Privacy Policy

Effective Date: October 2026

Charity Name: The British Bee Charity (CIO)

Registered Charity Number: 1174123 (England & Wales)

The British Bee Charity (“we”, “us”, or “our”) is dedicated to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the UK Data Protection Act 2018.

This policy details how we collect, process, store, and protect your information when you visit our website, submit forms, sign up for memberships or subscriptions, make donations, declare Gift Aid, or buy products.

1. Data Controller Contact Details

The Data Controller responsible for your personal information is:

The British Bee Charity

10 Rose Bank Cottages, Westfield, Woking, Surrey, GU22 9QZ

Email: info@britishbeecharity.com

Telephone: 07708470055

2. Information We Collect and How We Collect It

We collect personal information directly from you when you interact with our website. This includes:

• Contact & Identity Details: Full name, billing address, shipping address, email address, and contact telephone numbers.
• Order & Subscription Data: Transaction details, order history, active membership tiers, adoption packages, and recurring payment statuses.
• Gift Aid Declarations: Name, home address, post code, and confirmation of UK taxpayer status for eligible financial contributions (Memberships, Adopt a Hive, and direct donations).
• Website Form Enquiries: Information submitted through our online web forms (powered by Gravity Forms), which are recorded in our secure website database and emailed to our operations team.
• Member Group Communications: Contact information voluntarily submitted to participate in charity communications, updates, or member interaction platforms (such as WhatsApp).
• Technical Log Data: Standard internet connection logs, IP addresses, and browser details recorded by our hosting provider strictly for server security and network diagnostics.

Note: Payment card details are processed directly by our secure payment provider (WooPayments/Stripe). We do not store credit or debit card numbers on our website servers.

3. Legal Bases for Processing Data

We process your personal data under the following legal bases:

• Contractual Obligation: To process orders, manage recurring subscription memberships, ship welcome packs or shop merchandise, and fulfill customer requests.
• Legal Obligation: To maintain accurate financial ledgers and submit Gift Aid claims to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
• Legitimate Interests: To administer member services, maintain web application security, prevent fraud, and respond to general public enquiries.
• Consent: Where you explicitly opt in to receive marketing communications or participate in optional community platforms (such as member messaging groups). You may withdraw consent at any time.

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell, trade, or rent personal data. Data is shared exclusively with selected service providers bound by data protection obligations to help run our charity:

• Payment Service Providers: WooPayments / Stripe (processes initial and recurring subscription payments securely).
• HMRC: Submission of Gift Aid declarations to claim eligible tax relief on donations, adoptions, and memberships.
• Delivery & Fulfillment: Royal Mail or courier partners (used to ship merchandise and adoption packs).
• Technical Infrastructure: Web hosting, database management, and email transmission providers based in the UK/EEA storing website form submissions securely.

5. Marketing and Communications

• Transactional & Operational Contact: We will contact you by email or telephone regarding active orders, membership statuses, renewal notices, or responses to enquiries submitted via our website forms.
• Newsletters & Updates: If you opt in to receive news updates or newsletters, we will send these via email. Every marketing email includes a single-click unsubscribe link allowing you to opt out at any time.
• Community & Messaging Groups: Joining optional member communication channels (such as WhatsApp groups) is strictly voluntary. You may leave or request removal from messaging channels at any time.

6. International Data Transfers

Our website, database, and operational systems are hosted within the UK or European Economic Area (EEA). If any supporting infrastructure requires data processing outside the UK, appropriate safeguards (such as standard contractual clauses or UK International Data Transfer Agreements) are implemented to guarantee your data remains fully protected.

7. Data Retention Periods

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to complete the purposes for which it was collected:

• Financial & Gift Aid Records: Statutory financial, transaction, and HMRC Gift Aid records are retained for 6 years following the end of the relevant tax year.
• Active Membership & Subscription Accounts: Account and membership records are maintained for the duration of the active subscription plus 2 years post-cancellation.
• Web Form Submissions: Enquiry form submissions stored on the website server are cleared periodically and kept no longer than 2 years from submission.

8. Your Legal Rights Under UK GDPR

You retain full control over your personal data and hold the following rights:

• Right of Access: Request a complete copy of the personal information held about you.
• Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
• Right to Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): Request deletion of your personal data where no legal retention requirement applies.
• Right to Restrict or Object: Object to or restrict specific processing operations (including direct marketing).
• Right to Data Portability: Obtain a structured export of data provided directly by you.

To exercise any of these rights, contact info@britishbeecharity.com.

9. Complaints

If you have any concerns regarding how we handle your personal data, please contact us first so we can resolve the issue directly. You also have the right to lodge a formal complaint with the UK data protection regulator:

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Website: https://ico.org.uk

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

10. Policy Updates

This policy is updated periodically to reflect operational modifications or evolving regulatory guidance. Revisions take immediate effect upon being published to this web page.