Bowland Bioenergy Ltd – Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Bowland Bioenergy Ltd collects, uses and shares personal information when you visit our website, contact us, sign up for marketing, create or use an online account, place an online order, request delivery or collection, or otherwise deal with us.

1. Who we are

Bowland Bioenergy Limited is the controller of the personal information described in this policy unless we tell you otherwise.

Bowland Bioenergy Limited

Company number: 04475449

Registered office: Smithfield Farm, Twiston Lane, Downham, Clitheroe, England, BB7 4DF

Telephone: 01200 440 437

Email: info@bowlandbioenergy.co.uk

If you have questions about this policy or how we use your information, please contact us using the details above.

2. Personal information we may collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of personal information:

  • Identity information, such as your name.
  • Contact information, such as postal address, delivery address, email address and telephone number.
  • Order and transaction information, such as products ordered, quantities, discounts, delivery or collection method, order history, refunds and customer-service records.
  • Account information, such as account identifiers, login or authentication details and order-history information.
  • Payment information, such as payment status, payment method and transaction identifiers. Full card details are handled by payment providers such as Stripe and are not intended to be stored by Bowland Bioenergy.
  • Marketing information, such as newsletter sign-up, consent status, preferences and unsubscribe information.
  • Technical and usage information, such as IP address, browser/device information, pages viewed, interactions, cookie identifiers and similar website data where collected.
  • Communications, such as emails, calls, enquiries, complaints and other correspondence.
  • Delivery or collection information, including information needed to arrange or confirm fulfilment.

We do not intentionally ask customers to provide special-category personal information through the normal ecommerce checkout.

3. How we collect personal information

We may collect information directly from you when you place an order, contact us by telephone, email or social media, sign up for marketing, use an account or complete forms on our website. Where offered, this may include responses to competitions, promotions or surveys.

We may also receive information from service providers involved in the website, ecommerce, payment, account, marketing, analytics, delivery or communications process, and from publicly available sources where appropriate.

4. Why we use personal information and our lawful bases

We use personal information only where we have a lawful basis. Depending on the activity, the relevant basis may be performance of a contract, compliance with a legal obligation, our legitimate interests, or your consent.

  • To process and fulfil orders, take payment, provide order confirmations, arrange delivery or collection, manage refunds and respond to order enquiries. Lawful basis: contract.
  • To provide and administer customer account and order-history functionality. Lawful basis: contract and legitimate interests in providing customer service.
  • To keep accounting, tax and business records and comply with legal or regulatory obligations. Lawful basis: legal obligation.
  • To prevent fraud, protect our website and systems, investigate misuse, and maintain service security. Lawful basis: legitimate interests and, where applicable, legal obligation.
  • To assess applications for trade or credit accounts and manage credit risk, where applicable. Lawful basis: legitimate interests and taking steps towards a contract, where applicable.
  • To respond to general enquiries, complaints and customer-service requests. Lawful basis: contract where the request relates to an order, otherwise legitimate interests.
  • To improve our website, products and customer experience, understand website performance and diagnose technical problems. Lawful basis: legitimate interests, subject to consent where the use of cookies or similar technologies requires it.
  • To send newsletters, offers and marketing communications where you have signed up or where another lawful marketing basis applies. Lawful basis: consent where required, and legitimate interests only where permitted by applicable direct-marketing rules.
  • To establish, exercise or defend legal claims. Lawful basis: legitimate interests and legal obligation where applicable.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, our interests may include operating and improving our business, providing customer service, keeping our systems secure, preventing fraud and understanding how customers use our services. We consider whether those interests are overridden by your rights and interests before relying on this basis.

5. Marketing communications

If you sign up to the Bowland Bioenergy newsletter, we may use your name, email address, sign-up details and marketing preferences to send the communications you requested.

You can unsubscribe at any time using the unsubscribe link in a marketing email or by contacting us. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

We may keep a minimal suppression record after you unsubscribe so that we can respect your preference and avoid sending marketing you have opted out of.

6. Cookies and similar technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies for functions such as site operation, ecommerce, security, preferences, measurement and marketing. Where the law requires consent for non-essential cookies or similar technologies, we will seek that consent before using them.

You can manage available cookie choices through the website controls or your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may affect website functionality.

7. Who we share personal information with

We may share personal information with organisations that help us operate the website and provide our services. Depending on the activity, these may include:

  • Ecommerce and order-management providers, including CartGenie.
  • Payment providers, including Stripe.
  • Customer account and order-history providers, including Monto.
  • Website hosting and website-platform providers, including Webflow.
  • Email marketing and customer-communications providers, including Klaviyo.
  • Delivery, logistics or collection partners where needed to fulfil an order.
  • IT, security, analytics and professional service providers.
  • Accountants, auditors, insurers, legal advisers and other professional advisers.
  • Banks, payment networks and fraud-prevention providers.
  • Government bodies, regulators, law-enforcement agencies, courts or other parties where disclosure is required or permitted by law.
  • A buyer, seller, adviser or successor where our business or assets are involved in a genuine corporate transaction.

We require service providers that process information on our behalf to handle it appropriately and only for authorised purposes. Some providers may also act as independent controllers for parts of their services; their own privacy information may apply to those activities.

We do not sell personal information.

8. International transfers

Some of our service providers may process or store personal information outside the United Kingdom. Where personal information is transferred internationally, we take steps intended to ensure an appropriate level of protection in accordance with UK data-protection law, for example by relying on UK adequacy regulations or appropriate contractual safeguards where required.

You can contact us if you would like more information about the safeguards relevant to a particular transfer.

9. How long we keep personal information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including to meet legal, accounting, tax, fraud-prevention and dispute-resolution requirements.

Retention periods vary by category. Order, invoice, payment and accounting records may be retained for the period required by applicable tax, accounting and legal obligations. Customer-service and correspondence records are kept for as long as reasonably necessary to deal with the matter and any related claims. Marketing information is kept while you remain subscribed or until it is no longer needed, with limited suppression information retained where necessary to respect an opt-out.

Where we do not have a fixed retention period, we consider the purpose for which the information is held, the amount and sensitivity of the information, legal requirements, potential disputes and whether the same purpose can be achieved without retaining the information.

10. How we protect personal information

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures intended to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure. No internet transmission or storage method can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Payment transactions are handled through specialist payment providers. We do not intentionally store full payment-card numbers in Bowland Bioenergy's own website records.

11. Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis we rely on, you may have rights to:

  • Ask for access to your personal information.
  • Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
  • Ask us to erase personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Ask us to restrict how we use personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Object to processing based on legitimate interests and object to direct marketing.
  • Ask for certain information to be provided in a portable format.
  • Withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent.

These rights are subject to legal conditions and exemptions. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

In most cases we will not charge a fee for responding to a subject access request. A reasonable administrative fee may be charged only where the law permits it, for example for a manifestly unfounded or excessive request or for further copies.

To exercise a right, contact info@bowlandbioenergy.co.uk or write to Bowland Bioenergy Ltd, Smithfield Farm, Twiston Lane, Downham, Clitheroe, BB7 4DF.

12. Your right to object

You have an absolute right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing. You may also object to processing based on our legitimate interests. If you object to legitimate-interest processing, we will consider whether we have compelling legitimate grounds to continue or whether the information is needed for legal claims.

13. Complaints

If you are concerned about how we use personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to address the issue.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection. Current contact and complaint information is available from the ICO.

14. Third-party websites and services

Our website may contain links to third-party websites or services. Those organisations operate under their own privacy policies and we are not responsible for their independent privacy practices.

15. Children

Our ecommerce services are not directed at children and we do not knowingly seek to collect personal information from children for online purchasing.

16. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our services, providers, legal obligations or data-processing activities change. The current version will be published on our website. Where a change materially affects how we use personal information, we will take reasonable steps to bring the change to the attention of affected individuals where required.