Blackstar.co.uk Privacy Policy

This privacy policy sets out how Blackstar uses and protects any information that you give us when you use this website.  This includes information collected through the use of ‘cookies’.  Click here to find out more about the way we use cookies.

Blackstar is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.

We will only use the information that we collect about you lawfully (in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998). We collect information about you to process your order and to provide you with the best possible service in the future. We do not send unsolicited mail and we never pass any of your personal information to third parties without first gaining your explicit consent.

Blackstar may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from 1^st June 2012.

Information we need

For us to process your order, we need to know your name, email address, delivery address and credit/debit card details. We will never collect ‘sensitive information’ about you without your explicit consent. If we intend to transfer your information outside the EEA (European Economic Area) we will always obtain your consent first.

We will endeavour to ensure that the information we hold will be accurate and up to date. If you find any inaccuracies we will delete or correct it promptly.

We may collect the following information:

name

contact information including email address

demographic information such as postcode, preferences and interests

other information relevant to customer surveys and/or offers

What is ‘sensitive information’?

Section 2 of the Data Protection Act 1998 defines sensitive personal information as information related to:

Racial or ethnic origin;

Political opinions;

Religious or other similar beliefs;

Membership of trade unions;

Physical or mental health or condition;

Sexual life; and

Convictions, proceedings and criminal acts.

Why do we need the information we gather?

We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:

Internal record keeping.

We may use the information to improve our products and services.

We may periodically send promotional emails about new products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided.

From time to time, we may also use your information to contact you for market research purposes. We may contact you by email, phone, fax or mail. We may use the information to customise the website according to your interests.

Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure.  In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, our store has physical, electronic and managerial procedures in place to safeguard and secure the information we collect online. Blackstar.co.uk takes the risk of internet fraud very seriously; therefore all transactions are managed by Paypal’s trusted and secure servers. 

Click here to read about Paypal’s Fraud Prevention Program.  Any Fraudulent transactions will not be tolerated by blackstar.co.uk and we will work with Paypal and relevant authorities in the reporting and investigation of such transactions.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites. 

Such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.  Specifically our website will link to Facebook, should you choose to view our Facebook page, and will link to Paypal in order to process your transaction.  You may view these Privacy Policies at the following links (correct at the time of writing):  Facebook or Paypal.

Controlling your personal information

We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen.

You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998. A small fee will be payable. If you would like a copy of the information held on you please email us at support@blackstar.co.uk.

If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please email us as soon as possible at the above email address. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.

Data Protection

The Data Protection Act 1998 requires us, as registered Data Controllers, to be open about our holding and use of personal data. It also entitles individuals to find out from us what personal data is held about them on computer, to have that information corrected or erased if it is inaccurate, and to claim compensation if they can prove they have suffered damage from an inaccuracy or breach of security. Blackstar.co.uk is committed to upholding the eight Data Protection Principles of good information handling practice.

The Data Protection Principles

As Registered data controllers, we must comply with the Data Protection Principles in relation to the personal data we hold. Broadly they state that personal data shall:

Be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully.

Be processed only for limited purposes which are described in the register entry.

Be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose for which they are held.

Be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.

Be held no longer than is necessary for the purpose for which they are held.

Be processed in accordance with the data subjects' rights.

Be surrounded by proper security

Not be transferred to countries outside the EEA without adequate protection.

For further details about the Data Protection Act, please click the logo below to visit The Information Commissioner’s website:

Or contact The Information Commissioner:

The Information Commissioners Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
England
Email address:
data@notification.demon.co.uk

‘Cookies’

What are cookies?

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer's hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

Cookies and how they benefit you

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about webpage traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

Our cookies help us:

Make our website work as you'd expect

Save you having to login every time you visit the site

Remember your settings during and between visits

Improve the speed/security of the site

Allow you to share products and information with social networks like Facebook

Personalise our site to you to help you get what you need faster

Continuously improve our website for you

Make our marketing more efficient (ultimately helping us to offer the service we do at the price we do)

We do not use cookies to:

Collect any personally identifiable information (without your express permission)

Collect any sensitive information (without your express permission)

Pass data to advertising networks

Pass personally identifiable data to third parties

Pay sales commissions

Granting us permission to use cookies

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

In order to strictly comply with the law and The Information Commissioner’s guidance on the use of cookies we will explicitly ask your permission to use cookies when you visit blackstar.co.uk.

Should you wish to remove or not use cookies from our site you can learn how to do this below, however doing so will likely mean that our site will not work as you would expect.

Blackstar.co.uk’s own cookies

We use cookies to make our website work including:

Making our shopping basket and checkout work

Determining if you are logged in or not

Remembering your search settings

Showing you which pages you have recently visited

Allowing you to add comments to our site

Tailoring content to your needs

Social Website Cookies

So you can easily “Recommend” blackstar.co.uk to your friends on Facebook we have included a “Recommend” button on our site.

Cookies relating to this function are set by Facebook but will be used by blackstar.co.uk in order to provide this facility.

Anonymous Visitor Statistics Cookies

We use cookies to compile visitor statistics such as how many people have visited our website, what type of technology they are using (e.g. Mac or Windows which helps to identify when our site isn't working as it should for particular technologies), how long they spend on the site, what page they look at etc.

This helps us to continuously improve our website.  The information we collect is anonymous.  We use Google Analytics to provide this information and as with Facebook, cookies will be set by Google but will be used by blackstar.co.uk in order to collect this information.

Learn More About Cookies

To learn more about cookies or to find more information about controlling cookies from your own browser, click here to visit the Information Commissioner’s dedicated page. 

What Cookies do we actually use?

The everyday user will not usually need to know which cookies we specifically use, however should you wish to avail of a list of these cookies and what they do please contact us at support@blackstar.co.uk and we will happily supply the information that you require.