© The Virtual Creative Company
The Virtual Creative company is referred to in this policy as ‘I’, ‘me’ or ‘my’.
The person who is accessing my website and whose data is processed is referred to in this policy as ‘you’ and ‘your’.
INTRODUCTION:
I take privacy, and the security of personal data, very seriously. I understand that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your personal data is used. We respect and value the privacy of everyone who visits my website, www.virtualcreativecompany.co.uk (“My Site”) and only collects and use your personal data as described in this Privacy & Cookie Policy. Any personal data I collect will only be used as permitted by law.
Please read this Privacy & Cookie Policy carefully as it contains important information for you.
1. Information
i. My Site is owned and operated by me, maintained by The Wonderful World of Websites and hosted by Penguin Internet Limited.
ii. a business structure that is a sole trader.
iii. Data Protection Officer: Karen Rosser
Email address: hello@thevirtualcreativecompany.co.uk
Telephone number: 07986 526740
2. What does this policy cover?
This Privacy & Cookie Policy applies only to your use of My Site. My Site may contain links to other websites. Please note that I have no control over third-party websites and have no control over personal data that they may acquire, store and use. I advise you to check the privacy policies relating to these third-party websites before providing any data to them. In addition, it also outlines the use of cookies on my website.
3. Your personal data?
Personal data is defined by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (the “UK GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (collectively, “the Data Protection Legislation”) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier’.
Personal data means any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual known as the data subject. Personal data covers obvious information such as your name and contact details, information about services provided to you and details of feedback you give me, to name a few, but it also covers less obvious information such as identification numbers, electronic location data, IP address, operating systems, and other online identifiers.
4. Your rights in relation to data
Under the Data Protection Legislation, you have the following rights, which are able to do requests without charge. They are as follows:
a) The right to access – this is the right to obtain from me confirmation of whether personal data concerning you is being processed, and, where that is the case, access to that personal data and various other information and/or rights about the personal data I hold about you.
b) The right to rectification – this is the right to obtain from me, without any undue delay, the putting right of inaccurate personal data concerning you.
c) The right to erasure – this is the right for you to request, in certain circumstances, for me to delete or otherwise dispose of any of your personal data relating to you.
d) The right to restrict – this means that you can request that, in certain circumstances, I restrict (i.e. prevent) the processing of your personal data.
e) The right to data portability – this means that, in certain circumstances, if you have provided personal data to me directly, I use it with your consent or for the performance of a contract, and that data is processed using automated means, you can ask me for a copy of that personal data to re-use with another data controller.
f) The right to object – in certain circumstances, you can object to me using your personal data for a particular purpose or purposes, such as direct marketing.
g) The right not to be subjected to automated decision-making – you have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing and profiling. I do not use your personal data in this way.
h) The right to withdraw consent. This means that, if I am relying on your consent as the legal basis for using your personal data, you are free to withdraw that consent at any time.
For more information about my use of your personal data or exercising your rights as outlined above, please contact me using the details provided in Clause 10.
It is important that your personal data is kept accurate and up-to-date. If any of the personal data I hold about you changes, please keep me informed as long as I have that data.
If you have any cause for complaint about my use of your personal data, I would welcome the opportunity to resolve your concerns myself, please contact me first, using the details in Clause 10. However, if you should still be unhappy with my response to your concerns you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
5. What data is collected and how
i. I collect the following personal data from you: name, address, bank details, contact number, email address and any other information that you may provide, which I may use in relation to your purchase and/or relevant marketing.
ii. My Site may collect certain information automatically, including your IP address, the type of browser you are using, and certain other non-personal data about your computer or device such as your operating system type or version, and display resolution.
iii. The lawful basis under the Data Protection Legislation that allows me to use such information is article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR which allows me to process personal data when it is necessary for the purposes of my legitimate interests, in this case, the proper operation and functionality of My Site.
iv. I may also use your personal information for marketing purposes, which may involve getting in touch with you by phone, email, text message, or letter to share information, news, and offers about my products/services, with your consent and/or where permitted by law. You will always have the option to opt-out as I constantly work to completely uphold your rights and adhere to my commitments under the Data Protection Legislation and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.
6. Keeping your data secure
Where I collect any personal data, it will be processed and stored securely, for no longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected. I will comply with my legal obligations and always safeguard your rights under the Data Protection Legislation. For more details on security see Clause 7, below.
I have stated above the personal data collected from you. However, please note that if you contact me and I obtain your personal details from your email, I may use them to respond to your email. The other technical data referred to above is necessary for the technical operation of My Site.
I will not share any of your personal data with any third parties for any purposes other than storage on an email and/or web hosting server.
7. Transferring your data
I will only store your personal data in the UK. This means that it will be fully protected under the Data Protection Legislation.
Personal data security is essential to me, and to protect personal data, I take the following measures:
• limiting access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties with a legitimate need to know and ensuring that they are subject to duties of confidentiality; and
• procedures for dealing with data breaches (the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, your personal data) including notifying you and/or the Information Commissioner’s Office where I am legally required to do so.
8. Sharing your data with others
I will not share any of your personal data with any third parties for any purposes, subject to the following exceptions:
i. If I sell, transfer, or merge all or part of my business or assets, your personal data may be transferred to a third party. Any new owner of my business may continue to use your personal data in the same way that I have used it, as specified in this Privacy & Cookie Policy (i.e. to communicate with you).
ii. In some limited circumstances, I may be required to disclose your personal data to the government, law enforcement and regulatory bodies and agencies in order to comply with my own legal and regulatory obligations.
iii. From time to time, it may be necessary to share data for statistical purposes.
iv. I may contract with the following third party for hosting, running and data storage purposes: Penguin Internet Limited and The Wonderful World of Websites, should you require further information on their privacy policy it can be found here: https://www.penguin-uk.com/ and https://wonderfulworldofwebsites.com/.
v. If any of your personal data is transferred to a third party, as described above, I will try to ensure your that information and data are anonymised, handled safely, securely, and in accordance with your rights, my obligations, and the third party’s obligations under the law.
9. How can I access my personal data?
If you want to know what personal data I have about you, you can contact me for details of that personal data and for a copy of it (where any such personal data is held). This is known as a “subject access request”.
All subject access requests should be made in writing and sent to the email or postal addresses shown in Clause 10.
There is not normally any charge for a subject access request. If your request is ‘manifestly unfounded or excessive’ (for example, if you make repetitive requests) a fee may be charged to cover our administrative costs in responding.
I will respond to your subject access request within one month of receiving it. Normally, I aim to provide a complete response, including a copy of your personal data within that time. In some cases, however, particularly if your request is more complex, more time may be required up to a maximum of three months from the date I receive your request. You will be kept fully informed of my progress.
10. About cookies
i. I use cookies in connection with the operation of my website. A cookie is a small file that is sent by a web server (where I host my website) to a web browser (from where you view my website) and which is then stored by the browser. The cookie contains an identifier which is stored in your browser and then sent back to my server each time your browser accesses our website. These cookies may either be ‘persistent cookies’ (in which case they will continue to be held by your browser until they are deleted, or until a specified event/date) or they will be ‘session cookies’ which expire when you close your browser.
ii. Usually, cookies do not hold any data by which you can be identified, although if I do hold personal data about you (for example, because you have subscribed to a service that I offer) the cookie may be linked to that data.
iii. I also use cookies for the following purposes:
• for authentication purposes, to identify users who are using the site contact form, security, advertising and analysis.
iv. In addition to cookies used by me, our service providers may also use cookies, and those cookies may also be stored in your browser when you visit my website.
v. I use Google Analytics. This uses cookies to gather data about how users use my website. This data is used to create reports about that use. Further information about Google’s use of data may be obtained from Google’s website.
vi. In order to operate my website, I use The Wonderful World of Websites. Further information about this use, and the privacy policy for this service provider, may be found on their website https://wonderfulworldofwebsites.com.
vii. My website may place the following cookies:
• Strictly necessary cookies: These are cookies that are required for the operation of my website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of my website, use a shopping facility or make use of any e-billing services.
• Analytical/performance cookies: They allow me to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around my website when they are using it. This helps me to improve the way my website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
• Functionality cookies: These are used to recognise you when you return to my website. This enables me to personalise our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences. By using the Website, you agree to our placement of functionality cookies.
• Targeting cookies: I may use these cookies to record your visit to my website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. I may use this information to allow any possible displayed advertising more relevant to your interests.
viii. If you wish to do so then, usually, you can prevent cookies from being downloaded to your browser and can delete those that have already been downloaded. How this may be achieved varies between different browsers. Consult the website of your browser provider for more details.
ix. However, you should be aware that if you block or delete cookies this may have a detrimental impact on your ability to access my website and the services that I provide. It may mean that not all of the facilities on my website will be accessible to you, or it may mean that you are unable to access any member services which I provide.
11. Contact Information
To contact me about anything to do with your personal data and data protection, including making a subject access request, please use the following details for the attention of the Data Controller:
Email address: hello@thevirtualcreativecompany.com
Telephone number: 07986 526740
Postal Address: 1 Stubbings Farm Cottages, Burchetts Green Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 6QT
12. This privacy & cookie policy
I may change, update and amend this Privacy & Cookie Policy from time to time. This may be necessary, for example, if the law changes, or if I change my business in a way that affects personal data protection.
Any changes will be immediately posted on My Site and you will be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Privacy & Cookie Policy on your first use of My Site following the alterations. I recommend that you check this page regularly to keep up-to-date.