Privacy Policy

Privacy

This privacy policy sets out the basis for processing any personal data we collect from you or that you provide to us. Please read the following carefully to understand our practices regarding your personal data. By using our website www.avalongroup.org.uk (our ‘Website’) you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy.

Data we may collect from you

The Avalon Group may collect and process the following data about you:

• Information acquired/provided through our Website. This includes subscribing to our services, personalising with your preferences, participating in discussion boards or other social media functions, posting material or requesting further services. We may also ask you for information when you enter a competition or promotion sponsored by any member of The Avalon Group, when you respond to a survey and/or when you report a problem with the Website.
• If you contact us, we will keep a record of that correspondence. If you send us personal information which identifies you via email, we will keep your email and email address in line with our retention policy (available upon request). We may also collect information that is available from your browser.
• We may ask you to complete optional surveys for research purposes.
• Details of your visits to the Websites including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, weblogs and other communication data, and the resources that you access.
• Details of your access to our online resources or other materials.
• Completing job applications or other information about yourself for specific purposes.

We may collect information about your computer, including where available your IP address, operating system and browser type, for system administration and to report aggregate information. This is statistical data about our users’ browsing actions and patterns, and does not identify any individual.

How we use your data

Your data will only be used for the purposes indicated when you submit the data or as detailed under this privacy policy. For further information regarding our retention procedure can be found in our Retention Policy (available upon request).

We use personal information held about you in the following ways:

• to update and enhance our records
• to compile information relating to your use of our products and services and make recommendations about goods and services and other areas that may interest you
  to ensure the content from the Website is presented in the most effective manner for you and your computer
• to carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us to provide you with the information, products and services that you request from us
• to provide you with information about Avalon Group goods and services which may interest you. If you are an existing customer, we will only contact you by electronic means (e-mail or SMS) with information about goods and services similar to those which were the subject of a previous or ongoing contract. If you are a new customer, we will contact you by electronic means only if you have consented to this. All customers and stakeholders can opt-in/out of such notifications by following the instructions on the relevant forms set out on this Website (or elsewhere as applicable) or at any time after providing your information
• inviting you to participate in research studies and/or market research activities
• we may analyse your data to create a profile of your interests and preferences so that we can contact you in the most appropriate way and with the most relevant information; to respond to queries from members of the public about your membership status
• At this time, we do not share any data for planning or research purposes for which the national data opt-out would apply. We review all of the confidential customer information we process on an annual basis to see if this is used for research and planning purposes. If it is, then individuals can decide to stop their information being shared for this purpose. You can find out more information at www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/.

Disclosure of your data

We will not transfer any of your data to any third parties without your permission or unless indicated in this privacy policy or agreed by you on a form on the Website.

We may disclose your personal information to third parties without obtaining further consent from you including:

• to our business partners, suppliers and subcontractors for the performance of any contract we enter into with you
• if we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our Website Terms & Conditions and other agreements; or to protect our rights, property, or safety of our employees, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

We will never sell your data to third parties for the purposes of marketing.

Where we store your data

All data we collect from you will be stored within the European Economic Area (‘EEA’). By submitting your personal data to us, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy.

Any payment transactions will be encrypted using SSL technology.

Your rights

You have the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes. We will usually inform you (before collecting your data) if we wish to use your data for such purposes or if we intend to disclose your information to any third party for such purposes and request your consent to these activities. If you wish to change your mailing preferences or opt-out of specific marketing communications sent from The Avalon Group, you may notify us via our Contact us form. Alternatively you may contact us on 01423 530053. It may take up to 21 days for the changes to come into effect. Please note that this will not alter your current email subscription preferences.

The Website may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of our partner networks and affiliates. 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.

Access to information

The General Data Protection Regulation gives you the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with the GDPR. If you would like to request a copy of your personal data under the GDPR or have any other related queries, please email dataprotectionlead@avalongroup.org.uk, or call 01423 530053.

For any further queries or concerns relating to the protection of your data, you can request a copy of our Data Protection Policy, which is available on request by using either of the two contact options listed in the above paragraph.

Data captured is solely for the fulfilment of orders placed by the user.  Any further communication through specific marketing contact can be unsubscribed via our dedicated opt out link here

Cookies

What is a Cookie?

Cookies are text files containing small amounts of information which are downloaded to your personal computer, mobile or other device when you visit a website. Cookies are then sent back to the originating website on each subsequent visit, or to another website that recognises that cookie. Cookies are useful because they allow a website to recognise a user’s device.

Persistent cookies – these cookies remain on a user’s device for the period of time specified in the cookie. They are activated each time that the user visits the website that created that particular cookie.

Session cookies – these cookies allow website operators to link the actions of a user during a browser session. A browser session starts when a user opens the browser window and finishes when they close the browser window. Session cookies are created temporarily. Once you close the browser, all session cookies are deleted.

Cookies do lots of different jobs, like letting you navigate between pages efficiently, remembering your preferences, and generally improve the user experience.

You can find more information about cookies at www.allaboutcookies.org.

The table below explains what cookies we use and why. This table was updated June 2018.

 

Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics to help analyse how users use the site. The tool uses “cookies,” which are text files placed on your computer, to collect standard Internet log information and visitor behavior information in an anonymous form. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) is transmitted to Google. This information is then used to evaluate visitors’ use of the website and to compile statistical reports on website activity for The Avalon Group.

We will never (and will not allow any third party to) use the statistical analytics tool to track or to collect any Personally Identifiable Information of visitors to our site. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. Neither we nor Google will link, or seek to link, an IP address with the identity of a computer user. We will not associate any data gathered from this site with any Personally Identifiable Information from any source, unless you explicitly submit that information via a fill-in form on our website.

 

Using web browser settings to manage cookies

The Help menu on the menu bar of most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie and how to disable cookies altogether. You can also disable or delete similar data used by browser add-ons, such as Flash cookies, by changing the add-on’s settings or visiting the website of its manufacturer.

However, because cookies allow you to take advantage of some of the Website’s essential features, we recommend you leave them turned on. For example, if you block or otherwise reject cookies you will not be able to add items to your Shopping Basket, proceed to Checkout, or use any of our products and services that require you to Sign in. If you leave cookies turned on, remember to sign off when you finish using a shared computer.