Privacy Policy

Published October 2021– Updated June 2022 

The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd takes your privacy seriously. That is why we will only use your personal information to provide you with the products and services you have requested, as well as to administer your account. We will not sell your information with third-parties unless you grant us explicit permission to do so, and we will never use your personal data for any reason other than the reasons described within this policy.

The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd may update this policy from time to time. When we change the policy in a substantial way we will post a notice on our website, along with the latest version.

About our privacy policy

Our privacy policy outlines your relationship with our company and explains in detail how we use the information that you provide us with.
This privacy policy applies to information collected through our website and, also information collected offline.

About The Teapot

The Teapot is the trading name of The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd, which is registered in the United Kingdom and registered with the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office under the Data Protection Act 2018.

The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd is committed to upholding your rights. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about this privacy policy or wish to exercise your rights in relation to your personal data, please contact our data protection Officer Sarah Murphy at The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd.

You can reach us by:

We will process any request within 20 days. Subject Access Requests are normally performed free of charge, but we may need to charge individuals for excessive or unreasonable data requests.

Changing your preferences

If you’d like to change your web, contact or marketing preferences, you can do so at any time. Simply contact us at customer.services@theteapot.co.uk to request the necessary amendments.

How we do business

The Teapot is committed to upholding and maintaining your personal rights. We operate our business in-line with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and observe your rights to change or withdraw your opt-in options at any time. As part of our ongoing commitment to uphold your rights, The Teapot will also extend advice on how you can issue formal complaints to relevant authorities, such as the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Sensitive data

The Teapot does not collect any sensitive data about you. Sensitive data refers to (but is not limited to) information about your race or ethnic background, religious or political affiliations, trade union affiliations, sexual orientation, criminal background or health background.

Who our privacy policy applies to:

This privacy policy has been developed to inform users of The Teapot how we use their data. The Teapot is an online retailer of leaf teas and accessories, and we need to process the data of individuals to offer our products and/or services. Bearing that in mind, our privacy policy applies to any, and all individuals registered with us as a user, customer, administrator or in any other capacity.

What information this policy applies to

There is a lawful basis for processing your data, and this section of our privacy policy outlines how this applies to the personal information you provide us with or allow us to collect.

The information this policy applies to includes information that you:

  • Provide as part of any registration process
  • Provide as part of any campaign creation activity
  • Provide in the form of numerical data, metadata or communications
  • Give us as part of our ongoing relationship 

This policy also applies to information that we:

  • Collect relating to how you interact with our website
  • Must process to complete purchases and other transactions

Essential information we collect 

We collect information from you when you register on our site, place an order, subscribe to our newsletter or fill out a form.
When ordering or registering on our site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your: name, e-mail address, mailing address, phone number or credit card information. You may, however, visit our site anonymously. 

It is essential for us to capture some information about your device, such as your IP address and information related to your visit when you browse our store. For example, this might include time-stamp, the last page or product you visited, the indication that you logged in.  We do that in order to: 

● remember who you are after you log in so that you do not need to authenticate at each click;
● monitor if our website is running with the high performance we are dedicated to providing; 
● let you browse between products without having to start back from the home page at each click;
● remember if you put something in your shopping cart before you decide to checkout; and 
● control that your data is processed securely.

What do we use your information for?

Any of the information we collect from you may be used in one of the following ways:

  • To personalize your experience (your information helps us to better respond to your individual needs)
  • To improve our website (we continually strive to improve our website offerings based on the information and feedback we receive from you)
  • To improve customer service (your information helps us to more effectively respond to your customer service requests and support needs)
  • To process transactions: Your information, whether public or private, will not be sold, exchanged, transferred, or given to any other company for any reason whatsoever, without your consent, other than for the express purpose of delivering the purchased product or service requested.
  • To send periodic emails. The email address you provide for order processing, will only be used to send you information and updates pertaining to your order, unless you have opted in to receive our newsletter. Note: If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, we include detailed unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of each email.

Order information you expressly provide 

If you buy something from our store, we will need more specific information about you. To fully process your order and ship the merchandise you selected, we need your personal data such as your first and last name, your email address and your shipping and billing address. We also use your contact and order information to send you communication related to the processing of your order. We will ask you to provide this information in our “checkout page” before letting you finalize your purchase with the payment.

You can sign up for an account if you’d like. This will make us happy because it confirms your interest in our store. It will also be easier for you as we will remember your information and, when you decide to buy our products, you do not have to provide all of your information over again-- you just have to log-in.  

Before registering your account, we will ask you to expressly provide your consent to this privacy policy.   Only if you give us your consent, we will open your account.  We give you the possibility to easily withdraw your consent and delete your account.  Read on for further details.

How we use Cookies

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be put on your computer's hard drive. Once you consent the file is added and the cookie helps to analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular website. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information relating to your preferences.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website so we can tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical insight purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

Cookies help us provide you with a better website experience, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie does not gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you have agreed to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may impact how you experience our website and prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Links to External Websites

Our website sometimes contain links to other websites of interest, on our blog posts for example. However, once you use these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. We cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not covered by this privacy statement. Therefore, you should use caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

Consent

Please note that when you submit personal data on our website, you are giving The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd your explicit consent that we can use that data in line with our privacy policy.

Opting-out

After giving The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd your consent, you are free to amend your consent or withdraw your consent at any time. You have the right to object to the processing of your data. To opt-out, change your preferences or revoke your consent, simply contact us by emailing sarah@theteapot.co.uk

Data processing and storage

The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd collects and stores data in the UK. We will store your data for a period of seven years after your last recorded login attempt unless otherwise noted and explicitly stated.

The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd stores data relating to transactions, payments and orders for a period of up to seven years. This period may be extended under certain circumstances as part of our ongoing commitment to comply with UK and international law.

We use carefully selected and recognised third-parties to help us take payments, provide commerce services and manage company accounts. Some of these third-parties may operate outside the European Union.

Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data

The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd may process your data based on more than one legal ground.

Circumstances under which we may be required to process your data under more than one legal ground may include:

Reason

Data type

Legal basis

Customer registration

Identity and contact information

To carry out a contract we’ve made with you

Processing and/or delivering your order

Identity, contact information, financial information, financial and transactional data

To carry out a contract we’ve made with you and to exercise our legitimate interests to recover debts owed

To manage our customer relationship with you

Identity, contact information, marketing and communications preferences

To carry out a contract we’ve made with you, to comply with legal obligations and to exercise our legitimate interests to keep our records updated

Our Company Obligations

As a data controller, The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd is legally responsible for the data you provide us with. In honouring that responsibility, we pledge to uphold our commitments under GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

We will only ever use your data:

  • In ways that are both fair and legal
  • As described within this policy
  • In ways that are necessary for the purposes described

In addition, The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd processes the personal data you submit to us or we collect as a data processor. As part of this role, The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd takes all necessary precautions to secure the personal data we collect, process and store.

We may occasionally use the data you provide us with for marketing, relationship management or account management activities. These activities are designed to ensure you have adequate information about other products and/or services we offer, that we have reason to believe you may be interested in. You have the right to opt-out of these activities at any time.

Why Data is Processed

The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd only uses personal data for the reasons in which we have collected. We will only ever use your personal data for another reason if we reasonably consider another purpose in which to use that data which is compatible with the original reason in which the data was collected.

If we are required to make such a decision, we will always notify you. We may also at times be required by law to process your personal data without your knowledge.

To find out more about the reasoning behind any decision The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd has made to process your data for a new purpose, get in touch.

Marketing and Communications

You may receive marketing communications from The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd, if you have:

  • Requested information from us
  • Purchased goods or services from us
  • Provided us with explicit consent for us to send you marketing communications
  • Not opted out of receiving marketing communications

Please note that if you opt out of receiving marketing communications from The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd, your personal data may still be retained as it relates to the provision or purchase of a product and/or service, warranty registration or other transactions.

Partial Purchases

If you have started to buy one of our products, but have not completed the purchase, you may have provided partial information, such as your email. In that case, we might send you an email to remind you about your interest. If you are not comfortable in receiving further emails of this kind, we will give you a simple opportunity to opt-out. Your privacy means a lot to us, and we will stop sending you these communications right away.

Reviews

If you have completed a purchase, we will send you an email to ask you to review the product you bought. We want to be sure that whether you like your purchase or have a complaint, you can share your opinion with other customers.

Data recipients

The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd may be required to share your personal data with carefully selected third-parties for the identified processing purposes. These third parties may include:

A.     IT or system administration services providers

B.     Professionals providing banking, legal, accounting, consultancy and/or insurance services.

C.     Government regulators based in the United Kingdom and other relevant jurisdictions

D.    HM Revenue & Customs

E.     BigCommerce – our Ecommerce platform and PayPal our payment gateway provider

F.     Any existing or future third parties to which The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd may sell, transfer or merge aspects of our business or assets

All third parties to which we transfer data are required to respect your personal data, keep it secure and process it only for the specified purposes for which it has been collected. Third parties will only ever receive or process your data with our explicit permission.

The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd never shares your personal data with third-parties unless those parties have been explicitly mentioned within our privacy statement.

Individual Rights

The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd respects your rights. We fully observe your right to access your personal data, to object to the processing of personal data, or to erase, restrict, rectify or port your personal data. Please send relevant requests to our data protection officer - see top of page for contact details.

Information Security

The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd has implemented a series of security measures to make sure that your personal data is protected from accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure. The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd limits access to your data only to those employees, agents, contractors or other third parties with a legitimate reason to access that information. Those individuals or organisations will only ever process or access your personal data upon our explicit instructions. They are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

As part of our ongoing commitment to GDPR, The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd will report any security breaches or attempted breaches to the relevant authorities within 24 hours. We will subsequently contact all those affected by the breach within 72 hours of its occurrence.

We use external Payment Gateways (currently PayPal) for all card payments, therefore absolutely no card information is stored by us. You can review the PayPal privacy policy at www.paypal.com. We will share information with PayPal only to the extent necessary for the purposes of processing payments you make via our website and dealing with complaints and queries relating to such payments.

We use an external provider to run our store – BigCommerce. BigCommerce is based in the US and is a participant in the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework and committed to providing best-in-class service and data protection. You can check its participation in the Privacy Shield on the official site of The International Trade Administration (ITA), U.S. Department of Commerce.

Legitimate interests

As part of the Data Protection Act 2018, The Teapot Leaf Teas Ltd observes the right to share selected information with third-parties that use data for non-marketing purposes. This could include (but is not limited to) organisations that provide credit assessments, identification services and fraud prevention activities.

Complaints

If you are not happy with how your personal data has been processed, you should contact Sarah Murphy in the first instance by using the contact details listed above. If Sarah Murphy is unable to satisfy your concerns, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner’s Office for a resolution.

You can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at the following address:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

www.ico.org.uk