notice is already designed to address
  • Right to Rectification. Require us to correct any mistakes in your information which we hold
  • Right to Be Forgotten: Require the erasure of personal information concerning you in certain situations
  • Right to Data Portability: Receive the personal information concerning you which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and have the right to transmit those data to a third party in certain situations
  • Right to Object to Direct Marketing: Object at any time to processing of personal information concerning you for direct marketing
  • Right to Object to Automated Individual Decision Making: Object to decisions being taken by automated means which produce legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affect you
  • Right to Restriction of Processing:
    • Object in certain other situations to our continued processing of your personal information
    • Otherwise restrict our processing of your personal information in certain circumstances

You may also have the right to claim compensation for damages caused by our breach of any data protection laws.

For further information on each of those rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the Guidance from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on individuals’ rights under the General Data Protection Regulation, available at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/.

If you would like to exercise any of those rights, please:

  • Email, call, or write to us
  • Provide us enough information to identify you: account number, user name, registration details, order number
  • Provide us proof of your identity and address (a copy of your driver’s license or passport and a recent utility or credit card bill)
  • Provide us with the information to which your request relates including any account or reference numbers, if you have them

If you make requests which are manifestly unfounded or excessive, we may charge a reasonable fee based on administrative costs, or may refuse to act on the request.

The General Data Protection Regulation also gives you right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in the European Union (or European Economic Area) state where you work, normally live, or where any alleged infringement of data protection laws occurred. The EU maintains a website which you may use to locate your supervisory authority, at https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/about-edpb/members_en.

6.4  Use and Transfer of Your Information Out of the EEA

The Services are operated in the United States and third parties with whom we might share your personal information as explained above are located in the United States. If you are located in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) or elsewhere outside of the United States, please be aware that any information you provide will be transferred to the United States. By using the Services, participating in any of its services or providing your information, you consent to this transfer.

The United States and many other countries do not have the same data protection laws as the United Kingdom and EEA. While the European Commission has not given a formal decision that such countries provide an adequate level of data protection similar to those which apply in the United Kingdom and EEA, if you live in the EEA or the United Kingdom, any transfer of your personal information will be subject to the derogation in Article 49 permitting non-repetitive transfers that concern only a limited number of data subjects, as permitted by Article 49 of the GDPR that is designed to help safeguard your privacy rights and give you remedies in the unlikely event of a misuse of your Personal Data.

If you would like further information, see “Contact Us” below. 

7.  Use of Email Addresses and Other Contact Information

We collect the email addresses of those who voluntarily provide them to us. You may receive subscription, editorial and other messages from the Services or from us. If you do not want to receive email from us in the future, please let us know at [email protected]. 

8.  How to Exercise Your Rights

If you would like to exercise any of your rights as described in this Privacy Statement, please:

  • Complete a data subject request form available on our website;
  • Email us at [email protected]; or
  • Write to us at “Attn: Privacy, Reliant Business Valuation, LLC, 1246 South River Rd, Ste 101, Cranbury, NJ 08512.”

9.  Verifying Your Identity

If you choose to contact us directly, you will need to provide us with:

  • Enough information to identify you (e.g., your full name, address and customer or matter reference number);
  • Proof of your identity and address (e.g., a copy of your driving license or passport and a recent utility or credit card bill); and
  • A description of what right you want to exercise and the information to which your request relates.

We are not obligated to make a data access or data portability disclosure if we cannot verify that the person making the request is the person about whom we collected information, or is someone authorized to act on such person’s behalf.

Any Personal Data we collect from you to verify your identity in connection with your request will be used solely for the purposes of verification.

10.  Contact Us

 If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Statement, please contact us online at [email protected], or by postal mail addressed to:

Attn: Privacy, Reliant Business Valuation, LLC, 1246 South River Rd, Ste 101, Cranbury, NJ 08512.

11.  Revision Date and History

This Privacy Statement was last revised: February 24, 2023.

Prior versions of this Privacy Statement are listed below:

  • April 2, 2020.