Introduction

Welcome to Bowes Kinleaf. We operate as a general partnership. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal data when you visit our website, create an account, or buy skincare, accessories, homeware, or garden items from our online store.

We are fully committed to protecting your privacy in compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. The Personal Data We Collect

When you interact with our store, we collect the minimum amount of personal information necessary to fulfill your orders and give you a great experience. This includes:

• Identity Data: Your first name and last name.
• Contact Data: Your delivery address, billing address, email address, and phone number.
• Transaction Data: Details about the products you have searched for or purchased from us, and how you paid.
• Technical & Usage Data: Your IP address, browser type, and how you browse our website (collected automatically via cookies).

2. How and Why We Use Your Data (Legal Basis)

Under UK law, we must have a valid legal reason to handle your information. We use your data for the following reasons:

• To Fulfill Your Orders (Contractual Necessity): We use your identity, contact, and billing details to process your payments, wrap your packages, and ship your items to your door.
• To Improve Our Store (Legitimate Interests): We use technical data to understand how visitors use our website, allowing us to keep our online shop secure and running smoothly.
• To Keep in Touch (Consent): If you actively sign up for our newsletter or tick a box at checkout to receive marketing updates, we will send you news about Bowes Kinleaf product launches or special offers. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link at the bottom of any email.

3. Sharing Your Data with Trusted Services

We never sell your personal data to third parties for marketing purposes. To run our online store, we only share your essential details with trusted business service providers:

• Our Website Platform: To host our online store and database.
• Payment Processors: To securely handle your credit/debit card transactions. We never see or store your raw card details; they are entirely encrypted by our payment gateway.
• Delivery Couriers: Royal Mail or other tracked courier services so they can deliver your parcels.

We ensure all our partners respect your data and handle it securely in line with UK privacy laws.

4. International Data Transfers

Most of your data is stored securely inside the UK or the European Economic Area (EEA). If any of our software providers process data outside the UK (for example, servers based in the USA), we ensure they have strict, legally approved security safeguards in place to protect your information to UK standards.

5. How Long We Keep Your Information

We only keep your personal details for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected them for, such as completing your order, handling potential returns, or satisfying UK tax laws (which require businesses to keep transactional records for 6 years).

6. Cookies and Tracking Tools

Our website uses cookies (tiny text files placed on your device) to help our shopping cart remember what items you’ve added, and to analyze our website traffic. You can choose to block cookies in your web browser settings, though doing so might stop some parts of our online store from working properly.

7. Your Legal Rights Under UK GDPR

You have complete control over your data. Under the UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access your data: Ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct your data: Ask us to update or fix any incorrect details (like a misspelled delivery address).
• Delete your data: Ask us to erase your personal details from our records (provided we do not legally need to keep them for tax or active order fulfillment).
• Object or Restrict: Stop us from sending you marketing material.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please email us using the contact details below. We do not charge a fee and will respond within one month.

8. Making a Complaint

If you have a concern about how we handle your data, please contact us first so we can put it right. If you remain unhappy, you have the right to lodge an official complaint with the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), at www.ico.org.uk.

9. Contact Our Data Controller

Bowes Kinleaf is a general partnership. The partners responsible for your data are Amanda Bowes and Kelsi Bowes.

If you have any questions about this policy, or want us to delete or update your details, please contact us at:

• Contact Email: [email protected]