Privacy Policy for Customers Ordering from Flowers North Watford

Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Flowers North Watford collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal data when you place an order and interact with our services. This policy applies to all customers who place orders from North Watford and its surrounding districts, ensuring compliance with the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and other applicable data protection laws.

What Personal Data We Collect

Flowers North Watford collects only the data necessary to process your orders and provide you with an efficient and personalised service. The types of personal data we may collect include:

• Identity Data: Name, title
• Contact Data: Delivery address, billing address, phone number, delivery recipient’s name and address (if different), and payment method information (note: card details are processed securely and are not stored by us)
• Order Information: Details about the products or services you order, delivery instructions, and notes
• Communication Data: Records of communications with you, order confirmations, and customer service correspondence
• Technical Data: IP address, browser type, and usage data when you access our website or interact with our digital services

Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. Flowers North Watford relies on the following lawful bases:

• Contractual necessity: Most data processing is necessary to fulfil the contract with you, such as taking and delivering your order, processing payments, and providing updates on your order status.
• Legal obligations: We retain certain records to comply with relevant legal and financial regulations, such as tax law and record-keeping obligations.
• Legitimate interests: Some information may be used to improve our services, enhance security, and ensure the best experience for our customers, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Consent: Where we require your consent—such as for direct marketing purposes—we will seek it explicitly, and you will have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

How We Use Your Personal Data

Flowers North Watford uses your personal information for the following purposes:

• To process and fulfil your orders efficiently and accurately
• To communicate with you regarding order updates, delivery arrangements, and customer service matters
• To comply with legal and regulatory obligations
• To manage any requests, queries, or complaints you may have
• To improve our services and operations, including by aggregating usage data and website analytics

Data Retention

Your personal data will only be retained for as long as is necessary to achieve the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, or as required by law. Our typical retention periods are:

• Order and Transaction Data: Retained for up to seven years to comply with legal and accounting requirements
• Customer Service Communication: Retained for up to two years from the date of your last communication with us
• Marketing Data: Retained until you withdraw consent or unsubscribe

After these periods, data is securely deleted or anonymised so that it can no longer be associated with you.

Data Processors and Sharing

Flowers North Watford occasionally uses trusted third-party service providers (processors) to support business operations. These may include:

• Payment processing companies
• IT and technical support providers
• Delivery and courier partners
• Customer service platforms
• Accountancy and regulatory consultants

We require all our third-party processors to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. Data is not sold to third parties for their marketing purposes. In exceptional circumstances, we may disclose your information if required to do so by law or regulation.

Your Rights

As a customer residing in North Watford and surrounding districts, you have the following rights regarding your personal data under the UK GDPR:

• The right to access the personal data we hold about you
• The right to rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data
• The right to erasure (right to be forgotten), subject to any overriding legal obligations
• The right to restrict processing of your personal data in certain circumstances
• The right to data portability, allowing you to obtain and reuse your data across different services
• The right to object to certain types of processing, including direct marketing
• The right to withdraw consent at any time when processing is based on your consent

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details outlined in our official communications or website. We will respond within one month, unless the request is complex or numerous, in which case we may extend this period and will inform you accordingly.

Data Security

We take the protection of your data seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to prevent unauthorised access, disclosure, loss, or destruction. This includes the use of secure servers, encryption where appropriate, and restricting access to staff and service providers on a need-to-know basis.

International Data Transfers

Your personal data is generally stored within the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area (EEA). If we need to transfer data outside these regions, we will ensure appropriate protections are in place, consistent with the UK GDPR requirements, such as using approved standard contractual clauses.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect operational, legal, or regulatory changes. Where material changes are made, we will notify you in advance or at the time of the update. The most current version will always be available publicly.

Contact and Complaints

If you have questions, concerns, or wish to make a complaint about how Flowers North Watford has handled your personal data, you have the right to contact us as well as the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK data protection regulator. We encourage you to contact us first so we can resolve the issue as quickly as possible.