Privacy notice

This notice explains how Direct Comfort collects and uses personal data when you apply for a trade account, place orders, or otherwise interact with us. This is a business-to-business site; the personal data we hold is mainly about individuals acting on behalf of trade customers (for example, practice owners, buyers and staff).

Who we are

Direct Comfort ([[TO CONFIRM: registered company legal name]], company number [[TO CONFIRM: to confirm]], registered office [[TO CONFIRM: registered address]]) is the data controller for the personal data described in this notice.

Contact: Edward Spencer, orders@directcomfort.co.uk, 07836 794666.

What data we collect

Account data: business name, business type, contact name, job title, email, phone number, business address, and any registration or company number you choose to give.
Order data: items ordered, order value, delivery address, payment method and status (we do not store full card details — these are processed by [[TO CONFIRM: payment provider name]]).
Communications: emails, phone notes and other correspondence between you and us.
Website and cookies data: see our Cookies policy for details on analytics and similar technologies.

How we use your data

We use personal data to:

review and approve trade account applications;
process and deliver orders, and manage payment and credit accounts;
provide customer service and account management;
send order-related communications (confirmations, dispatch notices, payment reminders);
send marketing emails about products, offers and account updates, where permitted (see Marketing emails below);
meet our legal, accounting and regulatory obligations.

Legal basis

We rely on:

Contract — to set up and manage your trade account and fulfil orders.
Legitimate interests — to verify applicants, prevent fraud, and run our business efficiently.
Legal obligation — for accounting, tax and regulatory record-keeping.
Consent — where required, for certain marketing communications.

Marketing emails

We may send marketing emails to business contacts about our products, ranges and offers, relying on the corporate subscriber exemption under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), which permits such communications to organisations rather than named individuals in a personal capacity. You can opt out of marketing emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email, or by contacting orders@directcomfort.co.uk. Opting out of marketing does not affect account or order-related emails, which we send to service your account.

We may share personal data with:

delivery providers (Royal Mail) to fulfil orders;
payment processors to take payment;
IT and hosting providers who support our website and systems;
professional advisers (accountants, solicitors) and regulators, where required;
[[TO CONFIRM: any other third parties, e.g. analytics providers]]

We do not sell personal data.

International transfers

[[TO CONFIRM: confirm whether any data is transferred outside the UK/EEA — e.g. via hosting or software providers — and the safeguard used, such as adequacy or standard contractual clauses.]]

Retention

We retain account and order data for as long as your account is active, and for a period afterwards to meet our legal, accounting and tax obligations [[TO CONFIRM: confirm specific retention period, e.g. 6 years after account closure]]. We retain marketing preferences until you opt out or we no longer need them.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

access the personal data we hold about you;
have inaccurate data corrected;
ask us to delete data, in certain circumstances;
object to or restrict certain processing;
request data portability;
withdraw consent, where processing relies on consent.

To exercise any of these rights, contact orders@directcomfort.co.uk.

Complaints

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your personal data, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

Changes to this notice

We may update this notice from time to time. The current version will always be available on this page.

Contact

Direct Comfort Edward Spencer, Account Manager 07836 794666 orders@directcomfort.co.uk [[TO CONFIRM: registered address]]