This notice explains how we process your data.

We respect and value the privacy of everyone who visits our website (Our Site) or provides their data to us directly.  We will only collect and use personal data in ways that are described here, and in a manner consistent with our obligations and your rights under the law.

Please read this Privacy Notice carefully and ensure you understand it. Your acceptance of our Privacy Notice is deemed to occur upon your first use of Our Site. If you do not accept and agree with this Privacy Notice, you must stop using Our Site immediately.

Definitions and Interpretation

In this Policy, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

“Account”means an account required to access and/or use certain areas and features of Our Site;
“Cookie”means a small text file placed on your computer or device by Our Site when you visit certain parts of Our Site and/or when you use certain features of Our Site. Details of the Cookies used by Our Site are set out in section 13, below;
“Cookie Law”means the relevant parts of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003;
“personal data”means any and all data that relates to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified from that data. In this case, it means personal data that you give to Us via Our Site. This definition shall, where applicable, incorporate the definitions provided in the EU Regulation 2016/679 – the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”);
“We/Us/Our”means Gower Power Co-op Community Benefit Society (#9100) registered with the Financial Conduct Authority whose registered office is at Sunnyside, Phillips Field, Swansea, Wales, SA3 2EP;
“Our Site”means www.gowerpower.coop; and
“Contact Details”means via email on info@gowerpower.coop or at our registered address above.

Our contact details 

For any enquiries relating to this Privacy Notice, the best way to contact us is by email: info@gowerpower.coop

The type of personal data we collect 

We currently collect and process the following information:

  • Name
  • Contact details
  • Areas of our work you have asked to be kept informed about
  • Membership information
  • Employee information
  • Info about your use of our website: IP address; web browser type and version; operating system; a list of URLs starting with a referring site, your activity on Our Site, and the site you exit to.

How we get your data, why we have it and how we use it

Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you, or gathered from our website, for one of the following reasons:

  • To fulfil any contract we have with you as a member or an employee
  • To keep you informed about our activities
  • To comply with the law
  • To support your use of our services, including our website

Specifically, We may use your data for the following purposes:

  • Providing and managing your Account;
  • Providing and managing your access to Our Site;
  • Personalising and tailoring your experience on Our Site;
  • Supplying our products/services to you (please note that we require your personal data in order to enter into a contract with you);
  • Personalising and tailoring our products/services for you;
  • Replying to emails from you;
  • Supplying you with emails that you have opted into (you may unsubscribe or opt-out at any time by clicking the link in our emails);
  • Market research;
  • Analysing your use of our Site and gathering feedback to enable us to continually improve Our Site and your user experience;

With your permission and/or where permitted by law, we may also use your data for marketing purposes which may include contacting you by email/telephone/text message/post with information, news and offers on our products/services. We will not, however, send you any unsolicited marketing or spam and will take all reasonable steps to ensure that we fully protect your rights and comply with our obligations under the GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.

Do We Share Your Data?

Third parties (such as Google, YouTube, Facebook) whose content appears on Our Site may use third party Cookies. Please see below for more information on controlling Cookies. Please note that we do not control the activities of such third parties, nor the data they collect and use and advise you to check the privacy policies of any such third parties.

We may sometimes contract with third parties to supply products and services to you on our behalf. These may include payment processing, delivery of goods, search engine facilities, advertising, and marketing. In some cases, the third parties may require access to your data. Where any of your data is required for such a purpose, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that it will be handled safely, securely, and in accordance with your rights, Our obligations, and the obligations of the third party under the law.

We may compile statistics about the use of Our Site including data on traffic, usage patterns, user numbers, sales, and other information. All such data will be anonymised and will not include any personally identifying data, or any anonymised data that can be combined with other data and used to identify you. We may from time to time share such data with third parties such as prospective investors, affiliates, partners, and advertisers. Data will only be shared and used within the bounds of the law.

We may sometimes use third party data processors that are located outside of the European Economic Area (“the EEA”) (The EEA consists of all EU member states, plus Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein). Where we transfer any personal data outside the EEA, We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your data is treated as safely and securely as it would be within the UK and under the GDPR by checking suppliers are Privacy Shield and/or ISO27001 compliant.

In certain circumstances, we may be legally required to share certain data held by us, which may include your personal data, for example, where we are involved in legal proceedings, where we are complying with legal requirements, a court order, or a governmental authority.

How and where we store your data 

Your information is securely stored, in online storage facilities which are password protected and accessed via devices (desktop and laptop PCs, phones etc) which are also password protected.

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose that we collected it for, which may include a period of storage to comply with the law or good practice in record-keeping, then it is deleted or destroyed. 

Data security is very important to Us, and to protect your data We have taken suitable measures to safeguard and secure data collected through Our Site by using checking suppliers are Privacy Shield and/or ISO27001 compliant and by using Secure SSL connections.

Some or all of your data may be stored outside of the European Economic Area (“the EEA”) (The EEA consists of all EU member states, plus Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein). You are deemed to accept and agree to this by using Our Site and submitting information to Us. If We do store data outside the EEA, We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your data is treated as safely and securely as it would be within the UK and under GDPR by checking suppliers are Privacy Shield and/or ISO27001 compliant.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

Your right of access – You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. 

Your right to rectification – You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete. 

Your right to erasure – You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances. 

Your right to restriction of processing – You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances. 

Your right to object to processing – You have the the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

Your right to data portability – You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.

You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.

Please contact us at info@gowerpower.coop if you wish to make a request.

Your Right to Withhold Information

You may access certain areas of Our Site without providing any data at all. However, to use all features and functions available, you may be required to submit or allow for the collection of certain data. You may restrict our use of Cookies – see below.

Our Use of Cookies

Our Site may place and access certain first party Cookies on your computer or device. First party Cookies are those placed directly by us and are used only by us. We use Cookies to facilitate and improve your experience of Our Site and to provide and improve our products/services. We have carefully chosen these Cookies and have taken steps to ensure that your privacy and personal data is protected and respected at all times.

By using Our Site you may also receive certain third party Cookies on your computer or device. Third party Cookies are those placed by websites, services, and/or parties other than us. Third party Cookies are used on Our Site for advertising purposes and providing marketing analytical information. These Cookies are not integral to the functioning of Our Site and your use and experience of Our Site will not be impaired by refusing consent to them.

All Cookies used by and on Our Site are used in accordance with current Cookie Law.

Before third party Cookies that use your personal data are placed on your computer or device, you will be shown a popup requesting your consent to set those Cookies. By giving your consent to the placing of Cookies you are enabling us to provide the best possible experience and service to you. You may, if you wish, deny consent to the placing of Cookies; however certain features of Our Site may not function fully or as intended. You will be given the opportunity to allow only first party Cookies and block third party Cookies which use your personal data.

Certain features of Our Site depend on Cookies to function. Cookie Law deems these Cookies to be “strictly necessary”. Your consent will not be sought to place these Cookies, but it is still important that you are aware of them. You may still block these Cookies by changing your internet browser’s settings, but please be aware that Our Site may not work properly if you do so. We have taken great care to ensure that your privacy is not at risk by allowing them.

The following first party Cookies may be placed on your computer or device:

  • A control cookie to allow us to block other optional cookies
  • Cookies to assist with the functionality of the website, such as remembering the contents of your basket, if you’ve logged into the website, language, currency and other similar preferences

and the following third party Cookies may be placed on your computer or device:

  • Google Analytics – Anonymous Data Collection
  • Facebook Pixel
  • Google Conversion/Remarketing

Our Site uses analytics services provided by Google Analytics. Website analytics refers to a set of tools used to collect and analyse anonymous usage information, enabling us to better understand how Our Site is used. This, in turn, enables us to improve Our Site and the products/services offered through it. You do not have to allow us to use these Cookies, however whilst Our use of them does not pose any risk to your privacy or your safe use of Our Site, it does enable us to continually improve Our Site, making it a better and more useful experience for you.

In addition to the controls that we provide, you can choose to enable or disable Cookies in your internet browser. Most internet browsers also enable you to choose whether you wish to disable all cookies or only third party Cookies. By default, most internet browsers accept Cookies but this can be changed. For further details, please consult the help menu in your internet browser or the documentation that came with your device.

You can choose to delete Cookies on your computer or device at any time, however you may lose any information that enables you to access Our Site more quickly and efficiently including, but not limited to, login and personalisation settings.

It is recommended that you keep your internet browser and operating system up-to-date and that you consult the help and guidance provided by the developer of your internet browser and manufacturer of your computer or device if you are unsure about adjusting your privacy settings.

Changes to Our Privacy Notice

We may change this Privacy Notice from time to time (for example, if the law changes). Any changes will be immediately posted on Our Site and you will be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Privacy Notice on your first use of Our Site following the alterations. We recommend that you check this page regularly to keep up-to-date.

How to complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us at info@gowerpower.coop

You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.

The ICO’s address:            

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk