Privacy Notice & Cookies Policy

This is the privacy notice of Philip Siney. In this document, the term ‘Philip Siney’’ or ‘us’ or ‘we’ refers to the owner of the website. The term ‘you’ refers to the user or viewer of our website.

Introduction

  1. This is a notice to inform you of our policy about all information that we record about you. It sets out the conditions under which we may process any information that we collect from you, or that you provide to us. It covers information that could identify you (“personal information”) and information that could not. In the context of the law and this notice, “process” means collect, store, transfer, use or otherwise act on information.
  2. We regret that if there are one or more points below with which you are not happy, your only recourse is to leave our website immediately.
  3. We take seriously the protection of your privacy and confidentiality. We understand that all visitors to our website are entitled to know that their personal data will not be used for any purpose unintended by them, and will not accidentally fall into the hands of a third party.
  4. We undertake to preserve the confidentiality of all information you provide to us, and hope that you reciprocate.
  5. Our policy complies with UK law accordingly implemented, including that required by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
  6. The law requires us to tell you about your rights and our obligations to you in regards to the processing and control of your personal data. We do this now, by requesting that you read the information provided at knowyourprivacyrights.org
  7. Except as set out below, we do not share, or sell, or disclose to a third party, any information collected through our website.

The bases on which we process information about you

The law requires us to determine under which of six defined bases we process different categories of your personal information, and to notify you of the basis for each category. If a basis on which we process your personal information is no longer relevant then we shall immediately stop processing your data. If the basis changes then if required by law we shall notify you of the change and of any new basis under which we have determined that we can continue to process your information.

1. Information we process because we have a contractual obligation with you

When you create an account on our website, buy a product or service from us, or otherwise agree to our terms and conditions, a contract is formed between you and us. In order to carry out our obligations under that contract we must process the information you give us. Some of this information may be personal information. We may use it in order to:
verify your identity for security purposes
sell products to you
provide you with our services
provide you with suggestions and advice on products, services and how to obtain the most from using our website
We process this information on the basis there is a contract between us, or that you have requested we use the information before we enter into a legal contract. Additionally, we may aggregate this information in a general way and use it to provide class information, for example to monitor our performance with respect to a particular service we provide. If we use it for this purpose, you as an individual will not be personally identifiable. We shall continue to process this information until the contract between us ends or is terminated by either party under the terms of the contract.

2. Information we process with your consent

Through certain actions when otherwise there is no contractual relationship between us, such as when you browse our website or ask us to provide you more information about our business, including our products and services, you provide your consent to us to process information that may be personal information. Wherever possible, we aim to obtain your explicit consent to process this information, for example, by asking you to agree to our use of cookies. Sometimes you might give your consent implicitly, such as when you send us a message by e-mail to which you would reasonably expect us to reply. Except where you have consented to our use of your information for a specific purpose, we do not use your information in any way that would identify you personally. We may aggregate it in a general way and use it to provide class information, for example to monitor the performance of a particular page on our website. If you have given us explicit permission to do so, we may from time to time pass your name and contact information to selected associates whom we consider may provide services or products you would find useful. We continue to process your information on this basis until you withdraw your consent or it can be reasonably assumed that your consent no longer exists. You may withdraw your consent at any time by instructing us at [email protected]. However, if you do so, you may not be able to use our website or our services further.

3. Information we process for the purposes of legitimate interests

We may process information on the basis there is a legitimate interest, either to you or to us, of doing so. Where we process your information on this basis, we do after having given careful consideration to:
whether the same objective could be achieved through other means
whether processing (or not processing) might cause you harm
whether you would expect us to process your data, and whether you would, in the round, consider it reasonable to do so
For example, we may process your data on this basis for the purposes of:
record-keeping for the proper and necessary administration of our business
responding to unsolicited communication from you to which we believe you would expect a response
protecting and asserting the legal rights of any party
insuring against or obtaining professional advice that is required to manage business risk
protecting your interests where we believe we have a duty to do so

4. Information we process because we have a legal obligation

We are subject to the law like everyone else. Sometimes, we must process your information in order to comply with a statutory obligation. For example, we may be required to give information to legal authorities if they so request or if they have the proper authorisation such as a search warrant or court order. This may include your personal information.

Specific uses of information you provide to us

5. Information provided on the understanding that it will be shared with a third party

Our website allows you to post information with a view to that information being read, copied, downloaded, or used by other people. Examples include:
posting a message our forum
tagging an image
clicking on an icon next to another visitor’s message to convey your agreement, disagreement or thanks
In posting personal information, it is up to you to satisfy yourself about the privacy level of every person who might use it. We do not specifically use this information except to allow it to be displayed or shared. We do store it, and we reserve a right to use it in the future in any way we decide. Once your information enters the public domain, we have no control over what any individual third party may do with it. We accept no responsibility for their actions at any time. Provided your request is reasonable and there is no legal basis for us to retain it, then at our discretion we may agree to your request to delete personal information that you have posted. You can make a request by contacting us at [email protected]

6. Complaints regarding content on our website

Our website is a publishing medium. Anyone may register and then publish information about himself, herself or some other person. We do not moderate or control what is posted. If you complain about any of the content on our website, we shall investigate your complaint. If we feel it is justified or if we believe the law requires us to do so, we shall remove the content while we investigate. Free speech is a fundamental right, so we have to make a judgment as to whose right will be obstructed: yours, or that of the person who posted the content that offends you. If we think your complaint is vexatious or without any basis, we shall not correspond with you about it.

7. Information relating to your method of payment

Payment information is never taken by us or transferred to us either through our website or otherwise. Our employees and contractors never have access to it. At the point of payment, you are transferred to a secure page on the website of SagePay or PayPal or some other reputable payment service provider. That page may be branded to look like a page on our website, but it is not controlled by us.

8. Sending a message to our support team

When you contact us, whether by telephone, through our website or by e-mail, we collect the data you have given to us in order to reply with the information you need. We record your request and our reply in order to increase the efficiency of our business. We keep personally identifiable information associated with your message, such as your name and email address so as to be able to track our communications with you to provide a high-quality service.

9. Complaining

When we receive a complaint, we record all the information you have given to us. We use that information to resolve your complaint. If your complaint reasonably requires us to contact some other person, we may decide to give to that other person some of the information contained in your complaint. We do this as infrequently as possible, but it is a matter for our sole discretion as to whether we do give information, and if we do, what that information is. We may also compile statistics showing information obtained from this source to assess the level of service we provide, but not in a way that could identify you or any other person.

10. Affiliate and business partner information

This is information given to us by you in your capacity as an affiliate of us or as a business partner. It allows us to recognise visitors that you have referred to us, and to credit to you commission due for such referrals. It also includes information that allows us to transfer commission to you. The information is not used for any other purpose. We undertake to preserve the confidentiality of the information and of the terms of our relationship. We expect any affiliate or partner to agree to reciprocate this policy.

Use of information we collect through automated systems when you visit our website

11. Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer’s hard drive by your web browser when you visit any website. They allow information gathered on one web page to be stored until it is needed for use on another, allowing a website to provide you with a personalised experience and the website owner with statistics about how you use the website so that it can be improved. Some cookies may last for a defined period of time, such as one day or until you close your browser. Others last indefinitely. Your web browser should allow you to delete any you choose. It also should allow you to prevent or limit their use. Our website uses cookies. They are placed by software that operates on our servers, and by software operated by third parties whose services we use. When you first visit our website, we ask you whether you wish us to use cookies. If you choose not to accept them, we shall not use them for your visit except to record that you have not consented to their use for any other purpose. If you choose not to use cookies or you prevent their use through your browser settings, you will not be able to use all the functionality of our website. We use cookies in the following ways:
to track how you use our website
to record whether you have seen specific messages we display on our website
to keep you signed in our site
to record your answers to surveys and questionnaires on our site while you complete them
to record the conversation thread during a live chat with our support team
We provide more information about the cookies we use in our cookie policy.

12. Personal identifiers from your browsing activity

Requests by your web browser to our servers for web pages and other content on our website are recorded. We record information such as your geographical location, your Internet service provider and your IP address. We also record information about the software you are using to browse our website, such as the type of computer or device and the screen resolution. We use this information in aggregate to assess the popularity of the webpages on our website and how we perform in providing content to you. If combined with other information we know about you from previous visits, the data possibly could be used to identify you personally, even if you are not signed in to our website.

13. Our use of re-marketing

Re-marketing involves placing a cookie on your computer when you browse our website in order to be able to serve to you an advert for our products or services when you visit some other website. We may use a third party to provide us with re-marketing services from time to time. If so, then if you have consented to our use of cookies, you may see advertisements for our products and services on other websites.

Disclosure and sharing of your information

14. Information we obtain from third parties

Although we do not disclose your personal information to any third party (except as set out in this notice), we sometimes receive data that is indirectly made up from your personal information from third parties whose services we use. No such information is personally identifiable to you.

15. Third party advertising on our website

Third parties may advertise on our website. In doing so, those parties, their agents or other companies working for them may use technology that automatically collects information about you when their advertisement is displayed on our website. They may also use other technology such as cookies or JavaScript to personalise the content of, and to measure the performance of their adverts. We do not have control over these technologies or the data that these parties obtain. Accordingly, this privacy notice does not cover the information practices of these third parties.

16. Credit reference

To assist in combating fraud, we share information with credit reference agencies, so far as it relates to clients or customers who instruct their credit card issuer to cancel payment to us without having first provided an acceptable reason to us and given us the opportunity to refund their money.

17. Data may be processed outside the European Union

Our websites are hosted in the UK. We may also use outsourced services in countries outside the European Union from time to time in other aspects of our business. Accordingly data obtained within the UK or any other country could be processed outside the European Union. For example, some of the software our website uses may have been developed in the United States of America or in Australia.
Access to your own information

18. Access to your personal information

  • At any time you may review or update personally identifiable information that we hold about you, by signing in to your account on our website.
  • To obtain a copy of any information that is not provided on our website you may send us a request at [email protected] .
  • After receiving the request, we will tell you when we expect to provide you with the information, and whether we require any fee for providing it to you.

19. Removal of your information

If you wish us to remove personally identifiable information from our website, you may contact us at [email protected]. This may limit the service we can provide to you.

20. Verification of your information

When we receive any request to access, edit or delete personal identifiable information we shall first take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting you access or otherwise taking any action. This is important to safeguard your information.

Other matters

21. Use of site by children

  • We do not sell products or provide services for purchase by children, nor do we market to children.
  • If you are under 18, you may use our website only with consent from a parent or guardian.
  • We collect data about all users of and visitors to these areas regardless of age, and we anticipate that some of those users and visitors will be children.
  • Such child users and visitors will inevitably visit other parts of the site and will be subject to whatever on-site marketing they find, wherever they visit.

22. How you can complain

  • If you are not happy with our privacy policy or if have any complaint then you should tell us by email. Our address is [email protected] .
  • If a dispute is not settled then we hope you will agree to attempt to resolve it by engaging in good faith with us in a process of mediation or arbitration.
  • If you are in any way dissatisfied about how we process your personal information, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. This can be done at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/

23. Retention period for personal data

Except as otherwise mentioned in this privacy notice, we keep your personal information only for as long as required by us:
to provide you with the services you have requested;
to comply with other law, including for the period demanded by our tax authorities;
to support a claim or defence in court.

24. Compliance with the law

Our privacy policy has been compiled so as to comply with the law of every country or legal jurisdiction in which we aim to do business. If you think it fails to satisfy the law of your jurisdiction, we should like to hear from you. However, ultimately it is your choice as to whether you wish to use our website.

25. Review of this privacy policy

We may update this privacy notice from time to time as necessary. The terms that apply to you are those posted here on our website on the day you use our website. We advise you to print a copy for your records. If you have any question regarding our privacy policy, please contact us.

Cookies Policy

We use a system of classifying the different types of cookies which we use on the Website, or which may be used by third parties through our websites. The classification was developed by the International Chamber of Commerce UK and explains more about which cookies we use, why we use them, and the functionality you will lose if you decide you don’t want to have them on your device. 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.

How long are cookies stored for?

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 and www.youronlinechoices.eu.

Cookies used on the Website

A list of all the cookies used on the Website by category is set out below.

Strictly necessary cookies

These cookies enable services you have specifically asked for. These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around the Website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the Website.

Performance cookies

These cookies collect anonymous information on the pages visited. By using the Website, you agree that we can place these types of cookies on your device. These cookies collect information about how visitors use the Website, for instance which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. These cookies don’t collect information that identifies a visitor. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It is only used to improve how the Website works.

Functionality cookies

These cookies remember choices you make to improve your experience. By using the Website, you agree that we can place these types of cookies on your device. These cookies allow the Website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to text size, fonts and other parts of web pages that you can customise. They may also be used to provide services you have asked for such as watching a video or commenting on a blog. The information these cookies collect may be anonymised and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.

Third party cookies

These cookies allow third parties to track the success of their application or customise the application for you. Because of how cookies work we cannot access these cookies, nor can the third parties access the data in cookies used on our site. For example, if you choose to ‘share’ content through Twitter or other social networks you might be sent cookies from these websites. We don’t control the setting of these cookies, so please check those websites for more information about their cookies and how to manage them.