Friern Barnet Florist Customer Privacy Policy

Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Friern Barnet Florist collects, uses, stores, and protects the personal data of our customers and website users. It details your rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and outlines our commitment to safeguarding your information. This policy applies to all customers placing orders with Friern Barnet Florist, whether by telephone, in person, or online, covering Friern Barnet and its surrounding districts.

What Data We Collect

When you interact with Friern Barnet Florist, we collect various types of information to fulfil your order and provide a high level of service. The personal data we may collect includes:

• Contact details: Name, delivery address, billing address, phone number, and, if provided, email address.
• Order information: Details of your flower orders, delivery instructions, messages for card inserts, and preferred delivery dates and times.
• Payment information: Limited payment information necessary to process your transaction. We do not store full credit or debit card numbers; third-party payment processors handle this securely.
• Correspondence: Any communications with us (for example, queries or complaints).
• Website usage data: If you visit our website, basic analytical data is collected in line with our legitimate interest in improving our service. This data is anonymised wherever possible.

Lawful Basis for Processing Your Data

The GDPR requires us to have a valid legal basis for processing your personal data. Friern Barnet Florist relies on the following legal bases:

• Performance of Contract: To process your orders, deliver flowers or gifts, and handle any related enquiries.
• Legitimate Interests: To improve our services, run internal administration, and protect against fraud or misuse of our services. When using this basis, we always ensure your rights and freedoms are carefully considered.
• Legal Obligations: To comply with laws and regulations (for example, accounting or tax record-keeping).
• Consent: If we ever wish to use your data for marketing not directly related to your order, we will ask for your explicit consent. You can withdraw this consent at any time.

How We Store and Protect Your Data

Your personal data is stored securely and only accessed by authorised personnel who require access to fulfil your order or manage our service. We implement safeguards to ensure data confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Where digital data is used, encrypted and password-protected systems are used where feasible. If we retain hard copies, they are stored in secure areas with restricted access.

Data Retention

Friern Barnet Florist retains personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes it was collected. Generally, we will keep:

• Order records and related information for up to seven years, to fulfil our legal and financial obligations.
• Correspondence information for up to three years after resolution of your query or complaint.
• Any data processed on the basis of consent (for example, for marketing communications) until you withdraw consent or request deletion.

After these periods, personal data is securely destroyed or anonymised.

Our Use of Data Processors

In order to provide our services, Friern Barnet Florist sometimes engages third-party processors to handle certain data on our behalf. These may include:

• Payment service providers: To securely process your payments and prevent fraudulent transactions.
• Delivery couriers: For completing local deliveries within Friern Barnet and surrounding districts. They are provided only with the information necessary to deliver your order.
• IT and website hosting providers: Who supply the technical infrastructure to store data securely and enable online ordering.

All processors are contractually obliged to handle your data in accordance with GDPR and are not permitted to use your data for their own purposes.

Your Rights

Under GDPR, you have several important rights regarding your personal data. These include:

• The right to be informed: To know how your data is used, as outlined in this policy.
• The right of access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• The right to rectification: To have incomplete or incorrect data about you corrected.
• The right to erasure: In some cases, to have your data deleted, unless we are legally required to keep it.
• The right to restrict processing: To limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• The right to data portability: To receive your data in a commonly used format and transfer it to another provider if you wish.
• The right to object: To object to use of your data for direct marketing or in situations where we use legitimate interests as the lawful basis.

We respond to all valid requests within one month. Please note that we may require proof of identity before processing requests.

Children’s Data

Friern Barnet Florist does not knowingly collect or store personal data from children under the age of 16, except where necessary to provide a service (for instance, delivering an order to a family address). If we discover that we have collected personal data from a child without necessary consent, we will remove it promptly.

Policy Updates

We review our privacy policy regularly to ensure ongoing compliance with data protection laws and best practices. Any changes will be posted in this notice, and significant changes will be communicated to customers where appropriate.

Complaints and Further Information

If you have any concerns about your personal data or how it is handled at Friern Barnet Florist, you have the right to make a complaint to the relevant supervisory authority. We encourage you to contact us first so we can address your concerns directly and promptly.