Midsomer Veterinary Centre Privacy Policy

At Midsomer Veterinary Centre, we’re committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Policy explains when and why we collect personal information about people who visit our website, how we use it, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others and how we keep it secure. We may change this Policy from time to time so please check this page occasionally to ensure that you’re happy with any changes. By using our website, you’re agreeing to be bound by this Policy. Any questions regarding this Policy and our privacy practices should be sent by email to enquiries@midsomervets.co.uk or by writing to Midsomer Veterinary Centre, 53 North Road, Midsomer Norton, BANES BA3 2QE. Alternatively, you can telephone 01761 412132.

Who are we?

Midsomer Veterinary Centre Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with number 09057146. Our registered office address is Calyx House, South Road, Taunton TA13DU

How do we collect information from you?

We obtain information about you when you register with the practice, purchase products or services from the practice or use our website (for example, when you complete a contact form). Telephone calls are recorded for training and security purposes. Some of the information we collect may be classed as personal data as defined by UK data protection laws.

What type of information is collected from you?

In providing our services to you, typically we will collect:

• Full or partial contact details including your name and address, email address, landline telephone number, mobile telephone number and IP address
• Information about which pages you visit on our website, including any forms you complete online
• If you have any requirements it may also be necessary to collect details about disability
• Payment card information, should you choose to use this form of payment. We do not store these details.
• Bank account details, if you join our healthcare plan. We will pass these to Easy Direct Debits Ltd for payment processing
• If you choose to connect with us via social media, eg Facebook or Twitter, we may collect your username, your name (including surname) and email address, your gender and your location.
• If you choose to connect with us through PetsApp we may collect your name (including surname), your email address and telephone number. The PetsApp privacy policy can be found at https://petsapp.com/privacy-policy
• Online appointment booking is made via a third party, Vetstoria. The Vetstoria privacy policy can be found at https://www.vetstoria.com/privacy-policy

If you provide us with any personal data relating to any third party (eg information about your spouse or other family members) for particular purposes, by submitting such data to us, you warrant that you have obtained their consent to provide us with their personal data for those purposes.

Website recording and use of ‘cookies’

Like many other websites, the Midsomer Veterinary Centre website uses cookies. ‘Cookies’ are small pieces of information sent by an organisation to your computer and stored on your hard drive to allow that website to recognise you when you visit. They collect statistical data about your browsing actions and patterns and do not identify you as an individual. For example, cookies help us to track which pages you visit on our website. This helps us to improve our website and deliver a better, more personalised service. It is possible to switch off cookies by setting your browser preferences. For more information on how to switch off cookies on your computer, visit our full cookies policy. Turning cookies off may result in a loss of functionality when using our website.

Main Cookies used on our site

Google Analytics These cookies are used to collect information about how visitors use our site. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the site. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited For more information on Google Analytics’ privacy policy visit here – http://www.google.com/analytics/learn/privacy.html Google Maps These are Google Maps third-party cookies, which are unique identifiers to allow traffic analysis to Google Maps.

How is your information used?

We may use your information to:

• Carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into by you and us;
• Seek your views or comments on the services we provide;
• Notify you of changes to our services;
• Send you communications which you have requested and that may be of interest to you.
• Process a job application.

With your consent, we will contact you via email, phone, SMS or post about other related products and services we provide which we think may be of interest to you and of benefit to your pet. We may use your information collected from our website, via cookies or direct input, to personalise future visits to our website and/or to send triggered automated emails to you. We may use your information to meet and comply with any applicable rules, laws or regulations issued by any legal or regulatory body which are binding on us. We review our retention periods for personal information on a regular basis. We are legally required to hold some types of information to fulfil our statutory obligations. We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity, or as long as is set out in any relevant contract you hold with us.

Who has access to your information?

We will not sell or rent your information to third parties. We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes. In the course of providing care for your pet, we may sometimes be required to share your details with third parties – eg your pet insurance company, external laboratories for processing blood or urine samples or to a Direct Debit bureau to process payments for healthcare plan membership. We only share the information that is necessary at the time, and those third parties do not have permission to use your data for anything else. We have a strict contract in place that requires those third parties to keep your information secure. Other than as required to provide care to your pet, or as may be required by law, we will never share your data with anyone else. For example, if asked by the police or HMRC, we may share your personal data for the purposes of prevention or detection of crime. Information is not shared with them outside of this purpose. In some instances, it may be necessary to transfer your personal data overseas. Any transfers will be made in full compliance with UK data protection laws. In the event that our business is transferred, sold or integrated with another business, your details may be disclosed to our advisers or any prospective purchaser’s advisers and may be passed on to the new owners of the business.

Your choices

Responsible pet ownership includes a wide range of care, some of which will be administered by you at home; some by us here at the practice. Our responsibilities under our contract with you might include:

• Contacting you from time to time to remind you, for example, when vaccinations are due or when you should apply parasite protection. Communication about these is essential to the long-term health of your pet. For that reason, we do not ask for your consent to send these messages. However, if you have a preference as to how you would prefer to receive reminders (eg by SMS, email or post) please let us know by calling 01761 412132, by emailing enquiries@midsomervets.co.uk or via PetsApp and we will update our records.
• Letting you know about products and services (provided by us) which we believe can help your pet to live a long, happy and active life – for example, advice on diet and nutrition, exercise or preventative healthcare. Again, we believe this advice and guidance to form the foundation of responsible pet care. However, each message we send will include instructions on how you can choose to opt-out of receiving future similar messages, if you prefer. Alternatively, you can call the practice on 01761 412132, by emailing enquiries@midsomervets.co.uk or via PetsApp and we will update our records.
• We may occasionally hear of products and services, provided by others and not by us here at the practice, which may be of interest to you. We will only tell you about these products and services if you have given us your consent. You can update your preferences at any point by calling 01761 412132, by emailing enquiries@midsomervets.co.uk or via PetsApp and we will update our records

How you can access and update your information

The accuracy of your information is important to us. You have the right to request a copy of the information we hold about you so that you can ensure its accuracy. You can do this by the following methods: Telephone: 01761 412132 Write to us at:  Midsomer Veterinary Centre, 53 North Road, Midsomer Norton, BA3 2QE Or send an email to enquiries@midsomervets.co.uk

Retention of information

Your personal data will be retained for as long as it is necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it is collected or for business or legal purposes, or in accordance with applicable laws. Should you choose to withdraw consent for marketing contact, please note that your personal data may still be retained on our database to the extent permitted by law. Security precautions in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of your information When you give us personal information, we take steps to ensure that it is treated securely. Any sensitive information (such as payment card details or bank account information) is encrypted and protected with 128 Bit encryption on SSL. When you are on a secure page, a lock icon will appear on the bottom of web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer. Non-sensitive details (your email address etc.) are transmitted normally over the Internet, and this can never be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your information, we make our best effort to ensure its security on our systems. Where we have given (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our websites, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone.

Profiling

We may analyse your personal information to create a profile of your interests and preferences so that we can contact you with information relevant to you. We may make use of additional information about you when it is available from external sources to help us do this effectively. We may also use your personal information to detect and reduce fraud and credit risk.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites run by other organisations. This privacy policy applies only to our website‚ so we encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit. We cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of other sites even if you access them using links from our website. In addition, if you linked to our website from a third-party site, we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of the owners and operators of that third party site and recommend that you check the policy of that third party site.

16 or Under

We are concerned to protect the privacy of children aged 16 or under. If you are aged 16 or under‚ please get your parent/guardian’s permission beforehand whenever you provide us with personal information.

Transferring your information outside of Europe

As part of the services offered to you through this website, the information which you provide to us may be transferred to countries outside the European Union (“EU”). By way of example, this may happen if any of our servers are from time to time located in a country outside of the EU. These countries may not have similar data protection laws to the UK. By submitting your personal data, you’re agreeing to this transfer, storing or processing. If we transfer your information outside of the EU in this way, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate security measures are taken with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights continue to be protected as outlined in this Policy. If you use our services while you are outside the EU, your information may be transferred outside the EU in order to provide you with those services.

Review of this Policy

We keep this Policy under regular review. This Policy was last updated in February 2021.