Introduction
Pet Chums knows that your privacy is very important to you. When it comes to the collection of personal information, we follow some straightforward principles. We aim to be clear about the data we collect and why.
Please note that Pet Chums reserves the right to update or change this privacy notice at any time. We review our privacy notice annually. If it is updated or changed during the service we are providing you with, we will notify you and provide a link to our new data privacy policy.
All our employees who handle personal data have agreed to the terms of our Data Protection Policy and have a responsibility to comply with it accordingly.
What personal data do we collect?
It is the nature of the services we provide that requires us to collect and process personal data. This will, at a minimum, include:
- Your name
- Your phone number
- Your email
Wherever we do not need to collect personal data to deliver a service we will not do so.
If you do not provide us with personal data which we need to deliver a service, we will try to provide the service, but it may be impossible.
N.B. Please do not provide us with the personal data of anyone else without their permission, unless you have obtained the explicit consent from that person.
How else have we obtained your personal data?
We never buy customer data for direct marketing purposes, nor do we access it via publicly accessible sources. You will not, therefore, receive direct marketing from us unless you request it.
How do we use your personal data?
We limit the use of personal data to ensuring we deliver the service you have requested. Furthermore, we retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary to deliver you this service. Your data is held in an archived state for 12 months. Records in an archived state means access to them is greatly restricted. At the end of which period it is securely deleted or destroyed.
Destruction of paper records is carried out securely and appropriately. For example, we securely shred paper records in line with the British Standard for secure destruction of confidential material (BS EN 15713).
To whom might we disclose your personal data?
If another organisation helps us to provide the service, we will make your personal data available to them.
We shall only disclose your personal data to third parties in circumstances that are necessary for delivering the service agreed with you.
We have never and will never sell your personal data.
If there are attacks on our services, or other criminal activity, we may share information with the police or similar public body.
How do we secure your personal data?
Unfortunately, no data transmission over the internet or any other network can be guaranteed as 100% secure, but we take appropriate steps to protect the security of your personal data. Likewise, the servers used by Pet Chums and all data stored locally are protected by a hardware firewall that is preventing unauthorised intrusion into the network. Software solutions are also in place which constantly scan for malware and viruses on the network.
All staff are required to ensure that any paper files not in current use are stored in files, within cupboards, and locked at all times when offices are unoccupied. Paper documents are archived in secure storage facilities. Any paper documentation containing personal data is shredded once it becomes superfluous or, as in the case of invoices, after 6 years.
Access to personal data is restricted to authorised users on a need-to-know basis.
In the event of a data breach involving your personal data which presents a high risk we will contact you immediately.
Inaccuracies and corrections
We would like to keep your personal data accurate and up to date. If you become aware of any errors, noted on our correspondence with you for example, then please let us know by phoning or emailing us.
How to contact us and exercise your rights?
Under the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 you have certain rights over your personal data that we hold:
- To receive a copy of your personal data that we hold
- To ask us to correct any errors
- To delete it once we no longer need it.
To contact us regarding those rights, or anything else in this data privacy statement, please write to our compliance officer, Clare Glenister, by email clare.petchums@gmail.com or at our postal address below:
Pet Chums
83 Avondale Drive,
Loughton,
IG10 3DE
If you do not feel we have dealt with your request appropriately, you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office (https://ico.org.uk).
Links to other websites
Our website does not contain links to other websites. This privacy policy applies only to personal data collected by Pet Chums.
What are cookies?
A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. A cookie cannot read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. Cookies do not damage your system; they allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the personal data you choose to share with us.
You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, however, you can reset your browser so as to refuse any cookie or to alert you to when a cookie is being sent. If you refuse cookies, this may prevent you from taking full advantage of our website.