Introduction

This Privacy Notice explains in detail the types of personal data we may collect about you when you interact with us. It also explains how we’ll store and handle that data, and keep it safe.

We know that there’s a lot of information here, but we want you to be fully informed about your rights, and how ABWAK uses your data.

We hope the following sections will answer any questions you have but if not, please do get in touch with us.

It’s likely that we’ll need to update this Privacy Notice from time to time. We’ll notify you of any significant changes, but you’re welcome to come back and check it whenever you wish.

Explaining the legal bases we rely on

The law on data protection sets out a number of different reasons for which a company may collect and process your personal data, including:

Consent

In specific situations, we can collect and process your data with your consent.

For example, when you tick a box to receive email newsletters.

When collecting your personal data, we’ll always make clear to you which data is necessary in connection with a particular service.

Contractual obligations

In certain circumstances, we need your personal data to comply with our contractual obligations.

For example, if you order an item from us for home delivery, we’ll collect your address details to deliver your purchase, and pass them to our courier.

Legal compliance

If the law requires us to, we may need to collect and process your data. 

For example, we can pass on details of people involved in fraud or other criminal activity affecting ABWAK to law enforcement.

Legitimate interest

In specific situations, we require your data to pursue our legitimate interests in a way which might reasonably be expected as part of running our business and which does not materially impact your rights, freedom or interests.

When do we collect your personal data?

  • When you visit our website, and use your account to buy products and services, or redeem vouchers from ABWAK online.
  • When you make an online purchase and check out as a guest (in which case we just collect transaction-based data).
  • When you create an account with us.
  • When you engage with us on social media.
  • When you contact us by any means with queries, complaints etc.
  • When you enter prize draws or competitions.
  • When you book to attend an event, for example a Workshop.
  • When you choose to complete any surveys we send you.
  • When you comment on or review our products and services.
  • Any individual may access personal data related to them, including opinions. So if your comment or review includes information about an affiliate who provided that service, it may be passed on to them if requested.
  • When you fill in any forms.

What sort of personal data do we collect?

If you have a web account with us: your name, date of birth, billing/delivery address, orders and receipts and email. For your security, we’ll also keep an encrypted record of your login password.

Details of your interactions with us online.

For example, we collect details of any complaints or comments you make, details of purchases you made, voucher redemptions, web pages within our site you visit and how and when you contact us.

Details of your shopping preferences.

For example,  when you redeem our vouchers.

Details of your visits to our website.

  • Information gathered by the use of cookies in your web browser. Learn more about how we use cookies and similar technologies.
  • Payment card information.

Your comments and product reviews.

To deliver the best possible web experience, we collect technical information about your internet connection and browser as well as the country where your computer is located, the web pages viewed during your visit and any search terms you entered. Learn more about this.

Your social media username, if you interact with us through those channels, to help us respond to your comments, questions or feedback.

How and why do we use your personal data?

We want to give you the best possible customer experience. One way to achieve that is to get the richest picture we can of who you are by combining the data we have about you.

We then use this to offer you promotions, products and services that are most likely to interest you.

The data privacy law allows this as part of our legitimate interest in understanding our customers and providing the highest levels of service.

Of course, if you wish to change how we use your data, you’ll find details in the ‘What are my rights?’ section below.

Remember, if you choose not to share your personal data with us, or refuse certain contact permissions, we might not be able to provide some services you’ve asked for.

For example, if you’ve asked us to let you know when an item comes back into stock, we can’t do that if you’ve withdrawn your general consent to hear from us.

Combining your data for personalised direct marketing

We want to bring you offers and promotions that are most relevant to your interests at particular times.

To help us form a better, overall understanding of you as a customer, we combine your personal data gathered across the Website as described above, for example your shopping history for merchandise as well as events.

How we protect your personal data?

We know how much data security matters to all our customers. With this in mind we will treat your data with the utmost care and take all appropriate steps to protect it.

We secure access to all transactional areas of our websites and apps using ‘https’ technology.

Access to your personal data is password-protected, and sensitive data (such as payment card information) is secured by SSL encryption.

How long will we keep your personal data?

Whenever we collect or process your personal data, we’ll only keep it for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.

At the end of that retention period, your data will be deleted completely.

Who do we share your personal data with?

  • For fraud management, we may share information about fraudulent or potentially fraudulent activity in our Website or systems. This may include sharing data about individuals with law enforcement bodies.
  • We may also be required to disclose your personal data to the police or other enforcement, regulatory or Government body, in your country of origin or elsewhere, upon a valid request to do so. These requests are assessed on a case-by-case basis and take the privacy of our customers into consideration.

Where your personal data may be processed?

Sometimes we will need to share your personal data with third parties and suppliers outside the European Economic Area (EEA), such as Australia or the USA.

International orders

If you are based outside the UK and place an order with us, we will store the personal data that we collect from you in the UK.

Protecting your data outside the EEA

The EEA includes all EU Member countries as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. We may transfer personal data that we collect from you to third-party data processors in countries that are outside the EEA.

For example, this might be required in order to fulfil your order, process your payment details or provide support services.

If we do this, we have procedures in place to ensure your data receives the same protection as if it were being processed inside the EEA.

What are your rights over your personal data?

An overview of your different rights

You have the right to request:

  • Access to the personal data we hold about you, free of charge in most cases.
  • The correction of your personal data when incorrect, out of date or incomplete.
  • For example, when you withdraw consent, or object and we have no legitimate overriding interest, or once the purpose for which we hold the data has come to an end.
  • That we stop using your personal data for direct marketing (either through specific channels, or all channels).
  • That we stop any consent-based processing of your personal data after you withdraw that consent.
  • Review by a Partner of any decision made based solely on automatic processing of your data (i.e. where no human has yet reviewed the outcome and criteria for the decision).

You have the right to request a copy of any information about you that we hold at any time, and also to have that information corrected if it is inaccurate. To ask for your information, please contact membership@abwak.org. To ask for your information to be amended, please login and update your online account.

If we choose not to action your request we will explain to you the reasons for our refusal.

Your right to withdraw consent

Whenever you have given us your consent to use your personal data, you have the right to change your mind at any time and withdraw that consent.

Where we rely on our legitimate interest

In cases where we are processing your personal data on the basis of our legitimate interest, you can ask us to stop for reasons connected to your individual situation. We must then do so unless we believe we have a legitimate overriding reason to continue processing your personal data.

Direct marketing

You have the right to stop the use of your personal data for direct marketing activity through all channels, or selected channels. We must always comply with your request.

Checking your identity

To protect the confidentiality of your information, we will ask you to verify your identity before proceeding with any request you make under this Privacy Notice. If you have authorised a third party to submit a request on your behalf, we will ask them to prove they have your permission to act.

How can you stop the use of your personal data for direct marketing?

There are several ways you can stop direct marketing communications from us:

  • Click the ‘unsubscribe’ link in any email communication that we send you. We will then stop any further emails from that particular division.
  • Contact membership@abwak.org directly and request removal from there.

Please note that you may continue to receive communications for a short period after changing your preferences while our systems are fully updated.

Contacting the Regulator

If you feel that your data has not been handled correctly, or you are unhappy with our response to any requests you have made to us regarding the use of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

You can contact them by calling 0303 123 1113.
Or go online to www.ico.org.uk/concerns (opens in a new window; please note we can’t be responsible for the content of external websites)

If you are based outside the UK, you have the right to lodge your complaint with the relevant data protection regulator in your country of residence. Details can be found in Section 16.

If you live outside the UK

For all non-UK customers

By using our services or providing your personal data to us, you expressly consent to the processing of your personal data by us or on our behalf. Of course, you still have the right to ask us not to process your data in certain ways, and if you do so, we will respect your wishes.

Sometimes we’ll need to transfer your personal data between countries to enable us to supply the goods or services you’ve requested. In the ordinary course of business, we may transfer your personal data from your country of residence to ourselves located in the UK.

By dealing with us, you are giving your consent to this overseas use, transfer and disclosure of your personal data outside your country of residence for our ordinary business purposes.

This may occur because our information technology storage facilities and servers are located outside your country of residence, and could include storage of your personal data on servers in the UK.

We’ll ensure that reasonable steps are taken to prevent third parties outside your country of residence using your personal data in any way that’s not set out in this Privacy Notice. We’ll also make sure we adequately protect the confidentiality and privacy of your personal data.

Australia

For the purposes of this Privacy Notice, ‘personal data’ means any information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether or not the information or opinion is true, and whether or not the information or opinion is recorded in a material form.

If you are in Australia you may submit any questions, comments or complaints to our UK-based Data Protection Officer who will come back to you within 30 days.

If you are contacting us to complain about an alleged breach of this Privacy Notice or our legal privacy obligations, please provide us with as much detail as possible in relation to your complaint.  

We will take every privacy complaint seriously and assess it with the aim of resolving all issues quickly and efficiently.  We’d be grateful for your cooperation with us during this process by providing us with any relevant information that we made need.

If we have not come back to you within 30 days, or you are not happy with the response that you’ve received, you may submit a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. (opens in a new window; please note we can’t be responsible for the content of external websites.)

We are committed to keeping your personal information secure and will take all reasonable precautions to protect it from loss, misuse or unauthorised access or alteration. However, except to the extent liability cannot be excluded due to the operation of statute, we exclude all liability (including in negligence) for the consequences of any unauthorised access to, disclosure of, misuse of or loss or corruption of your personal information.

Nothing in this Privacy Notice restricts, excludes or modifies or purports to restrict, exclude or modify any statutory consumer rights under any applicable law including the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).  

USA

To learn more about our cookies and website ‘track’ and ‘do not track’ practices please see our Cookies Notice.

Canada

As your data may be transferred to third parties outside Canada, local police or other enforcement, regulatory or Government bodies may have access to that data, with or without our knowledge.

The personal data we process may be accessed by administrators within the ABWAK organisation, or by our third-party service providers, who require access for the purposes indicated in this Privacy Notice, or as may be permitted or required by applicable law. The personal data we collect is solely held in the UK.  

If you have any questions, please contact our Data Protection Officer.

If you feel that your data has not been handled correctly, or you are unhappy with our response to any requests you have made to us regarding the use of your personal information, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, (opens in a new window; please note we can’t be responsible for the content of external websites) or in some Canadian provinces, your local Privacy Commissioner.

South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Qatar

Terms used in this Privacy Notice shall have the meanings assigned to them by the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (also known as the PDPA).  

By placing an order with us, opening an account, browsing our website and/or agreeing to receive digital direct marketing communications, you agree that we may process your personal data as described in this Privacy Notice and our Cookies Notice, including for analytics and research into website use.

Hong Kong

When you agree to receive direct marketing emails from us, we’ll send you promotions on products we sell.

If you are in Hong Kong you may submit a complaint to our UK-based Data Protection Officer who will come back to you within 30 days. If we have not come back to you or you are not happy with the response that you receive, you may submit a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data.

Questions?

We hope this Privacy Notice has been helpful in setting out the way we handle your personal data and your rights to control it.

If you have any questions that haven’t been covered, please contact our Membership Officer who will be pleased to help you: