Privacy Policy

Effective Date: October 2026

Website Address: https://dappledwillow.co.uk

At Dappled Willow, we are committed to maintaining the trust and confidence of our visitors and customers. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, store, use, and protect your personal data in strict compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Dappled Willow is an independent retail business trading in the UK. For any data protection enquiries, you can contact us directly via the contact information provided on our website.

2. What We Collect and Store

While you browse our website, we automatically track:

  • Products you’ve viewed: We use this to show you items you have recently looked at.

  • Location, IP address, and browser type: We use this to estimate appropriate taxes and shipping rates.

  • Cookies: We use cookies to keep track of your basket contents while you navigate our site.

When you purchase from us or create an account, we collect and store:

  • Your Name, Billing Address, and Shipping Address

  • Your Email Address

  • Your Phone Number

  • Account details (username and password, if you choose to create an account).

3. How and Why We Use Your Phone Number and Personal Data

We process your personal information strictly to fulfill our contract with you or to meet clear legal obligations. Specifically, we use your data to:

  • Send you critical updates regarding your order, account status, and transaction history.

  • Fulfill and ship your orders: Your phone number and delivery address are shared securely with our shipping providers so they can successfully deliver your parcel and send direct text tracking updates.

  • Respond to customer service inquiries, including refunds, exchanges, or complaints.

  • Process secure payments and actively prevent fraudulent transactions.

  • Comply with UK legal and accounting obligations, such as calculating correct sales taxes.

  • Send you marketing updates or newsletters, only if you have explicitly opted-in to receive them.

4. How Long We Retain Your Data

We generally store your information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected.

  • Order Records: We are legally required to retain order information (including your name, email, billing/shipping addresses, and transaction details) for 6 years to comply with UK tax and accounting regulations.

  • Accounts: If you create an account, we store your profile data until you choose to delete your account.

  • Comments and Reviews: If you choose to leave a product review or comment, the message and its associated metadata are retained indefinitely to keep the conversation flowing smoothly.

5. Who on Our Team Has Access

Access to your personal information is strictly limited to members of the Dappled Willow team who directly require it to support your order. This includes our website administrators and store managers, who use the data to package your products, manage refunds, and answer your queries.

6. Who We Share Your Data With (Third Parties)

We never sell your data. We only share specific information with trusted third parties who help us run our online store and deliver your purchases:

  • Shipping Providers: Your name, address, and phone number are securely shared with our delivery partners (such as Royal Mail, Evri, or chosen couriers) to dispatch your orders.

  • Payment Gateways: All credit card transactions are handled securely through encrypted third-party payment processors (such as Stripe, Squarespace Payments, and PayPal). When processing your payment, necessary transactional data, total costs, and billing information will be securely passed to them to complete the sale.

7. Interactive Website Features

Comments & Reviews

When visitors leave comments or product reviews on the site, we collect the text entered into the form, along with the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to prevent automated spam.

An anonymized string (a hash) created from your email address may be provided to the Gravatar service to check if you use it. Their privacy policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/. Once your comment is approved, your profile picture is publicly visible alongside your comment.

Media Uploads

If you upload images directly to our website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Other visitors to the website can potentially download the images and extract location data.

Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles or pages on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, maps, or social media feeds). Embedded content from external websites behaves exactly as if you had visited the other website directly. These platforms may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interactions.

8. Your Legal Rights Under UK GDPR

Under UK data protection law, you hold robust rights regarding your personal information. You have the right to:

  • Request access to the personal data we hold about you and receive an exported file copy.

  • Request the correction of any inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

  • Request that we erase your personal data (this does not include data we are legally obligated to keep for administrative, legal, tax, or security purposes).

  • Object to or restrict the processing of your data, including withdrawing consent for marketing messages at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us via our website contact form.