Introduction

This privacy policy explains how South Coast Jewellers ("we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal data when you use our services, visit our website, or otherwise interact with us. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your data in a transparent and lawful manner.

This policy applies to all services provided by South Coast Jewellers, including home-visit valuations, postal valuations, valuation roadshow events, and any communication via our website, phone, email, or WhatsApp.

Data Controller

The data controller responsible for your personal data is:

South Coast Jewellers Company Registration Number: 14353365

If you have any questions about how we handle your personal data, please contact us.

Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Information you provide directly:

Your name, address, phone number, and email address when you request a valuation or contact us
Details of items you wish to have valued
Payment information necessary to process transactions
Any correspondence or communication you send to us

Information collected automatically:

Technical data such as your IP address, browser type, and device information when you visit our website
Usage data including pages visited, time spent, and navigation patterns
Cookie data as described in the Cookies section below

Information from third parties:

We may receive your contact details if you are referred to us by another customer (with their and your consent)

How We Use Your Information

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

Providing our services: To arrange and conduct valuations, process payments, and communicate with you about appointments
Customer communication: To respond to your enquiries, provide quotes, and send appointment reminders
Service improvement: To analyse how our services are used and identify areas for improvement
Legal compliance: To meet our regulatory and legal obligations, including financial record-keeping
Marketing: With your consent, to send you information about our services, upcoming roadshow events, and special offers. You can opt out at any time.

Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data under the following legal bases as defined by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR):

Contract: Processing necessary to perform a contract with you or take steps at your request before entering into a contract (e.g., arranging a valuation)
Legitimate interests: Processing necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these do not override your rights (e.g., improving our services, fraud prevention)
Consent: Where you have given clear consent for us to process your data for a specific purpose (e.g., marketing communications)
Legal obligation: Processing necessary to comply with a legal obligation (e.g., tax and financial reporting)

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal data to third parties. We may share your data with:

Payment processors: To process transactions securely
Professional advisors: Including accountants and legal advisors, where necessary for business operations
Law enforcement or regulatory bodies: Where we are legally required to do so
Service providers: Who assist us with website hosting, analytics, or communication tools, under strict data processing agreements

All third parties who process data on our behalf are required to maintain appropriate security measures and only process your data in accordance with our instructions.

Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected:

Customer records: Retained for 6 years after your last transaction, in line with HMRC requirements
Communication records: Retained for 2 years after your last contact with us
Marketing consent records: Retained until you withdraw consent
Website analytics data: Retained for 26 months

After these periods, your data is securely deleted or anonymised.

Under the UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Right to rectification: You can request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
Right to erasure: You can request deletion of your data where there is no compelling reason for continued processing
Right to restrict processing: You can request that we limit how we use your data
Right to data portability: You can request your data in a structured, commonly used format
Right to object: You can object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes
Rights related to automated decision-making: You have the right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us. We will respond to your request within one month.

If you are not satisfied with how we handle your request, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies to improve your browsing experience. Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit our site.

Essential cookies: Required for the website to function properly. These cannot be disabled.

Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use our website. These are only set with your consent.

Marketing cookies: Used to deliver relevant advertisements. These are only set with your consent.

You can manage your cookie preferences at any time through your browser settings or our cookie consent tool. Disabling non-essential cookies will not affect the core functionality of our website.

Third-Party Services

Our website may contain links to third-party websites and services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party services you access through our website.

We currently use the following third-party services:

Website hosting: For serving our website securely
Analytics: For understanding website usage patterns
Communication tools: For processing email and WhatsApp messages

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we make significant changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify you directly.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this privacy policy or our data practices, please contact us:

South Coast Jewellers Company Registration Number: 14353365

Please reach us via our contact page. We aim to respond to all privacy-related enquiries within 5 working days.

Privacy Policy