How Flowers Elmers End Handles Your Personal Data

Privacy Policy for Flowers Elmers End Customers

Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Flowers Elmers End ('we', 'our', 'us') collects, uses, and safeguards your personal data when you place orders with us from Elmers End and the surrounding districts. We are committed to ensuring your privacy is protected and handling your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and all applicable data protection laws.

Scope of this Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all customers ordering flowers, floral arrangements, or related products and services from Flowers Elmers End in Elmers End and neighbouring districts. By using our services, you acknowledge and agree to the processing of your personal data as described in this policy.

What Data We Collect

When you place an order or interact with Flowers Elmers End, we may collect the following types of personal data:

Identity Data: Your name, and if placing an order on behalf of someone else, the recipient's name.
Contact Data: Delivery address, billing address, telephone number, and (optionally) any other contact details you provide.
Order Details: Details about the products or services you order, messages on cards, delivery instructions, and transaction information (e.g., order value, payment references).
Payment Data: Payment method and limited payment information as processed by our secure payment processors. We do not store full credit/debit card details.
Communication Data: Records of your communications with us, including enquiries and feedback.
Technical Data: Basic information collected when you interact with our website, such as IP address, browser type, and date and time of visits. This is used for website security, administration, and analytics purposes.

Lawful Basis for Processing Data

We rely on the following lawful bases under the GDPR to process your personal data:

Contractual Necessity: Most processing is required to fulfil our contract with you (e.g., accepting and delivering your order).
Legal Obligations: We process and retain certain data to comply with applicable laws (e.g., financial record keeping, fraud prevention, tax obligations).
Legitimate Interests: We may process data for our legitimate interests, such as improving our service, communication with customers, protecting our business, and handling customer enquiries, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
Consent: Where required, we may seek your clear consent for specific purposes, such as sending promotional materials. You can withdraw your consent at any time.

How We Use Your Personal Data

Your personal data is used for the following purposes:

To process and deliver your orders, including arranging delivery and communicating with you regarding your order.
To manage payments and refunds.
To respond to your enquiries and provide customer support.
To comply with applicable legal and regulatory obligations.
To administer and protect our business, website, and services (including troubleshooting and data analysis).
To send you updates about your order and, with your consent, relevant news about our products and services.

How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. The length of time differs based on the type of data:

Order and Transaction Data: Kept for a minimum period of 6 years as required by financial regulations and tax laws.
Communication Records: Retained for up to 2 years to handle customer queries and improve our service.
Technical Data: Retained for up to 12 months for security and analytics purposes.
Marketing Data: Retained until you withdraw your consent, opt out, or after a period of inactivity in accordance with industry standards.

Our Data Processors

To provide our services efficiently, we may share some of your personal data with trusted third-party processors who act on our instructions and only process your data for the purposes described in this policy. These may include:

Payment processing companies (for secure handling of payment transactions);
Delivery and courier services (to deliver your orders);
IT and website hosting providers (for the secure operation of our online systems);
Professional advisors (e.g., accountants and legal advisors for compliance purposes).

All such third-party processors are contractually obliged to safeguard your data, follow our instructions, and never use your data for their own purposes.

How We Protect Your Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to secure your personal data and protect it from unauthorised access, misuse, alteration, or loss. This includes secure storage, encrypted payment processes, regular access reviews, and staff training in data protection. Access to your personal data is restricted to authorised personnel and processors who need it to perform their duties.

Your Data Protection Rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal data under the GDPR:

Right to Access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to Rectification: You can ask us to correct or update inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to Erasure: You may request deletion of your data where there is no legal reason for us to continue processing it.
Right to Restrict Processing: You can ask us to pause the use of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to Data Portability: You can request that your data is transferred to another service provider in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to Object: You have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
Right to Withdraw Consent: If you have provided consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

To exercise these rights, please contact us using the details on our website or in your order confirmation.

Policy Updates and Further Information

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our data processing practices or legal requirements. Any new version will be published on our website and the date of the latest update will be indicated. Please check the policy regularly to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority. For further details about this Privacy Policy or our data protection practices, please refer to the contact section on our website.