This policy explains what personal information Merseybees collects through this website, why, and what your rights are.
Who we are
Merseybees is run by [your name or business name], [business address]. You can contact us about anything in this policy using the contact form on this site.
What we collect
- When you order: your name, email address, phone number, delivery address if you choose delivery, and what you bought. Card details are entered on Stripe's secure checkout page and never reach us.
- When you sponsor a hive: your name, email address and how much you give. Monthly sponsorships are managed by Stripe.
- When you report a swarm: your name, phone number, email address if you give it, where the swarm is, and any photo or notes you send.
- When you use the contact form: your name, email address and message.
- Your basket is saved in your own browser so it's still there when you come back. It isn't sent to us until you check out.
Why we use it
- To take payment, prepare your order, arrange collection or delivery, and send order emails (to perform our contract with you).
- To deal with a swarm you've reported, including calling you back, and to answer your messages (our legitimate interest in helping you).
- To keep records we're required to keep for tax and accounting (legal obligation).
- To send you occasional news and offers about products like the ones you bought from us, unless you ticked the box at checkout to say no (this is allowed for existing customers under UK law, known as the "soft opt-in"). Every one of these emails has a one-click unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing doesn't affect emails about your orders.
We never sell your information.
Who we share it with
- Stripe, to take payments and manage monthly sponsorships.
- Cloudflare, which hosts this website.
- Resend, which sends our emails.
- Google Fonts: the fonts on this site load from Google, which receives your device's internet address when it fetches them.
How long we keep it
Order and sponsorship records are kept for as long as we need them for accounts and tax, normally up to 6 years. Swarm reports are deleted [within 12 months] once the swarm has been dealt with. Contact messages are deleted once dealt with, unless they relate to an order.
Cookies
This website doesn't use advertising or tracking cookies. Your basket is stored in your browser. Stripe uses its own cookies on its checkout page to process payments safely and prevent fraud.
Your rights
You can ask for a copy of your information, ask us to correct or delete it, or object to how we use it. Get in touch using the contact form on this site. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.