Privacy Policy for Customers at Florist Ardleigh Green

Scope of This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Florist Ardleigh Green collects, uses, stores, and safeguards your personal information when you place orders with us from Ardleigh Green and the surrounding districts. We are dedicated to ensuring compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and take your privacy seriously. This policy applies to all data gathered from customers ordering our products and services, whether via our website, over the phone, or in our shop.

Personal Data We Collect

When you place an order, make an enquiry, or interact with us, Florist Ardleigh Green may collect the following categories of information:

• Identity Data: Your name and, if applicable, the recipient's name.
• Contact Information: Address, phone number, and in some cases, delivery address and details.
• Transaction Data: Order details, purchase history, delivery instructions, and payment confirmation. Note: We do not receive or store your full payment card details. These are processed securely by our payment processors.
• Communication Data: Correspondence between you and Florist Ardleigh Green, such as emails or order messages.
• Technical Data: When you use our website: IP address, browser type, device type, and cookies preferences.

Lawful Basis for Processing Personal Data

Under GDPR, we process your personal data only when there is a valid legal ground. For Florist Ardleigh Green, the main lawful bases include:

• Contractual Necessity: Processing your data is necessary to fulfil your order, deliver flowers, and provide requested services.
• Legitimate Interests: To respond to your enquiries, improve our customer service, and maintain records for auditing and quality assurance, provided these do not infringe on your rights.
• Legal Obligations: Where we have to retain certain records by law, for example, for tax or business reasons.
• Consent: We will seek your consent before sending marketing material. You have the right to withdraw this consent at any time.

Why We Collect and Use Personal Data

Your data is used for the following purposes only:

• Processing and delivering your floral orders.
• Communicating with you about your purchase or enquiry.
• Improving our website, products, and customer service.
• Fulfilling our legal, tax, and regulatory obligations.
• Managing and resolving complaints or disputes.

Data Retention: How Long We Keep Your Data

Florist Ardleigh Green retains your personal data for the minimum period necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected. This generally means:

• Order and transaction details are typically kept for up to seven years, in line with local accounting or legal requirements.
• Contact and correspondence data may be kept for up to three years after your last interaction to support customer service queries or resolve issues.
• Technical data collected from website visits is stored for no longer than one year.

After the relevant period has elapsed, your personal data is securely deleted or anonymised.

Processors and Third Parties

To provide our services, we may share your personal data with trusted third-party service providers, known as processors. These may include:

• Payment processing companies, for securely handling your transactions.
• Delivery partners and couriers, to ensure successful and timely delivery of your floral orders.
• IT and website support providers, for maintaining the security and functionality of our digital systems.
• Professional advisors, such as accountants or legal consultants, who assist us in fulfilling our legal obligations.

All processors act only in accordance with our instructions and are contractually obliged to protect your data. We do not sell your data to any third party, nor do we transfer personal data outside the United Kingdom/European Economic Area without appropriate protection and safeguards in place.

Your Rights as a Data Subject

Under GDPR, you have the following rights over your data collected and processed by Florist Ardleigh Green:

• Right to Access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to Rectification: You can request corrections to any inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to Erasure: You may request deletion of your data where it is no longer necessary for us to retain it.
• Right to Restrict Processing: You can request that we restrict how we use your data under certain circumstances.
• Right to Data Portability: You may have the right to receive your data in a machine-readable format and transfer it to another provider.
• Right to Object: You can object to processing where it is carried out for our legitimate interests or for marketing purposes.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Where we rely on your consent (for example, for marketing), you are free to withdraw this at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us in writing or in person at our shop. We will endeavour to process your request without undue delay and always within one month, unless a longer period is permitted by law.

Data Security Measures

We take the security of your information seriously. Florist Ardleigh Green uses a combination of technical and organisational measures to protect your data from unauthorised access, alteration, loss, or disclosure. These include secure servers, restricted access to data, encrypted payment processing, data minimisation, and staff training on data protection obligations.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to update or amend this privacy policy as necessary to remain compliant with changes in the law or our business operations. Significant changes will be communicated to you where appropriate, and a current version will always be available in our shop and on our website.

Contact and Queries

If you wish to know more about this policy or how your data is managed, please contact us directly at Florist Ardleigh Green’s premises. We aim to address your privacy concerns and comply with all applicable data protection regulations.