Privacy Policy
Your privacy matters to us. This policy explains what information we collect when you visit GRIFFIN PLANTS, place an order or contact our team, and how we look after that information.
1. Introduction
GRIFFIN PLANTS is a trading brand operated by GRIFFIN PETS & PLANTS LTD, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 16630541. References to “we”, “us” and “our” in this policy mean GRIFFIN PETS & PLANTS LTD.
We are responsible for deciding how and why personal information is used in connection with our website and online flower shop. This policy applies when you browse our website, enquire about our flowers, create an account or place an order.
We handle personal information in accordance with applicable UK data protection requirements, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
2. Information We Collect
The information we collect depends on how you use our website. We only ask for details that are relevant to providing our services and managing your enquiries and orders.
Contact and Account Information
- Your name and contact details.
- Your email address and telephone number.
- Your account login details, where you choose to create an account.
- Information you include in messages or enquiries sent to us.
Order and Delivery Information
- Flowers and quantities selected in your order.
- Billing and delivery addresses.
- Order references, purchase history and order preferences.
- Delivery instructions that you choose to provide.
- Communications relating to an order, delivery or product enquiry.
Website and Technical Information
When you visit our website, certain technical details may be collected automatically. These can include your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, approximate location derived from your IP address and information about how you interact with the website.
Some of this information may be collected through essential website technologies or, where enabled and permitted, analytics and similar tools.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use personal information for practical purposes connected with running our flower shop, including:
- Processing and confirming your flower orders.
- Arranging delivery and providing order updates.
- Responding to questions about flower varieties, colours, availability and purchases.
- Managing customer accounts and order history.
- Handling returns, refunds, replacements and customer service enquiries where applicable.
- Maintaining, protecting and improving our website.
- Keeping appropriate business, accounting and transaction records.
- Meeting legal and regulatory responsibilities.
We do not use your personal information for purposes that are unrelated to our business without first providing appropriate information and, where required, obtaining your permission.
4. Why We Are Allowed to Use Your Data
Data protection law requires us to have a valid reason for using personal information. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on the following lawful bases:
Contract
We use relevant information to process your order, arrange delivery, manage your account and provide the services you request.
Legal Obligations
Certain records must be kept or shared to meet applicable accounting, tax, consumer and other legal requirements.
Legitimate Interests
We may use information where it is reasonably necessary to operate, maintain and improve our business, respond to general enquiries, protect our website and keep appropriate business records. We consider your rights and interests when relying on this basis.
Consent
Where consent is required, such as for certain non-essential cookies or optional marketing messages, we will ask for your permission. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
5. Orders and Payments
When you place an order, we use the information you provide to confirm your purchase, manage the items ordered and arrange the relevant delivery.
Payments are handled through the payment service provider made available during checkout. That provider may collect and process payment details under its own privacy terms and security procedures.
We receive information needed to identify and manage your transaction, such as payment status, transaction references and order confirmation details.
Full payment card details are handled by the relevant payment service provider rather than being requested through our customer enquiry forms. The exact information retained by each provider depends on the payment method and service used.
6. When We Share Information
We do not sell personal information to other businesses. However, certain information may need to be shared with service providers where this is necessary to operate our website and fulfil your order.
Service Providers
Depending on the services used on our website, these may include:
- Website hosting and website maintenance providers.
- Online shop and order management service providers.
- Payment service providers responsible for processing transactions.
- Delivery and fulfilment providers, where required to deliver an order.
- Email and customer communication service providers.
- Website analytics or technical service providers, where enabled.
These providers receive only the information reasonably needed to perform their services. Where they process personal information on our behalf, appropriate contractual and data protection arrangements are used.
Legal and Business Requirements
We may also share information where required by law, where necessary to respond to a lawful request from a relevant authority, or where reasonably needed to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
7. Cookies and Similar Technologies
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to help it work properly and provide a convenient shopping experience.
Essential Cookies
These may be used to support important website functions, such as keeping items in your shopping basket, maintaining a secure session and remembering necessary checkout information.
Optional Cookies
Where enabled, analytics, preference or marketing technologies may help us understand website use, remember selected preferences or measure the performance of website content.
Non-essential cookies will only be placed where the required permission has been obtained. You can manage your preferences through the cookie settings available on our website, where provided.
You can also manage or remove cookies through your browser settings. Blocking certain cookies may affect shopping basket, account or checkout functions.
8. How Long We Keep Information
We keep personal information only for as long as it is reasonably needed for the purpose for which it was collected, including applicable legal and accounting requirements.
Order and Financial Records
Relevant order, invoice and accounting records are generally retained for six years after the end of the financial year to which the records relate, where this is required for applicable business and tax record-keeping purposes.
Customer Accounts
Account information is kept while your account remains active. Where an account has had no activity for 24 months, we may review it for closure or deletion, subject to any information that must still be retained for legal, accounting or transaction purposes.
Customer Enquiries
General enquiry and customer service correspondence is normally kept for up to 24 months after the enquiry has been resolved or the last relevant communication, unless a longer period is needed to deal with an ongoing matter.
Marketing Preferences
Where you have agreed to receive optional marketing communications, we keep the relevant contact and preference information until you unsubscribe or withdraw your consent. We may review inactive marketing records after 24 months.
Technical Records
Routine website security and technical logs may be retained for up to 12 months, depending on the system involved and any security or operational need for a longer period.
Once information is no longer needed, it will be securely deleted or anonymised where appropriate. Certain records may need to be retained for longer where a legal obligation or an unresolved matter requires it.
9. Keeping Your Information Safe
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration or disclosure.
Access to customer information is limited to those who need it for relevant business purposes. Our service providers are expected to apply appropriate security measures when handling information on our behalf.
No online service can guarantee that information transferred over the internet will be completely secure. We regularly consider the measures used to protect the information held by our business.
10. Your Privacy Rights
Under applicable data protection law, you may have the right to:
- Ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Ask us to delete personal information in certain circumstances.
- Ask us to restrict how we use your information in certain circumstances.
- Object to certain uses of your personal information.
- Request a portable copy of information you provided to us, where the right applies.
- Withdraw consent where we rely on consent to process your information.
These rights are subject to certain legal conditions and exceptions. For example, we may need to keep some transaction records to meet our legal obligations even if you ask us to delete them.
We aim to respond to valid privacy requests within one calendar month of receiving them. If a request is complex or we receive several requests, the response period may be extended by up to a further two months where the law allows. If this happens, we will explain the reason within the initial one-month period.
To make a request, please contact us using the details in the Contact section below. We may ask for reasonable information to confirm your identity before providing personal data or making changes.
You also have the right to raise a concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your personal information has not been handled appropriately. Further information is available at ico.org.uk.
11. Children’s Privacy
Our website is intended for general customers purchasing flowers and is not designed specifically for children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children for purposes unrelated to providing our services.
If you believe a child has provided personal information to us inappropriately, please contact us so that we can review the matter and take appropriate action.
12. International Data Transfers
Some of the service providers supporting our website or business may process information outside the United Kingdom.
Where personal information is transferred internationally, we take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place as required by applicable data protection law. These may include adequacy regulations, approved contractual safeguards or another recognised transfer mechanism.
13. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our website, business processes, service providers or applicable legal requirements.
If a change materially affects how we use your personal information, we will take reasonable steps to make the updated information available before the new processing begins, where required.
We encourage you to revisit this page occasionally to stay informed about how your information is handled.
14. Contact Details
If you have a question about this Privacy Policy, would like to exercise your privacy rights or need further information about how we handle personal information, please contact us.