Privacy & Cookie Policy

Pet Necessity Limited respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy & Cookie Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal data when you visit or use petnecessity.co.uk, create or use a customer account, place an order, contact us, subscribe to communications or otherwise interact with us.

This policy also explains your rights under applicable UK data protection law and how you can exercise those rights.

1. Important information and who we are

1.1 Pet Necessity Limited is the controller responsible for the personal data described in this policy. References to "Pet Necessity", "we", "us" or "our" mean Pet Necessity Limited.

1.2 Pet Necessity Limited is a company registered in Scotland under company number SC702419.

1.3 Our registered office is Pet Necessity Limited, Fraser Suite 496/213, Ferry Road, Edinburgh, EH5 2DL.

1.4 You can contact us about privacy or data protection matters by emailing hello@petnecessity.co.uk or by telephone on 0131 202 2307.

1.5 You have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection matters. Further information is available from the ICO website.

1.6 We would appreciate the opportunity to address any concerns about our use of your personal data before you contact the ICO, although this does not affect your right to make a complaint to the ICO at any time.

1.7 We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will be published on this page together with the date it was last updated.

1.8 It is important that the personal information we hold about you is accurate and current. Please let us know if your personal information changes during your relationship with us.

1.9 Our Website may contain links to websites, services or applications operated by third parties. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties, and you should review their privacy information separately.

2. The personal data we collect

We may collect, use, store and transfer different types of personal data depending on how you interact with Pet Necessity.

• Identity Data: such as your first name and last name.
• Contact Data: such as your billing address, delivery address, email address and telephone number.
• Customer Account Data: such as information associated with your customer account, account preferences, saved addresses, account activity and authentication information.
• Order and Transaction Data: such as products ordered, order numbers, purchase history, order values, discounts, delivery information, order status, cancellations, returns and refunds.
• Payment-related Data: such as payment status, payment method, transaction references and information necessary to process or verify a payment. Payment transactions are handled through our e-commerce and payment service providers. Pet Necessity does not need to receive or store your complete payment-card details in order to process an online order.
• Delivery and Fulfilment Data: such as your name, delivery address, telephone number, email address, delivery instructions, tracking information and other information necessary to fulfil and deliver an order.
• Technical Data: such as your internet protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, device information, operating system, time zone, website identifiers and other technical information generated when you use the Website.
• Usage Data: such as information about how you use and navigate the Website, including pages viewed, interactions, traffic information and website performance information.
• Marketing and Communications Data: such as your preferences for receiving marketing communications and records of communications sent to or received from you.
• Customer Service Data: such as correspondence, enquiries, complaints, cancellation requests, returns, refund requests and other information you provide when communicating with us.

We may also create and use aggregated or anonymised information for statistical, analytical and business purposes where that information does not identify you as an individual.

We do not intentionally collect special category personal data through our normal retail activities, such as information concerning health, racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, political opinions, trade union membership, genetic or biometric information or information concerning a person's sex life or sexual orientation.

We also do not intentionally collect information about criminal convictions or offences through our normal retail activities.

Our Website and services are not directed at children and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children.

3. How we collect personal data

We collect personal data in several ways, including:

• Direct interactions: when you place an order, create or use a customer account, contact us, request a return or refund, subscribe to communications, complete a form or otherwise communicate with us.
• Transactions: when you purchase goods, make a payment, receive a refund or otherwise complete a transaction through our Website.
• Automated technologies: when you browse or interact with the Website, including through cookies and similar technologies that collect technical and usage information.
• Service providers: where information is provided to or received from organisations involved in operating our online store, processing transactions, preventing fraud, managing customer accounts, fulfilling orders, delivering goods or providing associated services.

If we need personal data to fulfil an order, comply with a legal obligation or perform another contract with you and you do not provide that information, we may be unable to provide the relevant goods or services.

4. How and why we use your personal data

We will only process personal data where we have a lawful basis for doing so. Depending on the circumstances, we may process your personal data because:

• it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you;
• it is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of another party, where those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests;
• we need to comply with a legal obligation;
• you have provided consent where consent is required; or
• another lawful basis is available under applicable data protection law.

We may use your personal data for purposes including:

• creating and administering your customer account;
• processing and managing orders;
• processing and verifying payments;
• arranging the fulfilment and delivery of goods;
• providing order confirmations and delivery information;
• processing cancellations, returns, replacements and refunds;
• communicating with you about an order or customer enquiry;
• providing customer service;
• detecting, preventing and investigating fraud or misuse;
• maintaining the security and operation of our Website;
• keeping appropriate financial and business records;
• complying with tax, accounting and other legal obligations;
• understanding how customers use our Website and improving its performance and usability;
• sending marketing communications where we are permitted to do so; and
• establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, those interests may include operating and improving our retail business, providing customer service, securing our Website and transactions, preventing fraud, understanding the performance of our Website and protecting our legal and commercial interests.

We will not use your personal data for a materially different purpose that is incompatible with the purpose for which it was originally collected unless permitted or required by law.

5. Customer accounts, orders and payments

Our online store uses specialist e-commerce services to provide functions including customer accounts, checkout, order management, transaction processing and associated customer services.

When you create or use a customer account, information necessary to provide and secure that account may be processed by us and by the service providers that operate those functions on our behalf or in connection with our online store.

When you place an order, we process information including your identity and contact details, the products you order, your billing and delivery information and information about the transaction.

Payments are processed using specialist payment and e-commerce services. Payment information is transmitted to the appropriate payment provider for authorisation and processing. Pet Necessity does not need to receive or retain your complete payment-card number or card security code in order to process an online order.

We may receive information confirming whether a payment was authorised or declined together with transaction references and other information necessary to administer your order, process refunds, maintain records and deal with payment enquiries or disputes.

Information necessary to fulfil an order may also be provided to delivery, courier, fulfilment or other relevant service providers. This may include your name, delivery address, contact details, delivery instructions and information necessary to identify and deliver your order.

6. Cookies and analytics

Our Website uses cookies and similar technologies. Cookies are small pieces of information stored on or accessed from your device when you use a website.

Cookies used on our Website may include:

• Strictly necessary cookies: required for the Website and online store to operate, including functions relating to security, customer sessions, shopping baskets, checkout and other essential services.
• Functional cookies: used to remember certain choices or provide enhanced Website functionality where applicable.
• Analytics cookies: used to help us understand how visitors use the Website, how pages and features perform and how the Website can be improved.

We use Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors interact with our Website. Analytics information may include information about pages visited, interactions, approximate location derived from technical information, device and browser information and other usage data.

Where consent is required for analytics or other non-essential cookies, those cookies should only be used in accordance with the choices you make through our cookie consent controls.

Strictly necessary cookies do not require consent where they are necessary to provide a service requested by you or to enable essential Website functionality.

You can manage available cookie choices through the cookie controls provided on our Website. You can also configure your browser to block or delete cookies, although blocking strictly necessary cookies may prevent parts of the Website, customer account, basket or checkout from working correctly.

7. Marketing communications

We may send you marketing communications where we have a lawful basis and are permitted to do so under applicable privacy and electronic communications laws.

Where consent is required, we will ask for that consent before sending the relevant marketing communication.

You can ask us to stop sending marketing communications at any time by using an unsubscribe option provided in the communication, where available, or by contacting us at hello@petnecessity.co.uk.

Opting out of marketing does not prevent us from sending non-marketing communications that are necessary to administer your account, order, payment, delivery, return, refund or other transaction with us.

8. Sharing your personal data

We may share personal data with third parties where reasonably necessary to operate our business, provide our Website and services, fulfil your order or comply with our legal obligations.

These recipients may include:

• e-commerce and customer account service providers;
• payment processors and payment service providers;
• delivery, courier and fulfilment providers;
• website hosting and infrastructure providers;
• analytics and website performance providers;
• communications and customer service providers;
• fraud prevention, security and verification providers;
• professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, legal advisers and auditors;
• regulators, government bodies, law enforcement agencies, courts or other authorities where disclosure is required or permitted by law; and
• potential purchasers, investors or advisers where relevant to a legitimate business sale, restructuring or transfer, subject to appropriate confidentiality and legal requirements.

Where another organisation processes personal data on our behalf, we require appropriate arrangements to protect that information and limit its processing to the purposes for which it has been provided, subject to applicable law and the organisation's own legal obligations.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

9. International transfers

Some organisations that provide services to us or support the operation of our Website and online store may process personal data outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal data is transferred internationally and the transfer is subject to UK data protection restrictions, we take steps to ensure that an appropriate transfer mechanism or safeguard is used where required by law.

Depending on the circumstances, this may include transferring information to a country covered by UK adequacy regulations or using contractual safeguards or other mechanisms recognised under applicable UK data protection law.

You may contact us if you would like further information about the safeguards applicable to international transfers of your personal data.

10. Data security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access.

Access to personal data is restricted where appropriate to persons and service providers who require access for legitimate business purposes and who are subject to appropriate confidentiality, security or legal obligations.

No method of transmitting or storing information electronically can be guaranteed to be completely secure. However, we take reasonable and appropriate measures to protect the personal data under our control.

11. Data retention

We retain personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, reporting, fraud prevention and dispute resolution requirements.

The period for which we retain particular information depends on factors including the nature of the information, the purpose for which it is processed, whether you continue to hold a customer account or have an ongoing relationship with us, and applicable legal requirements.

Order and transaction records may be retained for the period necessary to comply with accounting, tax, consumer protection and other legal obligations and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Customer account information may be retained while your account remains active and afterwards where necessary for legitimate business or legal purposes.

Where personal data is no longer required, we will delete or anonymise it where appropriate, subject to any continuing legal or regulatory retention requirements.

12. Your legal rights

Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law gives you a number of rights in relation to your personal data.

These may include the right to:

• Request access to personal data we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
• Request erasure of your personal data in certain circumstances.
• Object to processing in certain circumstances, including certain processing based on legitimate interests.
• Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances.
• Request data portability where the applicable legal requirements are met.
• Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.
• Object to direct marketing at any time.

These rights are subject to conditions and exemptions under applicable law and will not necessarily apply in every circumstance.

You will not normally have to pay a fee to exercise your data protection rights. However, applicable law may allow us to charge a reasonable fee or refuse a request where it is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

We may need to request information from you to confirm your identity before responding to a request. This is a security measure designed to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to someone who is not entitled to receive it.

We aim to respond to valid requests within one month. In some cases, particularly where a request is complex or multiple requests have been made, the law may permit additional time. If this applies, we will inform you.

13. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy & Cookie Policy, how we use your personal data or would like to exercise a data protection right, please contact:

Email: hello@petnecessity.co.uk

Telephone: 0131 202 2307

You can also obtain information about your data protection rights and make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).