Chelsea Florist Customer Privacy Policy

Introduction

This Privacy Policy outlines how Chelsea Florist collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal information in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This policy is relevant to all individuals placing orders with Chelsea Florist from Chelsea and the nearby districts. Our commitment is to transparency, privacy, and the responsible handling of your personal data.

What Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to process your order, fulfill our contractual obligations, and improve our services. This may include:

• Contact Information: Name, address, delivery address, and telephone number for both purchaser and recipient, if different.
• Order Details: Type and quantity of flowers or goods ordered, delivery preferences, and gift messages.
• Payment Information: Payment method details (processed securely by approved payment processors).
• Communication Records: Any correspondence, including customer service inquiries and order confirmations.
• Technical Data: IP address, browser type, device information, and usage data collected when using our online services.

Legal Basis for Processing Your Data

Under GDPR, we are required to have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. The lawful bases we rely on include:

• Contractual Necessity: We process your information to fulfill orders and provide services you request.
• Legal Obligation: We retain certain transactional data to comply with tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements.
• Legitimate Interests: We use data to communicate with you about your order, improve our services, and prevent fraud. We always balance our interests against your privacy rights.
• Consent: Where required, for example, to send you marketing communications, we will ask for your explicit permission, which can be withdrawn at any time.

How We Use Your Data

Your personal data is used for the following purposes:

• To accept, process, and deliver your order accurately and efficiently.
• To contact you regarding your order, such as sending confirmations, updates, or resolving any issues that arise.
• To fulfill statutory obligations including accounting, bookkeeping, and legal compliance.
• To improve our website, services, and customer experience through data analysis (using aggregated or anonymised data wherever possible).
• With your consent, to send promotional offers, updates about our products, or invitations to provide feedback.

How We Share and Disclose Personal Data

Your privacy is important to us. We do not sell or rent your personal information. However, we may need to share your data with trusted third parties, including:

• Payment Processors: To securely handle payments.
• Courier and Delivery Partners: To ensure your order reaches the intended recipient.
• IT and Website Support Providers: For site operation, data storage, and service troubleshooting.
• Legal Authorities: Where required by law, regulation, or in response to a lawful request.

We ensure that all processors act in accordance with GDPR and provide sufficient guarantees on the security and proper use of your personal data.

International Transfers

Your data is generally stored and processed within the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area. If we need to transfer your personal data outside these regions, we will do so only where an adequate level of protection exists, as required by GDPR, using appropriate safeguards.

Data Retention

We retain your personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including:

• Fulfilling your orders and responding to after-sales inquiries.
• Meeting legal, accounting, and tax obligations. Purchase records are typically retained for a statutory period set by UK law (usually 6 years for financial records).
• Maintaining records of consent and communication preferences.

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

How We Protect Your Data

We implement strict security measures to safeguard your personal information, including encryption, secure data storage, access controls, and regular system monitoring. All staff and service providers handling your data are trained in data protection and subject to confidentiality obligations.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under GDPR, you have the following rights over your personal information:

• Access: You can request details about the personal data we hold and how we process it.
• Rectification: You may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erasure: You can request deletion of your personal information in certain circumstances ("right to be forgotten").
• Restriction: You may ask us to restrict processing of your data where applicable.
• Data Portability: You have the right to receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format, and, where feasible, to have it transmitted to another provider.
• Objection: You can object to data processing on grounds relating to your particular situation, including for direct marketing purposes.
• Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out prior to withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details on our website or via your usual method of contact with Chelsea Florist. Please include sufficient information for us to verify your identity.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our business practices, or our services. The latest version will always be available on our website. If changes significantly affect your privacy rights, we will notify you where appropriate.

Contact and Queries

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled by Chelsea Florist, please refer to the contact information provided on our website or speak to a member of staff in store. We are committed to working with you to resolve any data privacy concerns promptly and transparently.

Thank you for trusting Chelsea Florist with your personal information. We value your privacy and are dedicated to keeping your data safe.