Privacy & Cookie Policy
Date of Last Update: 01/11/2024
Here at Lou’s Handmade Homewares, we respect the privacy of your information and take it very seriously, therefore, we would welcome you to read the following Privacy Policy carefully and ensure it is understood.
This Privacy Policy applies between you, the User of this Website and Lou’s Handmade Homewares, the owner of this Website. This Privacy Policy applies to our use of all Data gathered by us or given by you in relation to your use of this Website only.
References in this Privacy Policy to “we”, “us”, “our”, are references to the entity or entities in the United Kingdom responsible for establishing the purposes for the processing of your personal information.
In brief, this Privacy Policy will explain who is the data controller, what information we collect, how we collect the information, what we use the information for, when / how the information is shared, how we protect your information, how long we keep your information for, your rights regarding your personal data along with some information regarding marketing and general legal information.
We try to be as transparent as possible around the use of your data and will only process personal data in accordance with applicable privacy laws including the UK General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the Data Protection Act 2018.
THE DATA CONTROLLER
For purposes of the applicable Data Protection Laws, Lou’s Handmade Homewares is the "data controller". A data controller is the entity or entities responsible for establishing the purposes and means for the processing of your personal information.
The data controller for this Website (www.loushandmadehomewares.co.uk) is: Lou’s Handmade Homewares who’s registered office at Suite A, 82 James Carter Road, Mildenhall, IP28 7DE.
WHAT INFORMATION WE COLLECT
We may collect and process the following Data (in accordance with this Policy), which is information that you give to us voluntarily or that is collected automatically. We only collect personal information which we need and that is relevant for the purposes for which we intend to use it. These include the following:
· Personal and contact information such as, such as your name, address, email address, telephone number, and username or social media handle
· Demographic and geological information such as postcode, preferences and interests
· The internet protocol (IP) address of your device and details regarding the type of device and browser software you use to access the site (automatically collected)
· Commercial and transactional information, such as the products you have purchased, any products returned and your product preferences
· Payment information, such as your method of payment and payment card information (including payment card number, delivery address and billing address)
· User Content, such as your communications with us and any other content you provide (including photographs and images, videos, reviews, articles, survey responses and comments)
HOW WE COLLECT THE INFORMATION
The Data collected about you, in accordance with this Privacy Policy is either given to us by you voluntarily or it is collected automatically. For example:
Data given voluntarily by you to us; this occurs when you make a purchase via this Website, when you sign up to our mailing list, when you contact us through the Website, by telephone, post, email or through any other means, such as Social Media platforms. Data could also be collected from your friends or family members, such as when your friend or family member sends you a gift or makes a referral.
Data collected automatically via the Website or viewing emails we have sent you includes your IP address, the date, times and frequency with which you access the Website and the way you use and interact with its content. We also collect your Data automatically via cookies and other similar technologies, in line with the cookie settings on your browser
WHY WE COLLECT THE INFORMATION
Essentially, the main reason why we collect your information is to complete your order with us (eg. In order to know where to deliver your product to and to be able to take a payment from you). Other information also helps us to make improvements to the Website content and navigation to learn how we can offer better services for you and other customers.
WHAT WE USE THE INFORMATION FOR
We use your personal information for a variety of reasons. We rely on different legal grounds to process your personal information, depending on the purposes of our use and the risks to your privacy.
We may use the information we have about you where you have provided consent, eg. to contact you via email with marketing information about offers and news relating to our products (consenting to sign up to our mailing list with an ‘opt out’ option at any time), to contact you to reconfirm your marketing preferences from time to time or to communicate with you, including to respond to your queries or complaints, and to help you place an order.
We will also use your information where we have entered into a Contract with you in order to process your orders and process payment or to run competitions from time to time and award gifts / rewards.
Finally, we will use your information for legal and security purposes, such as to detect, prevent, and prosecute harmful, fraudulent, or illegal activity or activity that violates our policies, terms and conditions; loss prevention; identify and repair bugs on our websites or mobile applications; and to comply with applicable legal requirements, relevant industry standards and our policies. We will also use it if the need arose that we needed to take any action in relation to health and safety incidents required by law.
WHEN / HOW THE INFORMATION IS SHARED
Below details the groups of persons with whom we may share your Data with (in accordance with this Privacy Policy):
· our employees in order to process your order
· third party payment providers who process payments (and refunds where required) made via the Website
· other third parties; In addition, we may disclose personal information about you (i) if we are required to do so by law or legal process, (ii) to law enforcement authorities or other government officials, (iii) when we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to prevent physical harm or financial loss, or in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual fraudulent or illegal activity, (iv) when disclosure of your personal information is otherwise required or permitted by law, or (v) with your consent (such as third-party salons and spas).
HOW WE PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION
We will use technical and organisational measures designed to safeguard and protect the personal information you provide against accidental, unlawful or unauthorised destruction, loss, alteration, access, disclosure, or use.
We invite you to view information from Get Safe Online on how to protect your information and your computers and devices against fraud, identity theft, viruses and many other online problems, please visit www.getsafeonline.org. Get Safe Online is supported by HM Government and leading businesses.
HOW LONG WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION FOR
We do not keep your personal information for any longer than necessary to fulfil the purposes for which the information is processed, or until you request that the Data be deleted.
The only exceptions to this would be if the law requires us to hold your personal information for a longer period, or delete it sooner or if we bring or defend a legal claim or other proceedings during the period we retain your personal information, in which case we will retain your personal information until those proceedings have concluded and no further appeals are possible.
HOW WE USE COOKIES
Cookies are small text files that websites place on your Internet-connected device to uniquely identify your browser or to store information or settings in your browser which allows us to remember you when you come back to our websites and provide you with personalised experiences and advertisements. We use different types of cookies on our website, including strictly necessary cookies, performance cookies, functional cookies and targeting cookies. For example, analytical / performance cookies allows us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it.
We use carefully chosen Cookies (in accordance with current UK and EU Cookie Law) to improve your experience of using the Website and to improve our range of products whilst ensuring that your privacy is protected and respected at all times.
Before the Website places Cookies on your device, you will be presented with a message bar requesting your consent to those Cookies and by consenting you are enabling us to provide a better experience and service to you. You may, if you wish, deny consent to the placing of Cookies, however certain features of the Website may not function fully or as intended.
For more information generally on cookies, including how to disable them, please refer to www.aboutcookies.org. You will also find details on how to delete cookies from your computer.
YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR PERSONAL DATA
You have the following rights in relation to your personal Data:
· To request access to your personal information and how we process it
· To have your information corrected if it is inaccurate and to have incomplete personal information completed
· To have your personal information removed, should you request it
· To object to or restrict processing of your personal information including where we use it for our legitimate interests
· To opt-out of your personal information being shared with third party marketing partners
If you have any queries or you wish to exercise any of your rights set out above, or withdraw your consent to the processing of your Data (where consent is our legal basis for processing your Data), please contact us via this email address in the contact section below.
Should you need to make a complaint to us regarding your information and you are not satisfied with how we deal with it, you could refer your complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), contact of which can be found on their website at https://ico.org.uk/.
It is important that the Data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your Data changes during the period for which we hold it.
As a note, if we receive a request from you to exercise any of the above rights, we may ask you to verify your identity before acting on the request. This is to ensure that your data is protected and kept secure.
UNDERAGE USAGE
Our services are not intended for use by children (individuals under the age of 18 years). Parental consent from users under the age of 18 if required in order to access or purchase from this Website.
LEGAL & GENERAL
This Website may, from time to time, provide links to other websites. We have no control over such websites and are not responsible for the content of these websites. This privacy policy does not extend to your use of such websites, therefore we encourage you to read their privacy policies.
The transmission of information via the internet is not always completely secure. Although we will do everything possible to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any personal information during its transmission to us online. You accept the inherent security implications of using the internet and will not hold us responsible for any breach of security unless we are at fault.
If you are using a computer or terminal in a public location, we recommend that you always log out and close the website browser when you complete an online session for your security.
This Agreement will be governed by and interpreted according to the law of England and Wales. All disputes arising under the Agreement will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.
UPDATES OR CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY & COOKIE POLICY
Lou’s Handmade Homewares reserves the right to update or make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time or as may be required by law. These changes and updates may be made without prior notice to you and any such changes will be immediately notified on the Website with the date of amendment updated.
CONTACTING US
If you have any queries regarding this Privacy Policy you can contact us by email at hello@loushandmadehomewares.co.uk.
As a note, if the need arises, we will contact you regarding any event that involves your personal information, which will be done so by post, telephone, email or through a notice on our websites.