Privacy Policy

How we collect, use and protect your information

This privacy policy explains how Blackbeard Books Ltd (company number 04381909) collects, uses, and protects your personal data when you use this website. This policy complies with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Blackbeard Books Ltd may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be available on this page.

1. Data Controller

The data controller responsible for your personal data is Blackbeard Books Ltd, registered at 12 Clyde Terrace, Hertford, SG13 7JP. You can contact us at info@blackbeardbooks.co.uk.

2. What Data We Collect

We may collect the following personal data:

  • Trade account registration: name, email address, phone number, business name, business address and trade account details
  • Contact form submissions: name, email address and your message
  • Orders: items ordered, delivery address and order history
  • Technical data: IP address, browser type and pages visited (collected automatically by our hosting provider)

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process your personal data under the following lawful bases:

  • Contract: to process your trade account application, fulfil orders and manage your account
  • Legitimate interest: to respond to your enquiries and to improve our website and services
  • Legal obligation: to keep financial records as required by UK law

4. How We Use Your Data

  • To process trade account applications and orders
  • To respond to enquiries submitted through our contact form
  • To keep business records for tax and accounting purposes
  • To improve our website and services

We do not sell or share your personal data with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

5. Data Processors

We use the following third-party services to operate this website. Each acts as a data processor on our behalf:

6. Data Retention

  • Trade account and order records: retained for 6 years to comply with UK tax and accounting requirements
  • Contact form submissions: retained for up to 12 months, then deleted
  • Server logs: retained by our hosting provider in accordance with their data retention policy (typically 30 days)

7. Cookies and Analytics

We use Google Analytics in cookieless mode to understand how visitors use this website. This collects anonymous, aggregated data such as pages visited, traffic sources and device type. No cookies are set by Google Analytics on this website, no personal data is collected, and individual visitors cannot be identified or tracked across sessions.

8. Security

We take appropriate measures to protect your personal data. All connections to this website use HTTPS encryption. We do not store passwords in plain text or card details.

9. Your Rights

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

  • Right of access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
  • Right to rectification: ask us to correct any inaccurate data
  • Right to erasure: ask us to delete your personal data where there is no ongoing reason for us to keep it
  • Right to restrict processing: ask us to limit how we use your data
  • Right to data portability: request your data in a machine-readable format
  • Right to object: object to our processing of your data where we rely on legitimate interest

To exercise any of these rights, email us at info@blackbeardbooks.co.uk. We will respond within one month.

10. Complaints

If you are not satisfied with how we handle your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO): ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.

11. Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of any website you visit.

12. Contact

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or your personal data, contact us at info@blackbeardbooks.co.uk.