Privacy Notice

We take your privacy very seriously, inline with GDPR - the new EU directive on General Data Protection Regulation, which comes into force on the 25th May 2018, we have put together this Privacy Notice to explain:

1) what personal information we collect about you and when

2) how we use that information

3) the choices that you have about how we can make use of that information

4) how to access and update your information

If you have any questions regarding ForPaws and GDPR or our Privacy Notice please contact us at [email protected] and we will be happy to answer your queries.

What personal information we collect about you and when

We collect personal information about you in several ways:

1) via our enquiry or booking form on the ForPaws website (www.forpaws.net)

2) via information collected from a client when we meet you in your home to discuss the service you would like ForPaws to provide

3) via email/text/private messenger correspondance, either to our general email address or to a specific member of Team ForPaws

4) via our contact telephone number

5) via our Facebook Page

The information/data we require to be able to provide our services include:

1) Identity Data: this includes your first and last names, an email address or similar identifier

2) Contact Data: this includes your home address/billing address, email and telephone contacts details

3) Client Portal Data: where you are able to manage your own account, you can provide payment details, which are encrypted for your security.

4) Transaction Data: this includes records about services booked, invoicing and payments made by you. These are only accessible to our system administrators.

5) Client Specific Data: relating to the pet/s and any client personal preferences to ensure that our client's bespoke requirements are recorded.

How we use your information

If you contact us via any of the media above, and provide us with your name and contact details, we will use these details to contact you to assist with your enquiry or request.

The following are examples of how we use your information:

1) to provide you with current information regarding the services we offer

2) to process bookings and to allow ForPaws to fulfill obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us

3) to fulfill and record payment transactions, as authorised by you, via a secure encrypted Third Party Payment Processor (STRIPE)

4) to notify you about any changes or updates to the services we provide

5) on occasion to allow ForPaws to carry out customer surveys to enhance your experience

6) to administer our site and for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes

How long do we hold your data for?

Through our Petsitter Plus Database, ForPaws stores your personal information for 10 years.  After this point, ForPaws can delete all of your details, with the exception of contact name, email and service history.  We can only fully delete a client record if it has no financial history. If jobs are currently scheduled for a client, invoices have been raised or receipts posted to a client we are not be able to delete the client record. This is because the client record contains financial information which may be important for accounting purposes.

If a client has not used our services recently, ForPaws can apply an Inactive status to that client profile.

Contact for Marketing Purposes

Twice a year we send out a link to our clients which enables access to a newsletter providing them with information about the services we offer, updates and other news that we feel is relevant. Clients can opt out of receiving this by contacting our administration team at [email protected].  Whilst this newsletter may contain special offers for our clients, the purpose of the newsletter is not marketing, but simply to keep our clients updated with news on ForPaws and of any changes, such as new vehicles, staff or walks.  We no longer send out direct marketing emails to clients.

ForPaws will not pass your details on to third parties for any marketing purposes.

Information Sharing

We only share your information with the ForPaws' directors, employees and sub-contract staff.  All staff have signed a contract which stipulates non-disclosure of client information and data and understand they may only access and use your data in order to fulfill services to you or for clearly outlined business purposes.

We would only disclose your personal information to a third party if required by law.

Third Party Privacy Policies

Our site may, from time to time, contain links to and from other websites.  If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Always check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

Where we store your personal data

The information that we collect from you is processed and stored using Pet Sitter Plus Software.  Pet Sitter Plus utilise the latest in encryption algorithms that offer a high standard of security between device and database.

If you would like to read information on the Online Security they offer users, please refer to https://www.petsitter-plus.com/reliable-secure-technology and www.petsitter-plus.com/security-online.

Through Petsitter Plus Software, if you have elected to set up an automatic payment then these transactions are processed using Stripe.  Stripe have been audited by a PCI (Payment Card Industry)-certified auditor and are certified to PCI Service Provider Level 1.  This is the most stringent level of certification available in the payments industry. To accomplish this, they make use of best-in-class security tools and practices to maintain a high level of security at Stripe.  For more information on the Security Systems that Stripe use, please refer to the Online Security Section of the Stripe website; https://stripe.com/docs/security

We are committed to ensuring that our suppliers have appropriate technical, administrative and physical procedures in place to ensure that your information is protected against loss or misuse.  If there is ever a data breach involving our suppliers, ForPaws UK Ltd. will endeavour to notify you as quickly as possible.

If you chose to send us information via email, we cannot guarantee the security of this information, until it reaches our mailserver, hosted with Intermedia. Intermedia has been independently audited by SOC2 and maintains their own Privacy Policy.  Hosting our email with Intermedia is a more costly solution than other free email options, but it ensures a much higher level of security for our (and your!) email.  Once we have received your information, we will only use it in strict accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Your rights

Changing your information

You have the right at any time to request that we change or amend the information that we hold about you or ask us not to contact you again (assuming you wish to discontinue our services) by emailing us at [email protected].  Alternatively, you can access and update your information via your Client Portal account.

Access to information

You have the right to access information that we hold about you. If you wish to receive a copy of the information that we hold please contact [email protected].

Changes to our Privacy Notice

We reserve the right to monitor and update our Privacy Notice on a frequent basis to check that it accurately reflects how we deal with your information. You should check this page regularly to see the most up to date information.

How to Contact us

If you have any questions, comments or requests regarding this privacy policy please sent them to: [email protected].

What to do if you have a complaint about how ForPaws handles your data

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would of course, however, appreciate the chance to address your concerns before you approach the ICO.