Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Snowdrops collects, uses, shares and protects your personal information when you visit snowdrops.me, place an order or otherwise interact with us. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Please read this policy carefully so that you understand your rights and how we look after your information. By using our website and services, you acknowledge the practices described below.

Who We Are

Snowdrops is a UK-based online store selling snowdrops (Galanthus), other plants, greetings cards, fridge magnets and gardening tools to customers across the United Kingdom. For the purposes of data protection law, we are the data controller responsible for your personal information. If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, you can contact us at info@snowdrops.me.

Information We Collect

We only collect the personal information we need to provide our products and services to you. Depending on how you use our website, this may include:

• Identity details: your name and, where relevant, the name of anyone you are buying a gift for.
• Contact details: your email address and telephone number.
• Address details: your billing address and delivery address so we can process and ship your order.
• Order details: information about the products you have purchased, order history, returns and refunds, and any communications with us about your orders.
• Payment information: payments are handled securely by our third-party payment provider. We do not store or process your full card details on our own systems; our provider supplies us only with confirmation of payment and limited information needed to manage your order.
• Usage data: information about how you use our website, such as your IP address, browser type and device, pages viewed, and the links you click. This is collected partly through cookies and similar technologies.

How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes, each supported by a lawful basis under the UK GDPR:

• To process and fulfil your orders, take payment and arrange delivery (necessary to perform our contract with you).
• To communicate with you about your orders, including order confirmations, dispatch notices, delivery updates and returns.
• To handle enquiries, provide customer support and resolve any issues, complaints or refunds.
• To manage your account, where you have created one with us.
• To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, such as consumer protection, accounting and tax requirements.
• To improve our website, products and services, and to keep our store secure and prevent fraud (in our legitimate interests).
• To send you marketing communications about similar products, where you have agreed to receive them or where we are otherwise permitted to do so. You can opt out at any time.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to help it function properly, to remember your preferences and the contents of your basket, and to understand how visitors use our site so we can improve it.

Some cookies are strictly necessary for the website to work, while others are used for analytics or marketing and are only set with your consent. You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings or through any cookie preference tool we provide. Please note that turning off some cookies may affect how parts of our website work.

Sharing With Third Parties

We do not sell your personal information. We only share it with trusted third parties where necessary to run our business and provide our services to you, including:

• Payment processor: our payment provider securely handles card transactions and fraud screening on our behalf.
• Couriers and delivery partners: we share your name, delivery address and contact details with the couriers who deliver your order so they can complete delivery and keep you updated.
• Suppliers and fulfilment partners: where an order is dispatched directly by a supplier, we share the details needed to pick, pack and ship your items.
• Service providers: trusted providers who support our website, hosting, email, analytics and customer service, who act under our instructions.
• Legal and regulatory bodies: where we are required to disclose information by law or to protect our rights, customers or business.

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to use it only for the purposes we have specified.

Data Retention

We keep your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet any legal, accounting, tax or reporting requirements. Order and transaction records are generally retained for several years to comply with these obligations, after which your information is securely deleted or anonymised. Where you have an account, we retain your details while your account remains active.

Your Rights

Under UK data protection law you have a number of rights in relation to your personal information, including:

• Access: the right to ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification: the right to ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Erasure: the right to ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances.
• Objection: the right to object to our processing of your data, including for direct marketing.
• Restriction: the right to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
• Portability: the right to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
• Withdraw consent: where we rely on your consent, the right to withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@snowdrops.me. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection, although we would welcome the chance to address your concerns first.

Security

We take the security of your personal information seriously and use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or alteration. These include secure connections, restricted access to personal data and the use of reputable payment and hosting providers. While no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, we work to safeguard your information and to keep our measures under review.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology or legal requirements. Any updates will be posted on this page with a revised date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so you stay informed about how we protect your information.

Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact our support team at info@snowdrops.me and we will be happy to help.