HAWKINS MUTES LIMITED PRIVACY POLICY

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 We are HAWKINS MUTES LIMITED (referred to as “we”, “us”, and “Hawkins Mutes”) and we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy when you are visiting any website maintained by us including without limitation the website at www.hawkinsmutes.com and our social networking pages (together the “Website”) or communicating electronically with us.

1.2 This policy, together with the Terms of Service (which can be found at the bottom of our website at https://hawkinsmutes.com/) explains what types of personal and non-personal information we collect when you use the Website and the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us. Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. By disclosing your personal information to us by using the Website or speaking to us over the telephone you consent to the collection, storage, and processing of your personal information as stated in this policy.

1.3 Hawkins Mutes uses the personal information we collect from you to provide our service to you. We will not share, rent or sell your personal information to any other company, save for uses outlined in 2.1 below.

1.4 For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the Act), the data controller is Hawkins Mutes Limited of 13 Redman Close, Ely CB7 4RY.

2. WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

2.1 We may collect, store and use the following kinds of personal information:

(a) Name, email and address details shared with us online: To deliver your orders. To send you service information relating to your orders. At your request, to let you know when an item is back in stock. To send you marketing emails (only if you’ve opted-in). To send you marketing information by post. For fraud prevention;

(b) Payment details: To take payment and give refunds where necessary via our payment gateways (Stripe and Paypal). We do not store payment card details. For fraud prevention;

(c) Your purchase history, your web browsing history and information gathered through cookies: To fulfil your orders, provide customer service and handle returns. So we may learn from what you like. To send you personalised marketing emails (only if you’ve opted-in). To deliver you adverts elsewhere online. For example, Facebook, Google Display Network;

(d) Your contact history with us online, or through social media. For example, when you phone with an order enquiry. To provide you with customer service and support;

(e) Your device IP address: To set your default options such as currency and language. To protect our website from fraud or malicious software;

(f) The type of device you are using to access our website: To improve your shopping experience by displaying our website in the best way for your device;

(g) Information from publicly available sources: For example, to confirm your postal address from your postcode. To improve our understanding of our customers;

(h) Information you have given to a third party with permission to share with us about you: To help us serve you better;

(i) Survey responses: For research purposes to help us better understand our customers’ needs and preferences;

(j) Competition entries: To acknowledge receipt of your entry, and notify you of results.

2.2 If you don’t want Facebook or other companies to collect or use information based on your activity on websites, devices or apps off Facebook for the purpose of showing you ads, you can opt out from all participating companies through the Digital Advertising Alliance (http://www.aboutads.info/choices/) in the USA, the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (http://youradchoices.ca/) in Canada or the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (http://www.youronlinechoices.eu/) in Europe. You can also opt out using your mobile device settings.

2.3 If you choose to provide us with information on other people, or post information relating to other people, you must ensure that they have consented to you providing us with such information and our use of such information in accordance with this policy. By providing us with information on any other person, we are entitled to assume that such other person has consented to you providing us with their information and to us contacting them.

3. HOW DO WE USE PERSONAL INFORMATION?

3.1 We may use your personal information for the following purposes:

(a) to manage and administer the Website;

(b) to improve your browsing experience by personalising the Website;

(d) to enable you to use the Website;

(e) to send you newsletters and other relevant and targeted promotional communications;

(f) to deal with enquiries, complaints, and feedback from you and our service providers;

(g) to send you emails offering you to take part in a survey and/or give feedback; and

(h) to analyse and improve the services offered on the Website.

4. WHEN MIGHT WE DISCLOSE PERSONAL INFORMATION?

4.1 We reserve the right to disclose your personal information to the extent required by any applicable law or governmental body or judicial body.

5. NEWSLETTERS AND OTHER PROMOTIONAL COMMUNICATIONS

5.1 If you wish to subscribe to any newsletter published by us or wish to receive other targeted and relevant promotional communications from us, we offer you the option to “opt-in” to this service. If you change your mind and wish to stop receiving any such communications, please either email us at info@hawkinsmutes.com or click the “unsubscribe” link in any email from us.

6. OUR USE OF COOKIES AND WEB BEACONS

6.1 Cookies are text files stored, either on a temporary or persistent basis on the hard drive of your computer. Cookies are used for authenticating, session tracking and maintaining specific information about the use and users of the Website (including user site preferences or the contents of electronic shopping carts).

6.2 The data collected by cookies is anonymous. You can delete all cookies that are already on your computer’s hard drive by searching for files with “cookie” in it and deleting them. In addition, if you want to stop cookies from being stored on your computer, you can edit your browser settings so that cookies are blocked. Unfortunately, if you block cookies you may not be able to use the full functionality of the Website. For more information about cookies, please visit: www.allaboutcookies.org

6.3 Web beacons consist of a small string of software code that represents a graphic image request on a Web page or email. There may or may not be a visible graphic image associated with the web beacon and often the image is designed to blend into the background of a Web page or email. Web beacons can be used for many purposes – including site traffic reporting, unique visitor counts, advertising auditing and reporting, and personalisation. Web beacons used by www.hawkinsmutes.com collect only anonymous data.

6.4 In order to improve our Website and the services we offer you, we use (temporary and persistent) cookies, web beacons and/or other technologies to collect non-personally identifiable data. This non-personally identifiable data helps us to track browsing behaviour, to create specific or tailor-made offers or advertisements, and to monitor and record the visits and use of the Website.

6.5 In order to understand how people use our website and for marketing analysis and quality improvement purposes, we may collect, record, process and use, on an anonymous basis, certain information (including the total number of transactions, viewed web pages, referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp information and details like the number and location of mouse clicks on a given page, mouse movements, scrolling activity and the search words you use while being on and using the Website).

6.6 If you register with us or if you continue to use the Website, you agree to our use of cookies.

7. WHERE WE STORE YOUR PERSONAL DATA

7.1 All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers.

7.2 Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted through our Website; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

7.3 We transmit personal information using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software which encrypts information you input. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards in connection with the collection, storage and disclosure of personally identifiable customer information. Our security procedures mean that we may occasionally request proof of identity before we disclose personal information to you.

7.4 It is important that you protect against unauthorised use of your password and username to the Website. Please choose a strong, unique password when you register with the Website, and be sure to sign off from the Website when you finish using a shared computer.

8. YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGS

8.1 You have control over what information you publish on your profile. When you complete the profile form, you will be able to fill in a significant amount of information. You are under no obligation to provide any or all of that information. If you do not wish to answer a question, you should leave the relevant box in the form blank. The relevant question will not be displayed on your profile.

8.2 Pages on the Website are accessible to search engines meaning that information posted by you on your profile (or on forums within the Website) is viewable by external search engines.

9. LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES

9.1 The Website may include links to third-party websites. These third-party websites and advertisers, or internet advertising companies working on their behalf, sometimes use technology to send (or “serve”) the advertisements that appear on the Website directly to your browser. They automatically receive your IP address when this happens. They may also use cookies, JavaScript, web beacons and other technologies to measure the effectiveness of their advertising and to personalise advertising content. We do not have access to or control over cookies or other features that they may use, and the information practices of these advertisers and third party websites are not covered by this Privacy Policy. Please contact them directly for more information about their privacy policies. We are not responsible for the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information by third party websites to which you provide information or visit.

10. YOUR RIGHTS

10.1 The Act gives you the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes. We will inform you (before collecting your data) if we intend to use your data for such purposes or if we intend to disclose your information to any third party for such purposes. You can exercise your right to prevent such processing by checking certain boxes on the forms we use to collect your data. You can also exercise the right at any time by contacting us at info@hawkinsmutes.com.

10.2 The Website may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of third parties. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

11. ACCESS TO INFORMATION

The Act gives you the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with the Act. Any access request will be granted free of charge; however, a reasonable fee will be charged where the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, to meet the administrative costs of complying with the request.

12. CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to amend this privacy policy. Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail.

13. CONTACT

Questions, comments, and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed, and in the first instance should be sent to us through our contact form.

13.1 CONTACT THE REGULATOR If you feel that your data has not been handled correctly, or you are unhappy with our response to any requests you have made to us regarding the use of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. You can contact them by calling 0303 123 1113, or go online to http://www.ico.org.uk/concerns. If you are based outside the UK, you have the right to lodge your complaint with the relevant data protection regulator in your country of residence.

This privacy policy was last updated on 31st August 2023.