At Vetsmiths we are committed to protecting and preserving the privacy of our clients when visiting our premises at 14 West Borough, Wimborne BH21 1NF or when communicating electronically with us.
This policy (together with our Terms and Conditions) explains when and why we collect personal information from you, how we use it, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others and how we keep it secure. By engaging with us to provide veterinary services or visiting our website you are accepting and consenting to our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.
We confirm that we will keep any information supplied on secure servers and will comply fully with all applicable UK Data Protection legislation and regulations in force from time to time. Please note that this Policy may be up-dated as and when necessary, so please check back occasionally to ensure that you’re happy with any changes. By using our website, you agree to be bound by this Policy.
Any questions regarding this Policy and our privacy practices should be sent by email to hello@vetsmiths.co.uk.
How do we collect information from you?
We obtain information about you when you use our website, eg when you contact us about our services, you complete a form via our website, if you book an appointment via our site or you sign up to receive email newsletters from us. This may also include corresponding with us by phone or face to face at our premises. This includes information you provide when you engage us to provide the services described in our Terms and Conditions, register to use our website, subscribe to our services, participate in discussion groups or other social media functions on our website, entering competitions, promotions or surveys and if you report a problem with our website.
Information categories we may use
We may collect and process certain data and information relating to you and your use of this site which could include your name, address, email, phone number / mobile number, relevant financial information, including bank details and pet insurance information, personal description, photographs, details regarding your pet/s.
IP Addresses
Details of visits to our website and the pages and resources that are accessed, including but not limited to, traffic data, location data and other communication data that may assist us in understanding how visitors use our site. This may also include the resources that you access, and information about where you are on the internet including the domain type, IP address and URL that you came from. This information may be collected and used for internal research purposes only and to improve our customer service.
How we use your personal information
We process your data to provide the services and products defined in our Terms and Conditions. Our legal basis for processing this data falls into one of the following categories:
- To enable us to form a contract with you to provide services
- To serve our legitimate business interests – such as processing a payment or sending you a vaccine or preventative health treatment reminder
- Where we have your consent to do so
Working with third parties
We may share the information about you from time-to-time with third parties which could include:
- Payment processors who will retain your data only for the time it takes to process the payment
- Communications partners such as Vetstoria who help us with on-line appointment bookings
- Insurance and health plan providers
- Indemnity providers (Veterinary Defence Service)
- Other professional and legal advisors
- Debt recovery agencies
- Referrals to other vets or specialist clinics and labs or other providers who support us in providing veterinary services to your pet
Where we share your information with third parties, we ensure they only receive the information they need to fulfil their services to us. We have data processing agreements in place which define how they use your data, how to protect it and what to do when our relationship with them is terminated.
We will retain information about you for as long as we have a legitimate business interest to do so. After this your information will be securely destroyed.
Your rights
Under the GDPR you have the following rights over your information:
- To fair processing of your information. We will be clear and transparent about what we do with your information
- To access, correct, update, or request that we stop processing or delete your information. To exercise these rights email us at hello@vetsmiths.co.uk.
Legitimate business interests
Our legitimate business interests with you under GDPR would include:
- Vaccine reminders
- Preventative health reminders
- Appointment reminders
- Health check reminders
- Reviews and surveys
We believe the above are critical for us to provide you and your pet with the best possible healthcare service.
Marketing
- Pet care advice
- Relevant veterinary industry information
- In-house practice up-dates
- Offers and promotions
You have the right to demand access to your personal data
You have the right to demand confirmation that we process your data, receive a copy of your data, and any other information about how and why we process your data.
You have the right to demand that your personal data is corrected
You have the right to request that we amend your personal data if it is incomplete or inaccurate.
You have the right to demand that we delete your personal data
In some circumstances, you have the right to demand that we delete your personal data unless there is a reason for us to continue processing it.
This right applies if we have no further use for your data, if you rescind your consent for processing particular categories of your data, or if you oppose the manner in which we process your data.
You have the right to demand that we limit the processing of your data
You have the right to demand that we limit the processing of personal data we hold about you.
You have the right to oppose our processing of your data
You have the right to oppose our processing of your personal data if our legitimate interests impose on your rights and freedoms in law.
You also have the right to oppose our processing of your data if we are doing it for the purposes of direct marketing.
You have a right to rescind your consent
Where we process your personal data with consent as our legal basis for processing, eg for direct marketing, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. We provide opt-out instructions in our communications.
If you contact us to exercise any of these rights we may ask for information about you to correctly identify you and verify that your request is lawful and valid.
How do I opt out?
You have a choice about whether or not you wish to receive information from us. We will not make contact with you for marketing purposes unless you have previously opted in. If you no longer wish to receive direct marketing communications from us you can change your preferences or completely unsubscribe in one of two ways:
- Click the ‘unsubscribe’ link at the bottom of marketing emails sent to you
- Email hello@vetsmiths.co.uk and we will process your request at the earliest opportunity
If you wish to make a complaint about the collection and processing of your information by Vetsmiths, you can do this via the ICO – www.ico.org.uk/concerns.
Review of this Policy
Our Policy is kept under regular review. This Privacy Policy is V2 dated April 2021.