Last Updated: November 16, 2025

Who We Are

Our website address is: https://www.stownews.co.uk

Stow Newsagent and Post Office is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring your personal data is handled responsibly and in compliance with UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.

What Personal Data We Collect and Why

Online Shopping & Orders

When you place an order through our online store, we collect:

  • Your name, billing address, and delivery address
  • Email address and phone number
  • Payment information (processed securely through our payment provider)
  • Order history and purchase details

We use this information to:

  • Process and fulfill your orders
  • Send order confirmations and delivery updates
  • Provide customer service and handle returns
  • Comply with legal obligations (e.g., tax and accounting records)
  • Improve our products and services

Payment Information: We do not store your full credit card details. Payments are processed securely through our payment provider, and you should refer to their privacy policy for how they handle your payment data.

Customer Accounts

When you create an account on our website, we store:

  • Your name, email address, and phone number
  • Delivery addresses and preferences
  • Order history
  • Password (encrypted and secure)

You can access, update, or delete your account information at any time by logging into your account or contacting us at info@stownews.co.uk.

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Newsletter Subscriptions

When you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect:

  • Your email address
  • Your name (optional)
  • Subscription preferences

We use this information solely to send you newsletters, special offers, and updates about our products and local community events.

Media

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

Legal Basis for Processing Your Data

We process your personal data under the following legal bases:

  • Contract performance: To fulfill orders and provide services you’ve requested
  • Legitimate interests: To improve our services, prevent fraud, manage our business operations, and communicate about our products
  • Legal obligation: To comply with tax, accounting, and other legal requirements
  • Consent: For marketing communications (you can opt-out at any time)

Cookies

What Are Cookies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help us provide a better user experience.

How We Use Cookies

Essential Cookies:

  • If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
  • If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
  • When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
  • If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

Shopping Cookies:

  • Shopping cart cookies to remember items you’ve added
  • Session cookies to maintain your shopping experience

Analytics Cookies:

  • We may use analytics services to understand how visitors use our website and improve user experience

You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings.

Marketing Communications

With your consent, we may send you:

  • Newsletters about our products and special offers
  • Updates about local community events
  • Exclusive subscriber discounts and promotions
  • Information about new products and services

Opting Out: You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by:

  • Clicking the unsubscribe link in any email
  • Logging into your account and updating preferences
  • Contacting us at info@stownews.co.uk

Who We Share Your Data With

We share your data with trusted third parties only when necessary to provide our services:

Payment Processors (e.g., Stripe, PayPal, WooCommerce Payments)

  • To process transactions securely
  • They have their own privacy policies governing how they handle your payment information

Shipping Providers (e.g., Royal Mail)

  • To deliver your orders
  • We share only the information necessary for delivery (name, address, contact details)

Email Service Providers

  • To send order confirmations, shipping notifications, and newsletters
  • Your data is processed securely and not used for other purposes

Website Hosting Provider

  • To store your data securely on our servers
  • Subject to strict security and confidentiality agreements

Legal Requirements

  • We may disclose your information if required by law or to protect our rights, property, or safety

If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.

We ensure all third parties comply with UK GDPR and data protection laws and have appropriate security measures in place.

Embedded Content From Other Websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Data Security

We take the security of your personal data seriously and implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect it against unauthorized access, loss, alteration, or misuse.

Our security measures include:

  • Secure SSL encryption for all data transmission
  • Secure password-protected databases with encrypted passwords
  • Regular security updates and monitoring
  • Limited access to personal data by authorized personnel only
  • Regular backups to prevent data loss
  • Firewall protection and secure hosting

However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

How Long We Retain Your Data

Order Data: Retained for 7 years to comply with tax, accounting, and legal requirements

Account Data: Retained until you request deletion or close your account. After account closure, we may retain some data for legitimate business purposes or legal compliance

Marketing Data: Retained until you unsubscribe from our communications

Comments: If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue. You can request deletion at any time.

Website Analytics: Anonymized and aggregated data may be retained for statistical purposes

For users that register on our website, we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the following rights:

Right of Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you

Right to Rectification: Correct any inaccurate or incomplete data

Right to Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): Request deletion of your personal data (subject to legal obligations)

Right to Restriction: Limit how we use your data in certain circumstances

Right to Data Portability: Receive your data in a portable, commonly used format

Right to Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing

Right to Withdraw Consent: Opt-out of marketing communications or other consent-based processing at any time

Automated Decision-Making: You have the right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing

If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at:

For any questions about returns and refunds, please contact us

  • Email: info@stownews.co.uk
  • Phone: +44 1451 830512
  • Address: The Square, Stow-on-the-Wold, Cheltenham GL54 1AB, United Kingdom

We will respond to your request within one month.

Where Your Data Is Sent

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

Your data is stored on secure servers located within the UK/EU. We do not transfer your personal data outside the UK or EU unless necessary for service provision, and only to countries with adequate data protection standards or under appropriate safeguards.

Children’s Privacy

Our services are not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal data, please contact us immediately at info@stownews.co.uk, and we will delete such information.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of any significant changes by:

  • Posting the updated policy on this page with a new “Last Updated” date
  • Sending an email notification to registered users (for material changes)

We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Contact Us & Complaints

For any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this privacy policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us:

Stow Newsagent and Post Office

For any questions about returns and refunds, please contact us

  • Email: info@stownews.co.uk
  • Phone: +44 1451 830512
  • Address: The Square, Stow-on-the-Wold, Cheltenham GL54 1AB, United Kingdom

Right to Complain

If you’re not satisfied with how we handle your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK’s supervisory authority:

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)