Terms and Conditions

Last Updated:

[13/09/2024]

At Merchant-Web / Merchant Services, we are committed to safeguarding the privacy and personal data of visitors to our website, www.merchant-web.co.uk (the “Site”), in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information, particularly regarding the use of cookies for Google Analytics.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of information when you use our website:

Personal Data: This includes any data that can identify you as an individual, such as your name and email address, only if you voluntarily provide this information through forms (e.g., when you contact us).
Usage Data: We collect information on how you interact with our website, such as your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, and the time spent on each page. This data is collected via Google Analytics to help us understand website performance and improve the user experience.
Cookies: Cookies are small files that are placed on your device when you visit the website. We use cookies for Google Analytics to gather anonymous data on site traffic and user behavior. Cookies do not store personally identifiable information.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information in the following ways:

Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to collect and analyze anonymized data about website usage, such as page views, session duration, and traffic sources. This helps us to improve the functionality and content of the website.
Responding to Inquiries: If you contact us via the website, we will use your personal data to respond to your inquiries or requests.
Legal Compliance: We may process your data to comply with legal obligations or to protect your vital interests.

3. Legal Basis for Processing Data

Under GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases to process your personal data:

Consent: We will collect and process your personal data (e.g., name, email address) only with your explicit consent, particularly when you submit a contact form.
Legitimate Interests: We may process anonymized usage data to improve the website’s functionality and performance. We also use this data for analytics purposes.

4. Cookies and Google Analytics

When you visit our website, we may place cookies on your device to collect data for Google Analytics. The information collected by these cookies is anonymized and used solely for statistical purposes.

Types of Cookies We Use:

Google Analytics Cookies: These cookies track user behavior on our website (e.g., pages visited, time spent on the site) to help us analyze and improve website performance.

Managing Cookies: You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings at any time. However, disabling cookies may affect your experience on the site. You can also opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

5. How We Protect Your Information

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, disclosure, or misuse. All data is stored securely, and we limit access to authorized personnel only.

However, while we strive to protect your personal data, please be aware that no security measures are completely foolproof.

6. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell or share your personal data with third parties, except in the following circumstances:

Service Providers: We may share data with trusted third parties, such as Google, solely for the purpose of providing analytics and improving our website.
Legal Obligations: We may disclose your data if required to do so by law or to comply with legal processes.

7. Your Data Rights

As a user based in the UK or EU, you have the following rights under GDPR:

Right to Access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to Rectification: You can request corrections to any inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
Right to Erasure: You can request the deletion of your personal data, subject to certain conditions.
Right to Restrict Processing: You can ask us to limit how we process your personal data in certain circumstances.
Right to Data Portability: You can request your personal data in a structured, commonly used format to be transferred to another controller.
Right to Object: You can object to our processing of your personal data in certain situations, such as direct marketing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at merchantservices.stevenson@gmail.com.

8. Retention of Data

We will retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy or as required by law. Usage data collected by Google Analytics is retained for a period of [insert period, e.g., 26 months], after which it is automatically deleted.

9. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites. Please review the privacy policies of those websites before providing any personal information.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We encourage you to review this page periodically for any updates. The date of the latest revision will always be noted at the top.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our use of your personal data, please contact us at:

Email: merchantservices.stevenson@gmail.com

Phone: 44 7394542901