How we protect your data

01Overview & Scope

This Policy does not apply to the procedures and practices followed by entities that are not managed, owned, or controlled by Bargain Book Hut, or to people who are not engaged, employed, or managed by Bargain Book Hut.

Through this policy, we want you to:

• Feel at ease while using our website.
• Feel confident while sharing information with us.
• Know that you may contact us with your questions or concerns about privacy on this website.
• Understand that by using our website, you are agreeing to the collection of certain data.

02Information Submitted on the Website

Data you submit while registering on our website may be used to provide customised services relating to your preferences and visits to our site.

Bargain Book Hut does not access or store your payment card details (credit/debit card number, expiration date, CVV, etc.). When you make a purchase, transaction details are captured on the secured payment page, encrypted using industrial-strength cipher, and securely transmitted to your card issuer for authorisation. At no point, during or after the purchase process, does Bargain Book Hut have access to or store your card account information.

We may collect additional information in connection with your participation in promotions or contests, and information you provide while giving feedback or completing profile forms. We also monitor browsing habits and website use to improve the service we provide, collecting only what's necessary and relevant to deliver our services.

Anonymous usage information

While you're on our website, we may automatically receive certain anonymous information in standard usage logs through our web server, obtained from cookies sent to your browser, including but not limited to:

• Computer-identification information.
• The IP address assigned to the computer you use.
• The domain server through which you access our service.
• The type of computer and web browser you're using.

Personally identifiable information

While using our website, personally identifiable information collected about you may include:

• First and last name.
• Email addresses.
• Contact details, including phone numbers.
• PIN code.
• Demographic profile (age, gender, occupation, education, address, and durables owned).
• Personal preferences and interests (books, movies, music, and so on).
• Your opinion on services, products, and features on our website.

We may also collect information about pages visited, links clicked, page-access frequency, items viewed or added to cart/wishlist, and other websites open simultaneously while browsing ours.

You may terminate your account at any time by writing to us at customercare@bargainbookhutonline.com from your registered email, with the subject line "Please terminate my Bargain Book Hut account." We'll disable access within 2 working days of receiving your request. Your information may, however, remain stored in our archives even after account deletion.

03Information Collected Automatically

Generally, we use anonymous traffic information to remind us who you are so we can deliver a better, more personalised service; recognise your access privileges to our website; help diagnose problems with our servers; and administer our website so we can understand better how people use it.

04When & How We Collect Information

We collect personally identifiable information when you register with us or transact as a guest. During registration, you provide contact information such as your name and email address. Upon registration, you may receive communications from Bargain Book Hut (e.g. newsletters, updates), which we use to keep you informed about services you're using or have shown interest in.

When you purchase a product, we request certain personally identifiable information on our order form in order to fulfil your order — including name, email, and shipping address. We use this information for billing and order fulfilment, and to contact you if we have trouble processing your order.

You may choose to provide demographic information (occupation, education, gender) — we encourage this so we can offer you a more personalised experience.

If you use our referral service to tell a friend about our website, we'll ask for their name and email address. We store this information solely to send a one-time invitation email and track the success of our referral program. Your friend may email customercare@bargainbookhutonline.com to request removal of this information from our database.

We are the sole owners of the information collected by us at different points on our website. We collect personally identifiable information only as part of a voluntary registration process, guest checkout, or a combination thereof. Our advertisers may collect anonymous traffic information from their own cookies. Our website may link to other websites; we are not responsible for the privacy practices of websites we do not own, manage, or control.

05How Information Is Used

Information collected from you may be used for:

• Password reminders and registration confirmation.
• Special offers.
• Changes in service policies or terms of use.
• Event-based communications such as order information, invites, and reminders.

We send updates upon registration and regarding your order status, as well as promotional emails about new arrivals and special offers.

We use your personal information to improve personalised features and enhance your shopping experience; to contact you about account/profile matters or other necessary reasons; to provide services you've requested, such as delivering an ordered book; and to preserve records as governed by existing law or policy.

We use anonymous browsing information to remember you for better, more personalised service (e.g. tracking entries in promotion schemes); recognise your usage privileges; administer and diagnose issues on our website; and understand better how people use our site through session and activity tracking.

06Who We Share Information With

We do not share or rent your information with third parties except our agents and alliance partners.

Our associates

We use the services of enabling partners such as outside shipping companies, resellers, business associates, and credit/debit card processing companies to fulfil orders and process payments. These entities do not retain, store, share, or use personally identifiable information for any other purpose.

Alliance partners

We share information with alliance partners — companies or individuals who own and manage online content on websites powered by Bargain Book Hut — to help provide you services. We share email addresses with associates and alliance partners, who use them to confirm deliveries and send notices and offers related to orders or promotions.

We do not rent, sell, or share your personal information with third parties beyond this, unless:

• Required by special circumstances, such as compliance with subpoenas, court orders, or requests from legal authorities or law enforcement agencies.
• To help investigate, prevent, or act on unlawful activities, suspected fraud, potential threats to safety, violations of Bargain Book Hut's terms of use, or to defend against legal claims.
• We have your permission to provide products or services you've requested.

We reserve the right to disclose your personally identifiable and email address information as required by law, or when we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and/or comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process.

07Security of Your Information

The security of your personal information and email address is important to us. When you enter sensitive information (such as a credit/debit card number) on our acquiring bank's system or order forms, it's encrypted using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.

We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect your personal information, both during transmission and after we receive it. No method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure — while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

All information collected on Bargain Book Hut is securely stored within our controlled database, on servers secured behind a firewall with password-protected, strictly limited access. However, no security system is impenetrable, and we cannot guarantee the security of our database or that information transmitted to us over the internet will not be intercepted.

If you have any questions about security on our website, you can email us at customercare@bargainbookhutonline.com.

08Your Choices

You can accept or decline cookies. Most customisable websites require that you accept cookies, and you must also accept cookies to register for some of our services. For information on setting your browser to alert you to cookies, or to reject them, visit cookiecentral.com.

09Cookies

A cookie is a small text file stored on a user's computer for record-keeping purposes. We use both session ID cookies and persistent cookies on this website, and we do link the information we store in cookies to any personally identifiable information you submit while on our site.

Session ID cookies make it easier and more secure for you to navigate our website, and expire when you close your browser. Persistent cookies remain on your hard drive for an extended period, storing your username and interests so you don't have to re-enter them, and enabling us to track and target interests to enhance your experience. You can remove persistent cookies via your browser's "help" documentation, and more information on cookies is available at cookiecentral.com.

If you reject cookies, you may still use our website, but your ability to use some areas will be limited. Cookies are used in the shopping bag to enable enhanced security and prevent URL-based spamming.

Unless you voluntarily identify yourself (e.g. through registration), we have no way of knowing who you are, even with an assigned cookie. The only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply — a cookie cannot read data off your hard drive.

Some of our business partners (e.g. advertisers) may set their own cookies while displaying banners on our website; we have no access to or control over these, and this policy does not cover the use of cookies by any advertisers. We do use cookies on pages that collect email addresses, but not within emails themselves.

Our web servers automatically collect limited information about your connection to the internet, including your IP address, when you visit. Your IP address does not identify you personally — we use this information to deliver web pages upon request, tailor our website to customer interests, measure site traffic, and let advertisers know the geographic locations our visitors come from.

Bargain Book Hut includes links to other websites, which are governed by their own privacy policies, beyond our control. Once you leave our servers, use of any information you provide is governed by the policy of the website you're visiting.

10Voluntary Disclosure & Account Deletion

Supplying personally identifiable information is entirely voluntary. You are not required to register with us to use our website — though we offer some services only to registered visitors.

You may change your interests at any time and opt in or out of marketing, promotional, or newsletter mailings. Bargain Book Hut reserves the right to send certain service-related communications, considered part of your account, without offering an opt-out. You may update your information and account settings at any time.

If your personal information or email address changes, or you no longer wish to use our service, you may correct, update, delete, or deactivate it by emailing our customer support at customercare@bargainbookhutonline.com.

Upon request, we'll remove or block your personally identifiable information from our database, cancelling your registration. However, your information may remain stored in an archive on our servers even after account deletion or termination.

If we plan to use your personally identifiable information for commercial purposes, we'll notify you at the time of collection and allow you to opt out.

11Correcting Inaccuracies in Your Information

Our website allows you to correct or update any information you've provided directly, online.

12Policy Updates

We reserve the right to change or update this policy at any time by placing a prominent notice on our website. Such changes are effective immediately upon posting.

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we'll post those changes to this page, the homepage, and other places we deem appropriate, so you're aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it. If we make material changes, we'll notify you or post a notice on our homepage. The same applies if we change our email practices.

You're welcome to offer your views or suggestions by submitting our feedback form online.

13Payment Policy & Secure Shopping

You may pay for your purchases on Bargain Book Hut using one of the following options:

• Valid Credit Cards (Visa or Mastercard).
• Valid Debit Cards (Visa or Mastercard), if permitted by your issuing bank for online use.
• Net Banking.
• UPI.
• PayTM.
• Wallet.

Secure card payments

Bargain Book Hut accepts Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards, and is committed to a safe, smooth transaction environment using a secure process for online payment handling. To enhance security, you're automatically redirected to the acquiring bank's payment gateway, where all transaction details (card number, expiration date, CVV, etc.) are captured on a secured payment page, encrypted using industrial-strength cipher, and securely transmitted to your card-issuing bank for authorisation. At no point during or after the purchase process does Bargain Book Hut have access to or store your complete card account information.

For greater security, we've enabled OTP (One Time Password) systems for Visa and Mastercard — a password only you, the cardholder, can access, entered directly into your bank's security system (Bargain Book Hut does not capture it). It's not uncommon for a card authorisation request to fail once or twice before succeeding, due to issues with your bank's servers or internet connectivity — simply try again until you receive a successful notification.

At times, a bank's payment servers may be temporarily unavailable, in which case your bank will post a message informing you of the same. You can continue shopping and add books to your cart, which will be saved for you to complete payment later.

Secure net banking

You can pay through Net Banking directly from your bank account, just as you would make other payments. On the Billing Information page, choose Net Banking, click "Pay," select the Internet Banking option and your preferred bank from the drop-down. You'll be redirected to your bank's login page to complete payment using your Net Banking credentials, then returned to our site where your order confirmation is generated.

At no point during a transaction does Bargain Book Hut capture or store your bank account or Net Banking details — we process orders based on confirmation received from your bank. The net banking facility is provided through the India CCAvenue Payment Gateway.

14Safety & Security Recommendations

Bargain Book Hut gives utmost importance to the safety and security of our customers, with technological safeguards to keep our transaction process safe and your information secure. We do not retain any financial information on our own servers — all such information is directly received by our banks' servers via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption. While most online transactions complete without issue, customer protection is a two-way street, and caution should always be practised.

Protect your passwords

• Please do not share your passwords with anybody.
• Avoid using a public computer — but if you do, always log out when your session ends.
• Keep your passwords private to protect access to your account.
• Never reuse the same password across multiple online accounts.

Be wary of unsolicited emails and calls

• Bargain Book Hut will never email or call asking you to disclose or verify your password, credit card, or bank account number. Such information is only submitted on our website's own forms — never over phone or email. If you receive a suspicious email with a link to "update your account," don't click it — go directly to the website and access your account normally.
• Do not entertain or act on emails from unknown entities claiming to represent Bargain Book Hut and requesting confidential information — we will never send such emails.
• Always review order and shipment confirmation emails against your account's transaction history. If you receive a shipment confirmation for a transaction you didn't make, report it to us immediately.
• Never disclose confidential information such as passwords in any communication with us or our employees — we will never ask for this over email or phone.
• If you receive an email asking for personal details such as a password, never respond — it could be a phishing attempt.
• Phishing emails often use urgent language like "your account will be suspended." Bargain Book Hut will never send such emails.
• If you're doubtful about an email's credibility, do not click any links in it — this could install malicious code on your device. Report the incident to us.
• If you receive a suspected spoofed Bargain Book Hut email or discover a fake Bargain Book Hut website, please report it to us.

Keep your computer protected

Fraudsters send genuine-looking emails containing viruses and trojans that install malicious code without your knowledge, extracting confidential information used to access your account. To stay protected:

• Keep your computer updated with the latest anti-virus and anti-spyware software.
• Install a personal firewall to protect your account.
• Keep your computer updated with the latest security patches.
• Do not click links or open attachments from unknown or unsolicited (spam) emails.

15Financial Details — Submitted for the Online Transactions

You agree, understand, and confirm that the credit/debit card details or other financial details provided by you for availing of services on Bargain Book Hut will be correct and accurate, and that you shall not use a credit/debit card or financial facility which is not lawfully owned or obtained by you. You also understand that any financial information submitted by you is directly received by our acquiring bank and not stored by Bargain Book Hut. Bargain Book Hut will not be liable for any credit/debit card fraud. The liability for fraudulent card use will be on you, and the onus to "prove otherwise" shall be exclusively on you. All information collected by us shall be governed as per this Privacy Policy.

16Fraudulent / Declined Transactions

Bargain Book Hut and its associated acquiring bank or financial institutions reserve the right to recover the cost of books, collection charges, and lawyers' fees from persons using the website fraudulently, and reserve the right to initiate legal proceedings against such persons for fraudulent use of the website and any other unlawful acts or omissions in breach of these terms and conditions.

17Electronic Communications

When you visit Bargain Book Hut or send emails to us, you're communicating with us electronically. You consent to receive communications from us electronically — by email or by posting notices on the website. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications provided to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

18Colours

We've made every effort to display the colours of the books that appear on the website as accurately as possible. However, the actual colours you see will depend on your monitor, and we cannot guarantee your monitor's display of any colour will be accurate.

19Reviews, Feedback, Submissions

All reviews, comments, feedback, suggestions, ideas, and other submissions disclosed, submitted, or offered to Bargain Book Hut on or by this website, or otherwise in connection with your use of this website (collectively, the "Comments"), shall be and remain the property of Bargain Book Hut. Such disclosure, submission, or offer of any Comments constitutes an assignment to Bargain Book Hut of all worldwide rights, titles, and interests in all copyrights and other intellectual properties in the Comments. Bargain Book Hut is entitled to use, reproduce, disclose, modify, adapt, create derivative works from, publish, display, and distribute any Comments you submit for any purpose whatsoever, without restriction and without compensating you in any way.

20Copyright & Trademark

Bargain Book Hut and its suppliers and licensors expressly reserve all intellectual property rights in all text, programs, books, processes, technology, content, and other materials which appear on this website. All rights, including copyright, on this website are owned by or licensed to Bargain Book Hut. Any use of this website or its contents, other than for your own personal, non-commercial use, is prohibited without permission. The names, logos, and all related book and service names, design marks, and slogans are the trademarks or service marks of Bargain Book Hut. All other marks are the property of their respective companies. Access to this website does not authorise anyone to use any name, logo, or mark in any manner. Any unauthorised use of the content of this website will violate copyright laws, trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity, and civil and criminal statutes.

21Objectionable Material

You understand that by using this website or any services provided on it, you may encounter content that may be deemed by some to be offensive, indecent, or objectionable, which may or may not be identified as such. You agree to use the website and any service at your sole risk, and that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Bargain Book Hut and its affiliates shall have no liability to you for content that may be deemed offensive, indecent, or objectionable.

22Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Bargain Book Hut, its employees, directors, officers, agents, and their successors and assigns from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses, including attorney's fees, caused by or arising out of claims based upon your actions or inactions, which may result in any loss or liability to Bargain Book Hut or any third party — including but not limited to breach of warranties, representations, or undertakings; non-fulfilment of your obligations under this User Agreement; violation of applicable laws or regulations, including intellectual property rights and statutory dues; claims of libel or defamation; violation of rights of privacy or publicity; loss of service to other subscribers; and infringement of intellectual property or other rights. This clause survives the expiry or termination of this User Agreement.

23Termination

This User Agreement is effective unless and until terminated by either you or Bargain Book Hut. You may terminate it at any time, provided you discontinue further use of this website. Bargain Book Hut may terminate this Agreement at any time, immediately and without notice, denying you access to the website, without any liability to Bargain Book Hut.

Upon termination by either party, you must promptly destroy all materials downloaded or otherwise obtained from this website, along with all copies of such materials. Bargain Book Hut's right to any Comments survives termination. Termination does not cancel your obligation to pay for books already ordered, nor affect any liability that may have arisen under this Agreement.

24Limitation of Liability and Disclaimers

The website is provided without any warranties or guarantees, in an "As Is" condition. You must bear the risks associated with using the website.

The website provides content from other internet websites or resources, and while Bargain Book Hut tries to ensure the material included is correct, reputable, and of high quality, it cannot accept responsibility if this is not the case. Bargain Book Hut is not responsible for errors, omissions, results obtained from the use of such information, or technical problems you may experience.

This disclaimer does not apply to any book warranty offered by the manufacturer, as specified in the book's specifications, and constitutes an essential part of this User Agreement.

To the fullest extent permitted under applicable law, Bargain Book Hut, its group/affiliate companies, or its suppliers shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or exemplary damages — including damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, data, or other intangible losses — arising out of or in connection with the website, its services, or this User Agreement.

The total liability of Bargain Book Hut to you for all liabilities arising out of this User Agreement, in tort or contract, is limited to the amount charged to you against the value of the book ordered.

Bargain Book Hut, its associates, and technology partners make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, correctness, or timeliness of any content, information, software, text, graphics, links, or communications provided through the website, or that its operation will be error-free or uninterrupted. Bargain Book Hut assumes no liability for any monetary or other damage suffered due to delay, failure, interruption, or corruption of data transmitted in connection with use of the website, or any interruptions or errors in its operation.

25Website Security

You are prohibited from violating or attempting to violate the security of the website, including, without limitation:

• Accessing data not intended for you, or logging onto a server or account you're not authorised to access.
• Attempting to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of a system or network, or breaching security or authentication measures without proper authorization.
• Attempting to interfere with service to any other user, host, or network — including via viruses, overloading, "flooding," "spamming," "mail bombing," or "crashing."
• Sending unsolicited email, including promotions or advertising of books or services.
• Forging any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any email or newsgroup posting.

Violations of system or network security may result in civil or criminal liability. Bargain Book Hut will investigate occurrences that may involve such violations, and may involve and cooperate with law enforcement authorities in prosecuting those involved. You agree not to use any device, software, or routine to interfere with the proper working of this website or any activity conducted on it, and not to use any engine, tool, agent, or mechanism (including browsers, spiders, robots, avatars, or intelligent agents) to navigate or search this website other than our own search functionality and generally available third-party web browsers (e.g. Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari).

26Governing Law and Jurisdiction

This User Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the applicable laws of India. The Courts at Mumbai shall have exclusive jurisdiction in any proceedings arising out of this agreement.

Any dispute or difference — in interpretation or otherwise — regarding any terms of this User Agreement shall be referred to an independent arbitrator appointed by Bargain Book Hut, whose decision shall be final and binding on all parties. Arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, as amended from time to time, and held in Mumbai. The High Court of Judicature at Mumbai alone shall have jurisdiction, and the laws of India shall apply.

Modification of Terms & Conditions of Service

Bargain Book Hut may at any time modify this User Agreement without prior notification. Following any modification, we'll inform you via the email address provided during registration. You can access the latest version of the User Agreement at any time on our website, and should review it regularly. If a modified User Agreement is not acceptable to you, you should discontinue using the website — continued use signifies your acceptance of the modified Agreement.

27Contact Details

We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes without your explicit consent, and we only use your information as described in this Privacy Policy. We view the protection of your privacy as extremely important, and understand that you and your information are among our most important assets. We store and process your information on computers located in India and abroad, protected by physical and technological security measures, and use third parties to verify and certify our privacy principles.

If you have any objection to your information being transferred or used in this way, please do not use the website.