Privacy policy

Who we are

“Valentines” is the public-facing name used on this website. The legal company responsible for your personal information is the company that handles your enquiry or provides the relevant service:

• Valentines Family Funeral Directors Ltd, company number 09445193; or
• G.M. Valentine Ltd, company number 15389793.

Both companies have the registered office: Suite 5, 1–2 Leonard Place, Westerham Road, Keston, Kent, England, BR2 6HQ.

In this notice, “we”, “us” and “our” mean the relevant company. If both companies are involved, we will tell you which company or companies are responsible for the relevant use of your information.

You can contact us about this notice, exercise a data protection right or make a data protection complaint by:

• email: office@valentinesfunerals.com;
• telephone: 01689 798448; or
• post: Data Protection, Valentines Family Funeral Directors, 262 High Street, Orpington, Kent, BR6 0NB.

What this notice covers

This notice explains how we use personal information when you visit this website, contact us through it, telephone or email us about our services, or interact with website content such as reviews.

It does not rely on your use of the website as consent. We use personal information only where we have an appropriate lawful basis. Where we rely on consent, we will ask for it separately and you may withdraw it at any time.

Information about a person who has died is not personal information under the UK GDPR. However, funeral enquiries and records often contain personal information about living relatives, representatives and other people, and this notice applies to that information.

Personal information we collect

Depending on how you use the website and what you choose to tell us, we may collect:

• your name, contact details, preferred contact method and relationship to the person the enquiry concerns
• the branch or service you are asking about and the information you include in a form, email or telephone conversation
• communications between you and us and records of how we respond
• information needed to prepare an estimate, take steps at your request or provide a service
• payment, transaction and accounting information if your enquiry becomes a service arrangement
• technical information such as IP address, browser and device type, pages visited, approximate location, security logs and cookie or privacy choices
• review or testimonial information that you submit to us or publish on a review platform; and
• information required to manage a data protection request, complaint, dispute or legal claim.

Please do not send medical details, identity documents or other sensitive information through a general website form unless we specifically ask you to use an approved secure route.

Special category information

You may sometimes choose to tell us information about a living person’s health, religious or philosophical beliefs, racial or ethnic origin, sex life or sexual orientation. This is called special category information and receives extra protection.

We will collect it only where it is genuinely necessary. In addition to an ordinary lawful basis, we will identify an appropriate condition under Article 9 of the UK GDPR. For an initial website enquiry this will normally be your explicit consent, which we will request separately. In other situations another condition may apply, for example where the information is needed to establish, exercise or defend legal claims. We will not use special category information for advertising or profiling.

Where information comes from

We normally receive information directly from you. We may also receive it from:

• a family member, representative or other person contacting us on your behalf
• a professional or service provider involved in an enquiry or funeral arrangement
• payment and identity-verification providers where relevant
• website, analytics, security or communications providers; or
• a public review platform or another public source where you have chosen to publish information.

If you give us information about another living person, please make sure you are entitled to do so and, where appropriate, show them this notice.

Where we obtain your information from someone else, we will provide this privacy information within a reasonable period and normally no later than one month, or earlier if we first contact you or disclose the information, unless a legal exception applies.

How and why we use personal information

Where we rely on legitimate interests, those interests include responding to people who contact us, running and securing the website, administering the business, improving services and protecting legal rights. We consider whether the use is necessary and balance those interests against your rights and reasonable expectations. You may object as explained below.

We do not currently use website information to make decisions about people solely by automated means that have legal or similarly significant effects.

Some information is optional, but we need enough contact and enquiry information to respond. If you ask us to enter into or perform a contract, particular identity, service, payment or legally required information may be necessary. If it is not provided, we may be unable to prepare an estimate, make an arrangement or provide the requested service. We will explain this at the point of collection where relevant.

Who we share information with

We share personal information only where reasonably necessary. Recipients may include:

• authorised staff working for the relevant Valentines company
• website hosting, form, email, telephone, IT support, security, backup and analytics providers acting on our behalf
• payment, accounting and professional-adviser providers
• funeral-service suppliers and public or professional bodies where needed to respond to an enquiry or provide a requested service
• regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or other authorities where disclosure is required or permitted by law; and
• a buyer, seller or adviser involved in a genuine business reorganisation, subject to appropriate confidentiality and data protection controls.

We require service providers acting as processors to use the information only on documented instructions, keep it secure and assist us with our data protection obligations. We do not sell personal information.

International transfers

Some technology providers or their support teams may process information outside the UK. Before making a restricted transfer, we use a lawful transfer mechanism, such as UK adequacy regulations or appropriate contractual safeguards, and complete any required risk assessment. You may contact us for more information about the safeguards relevant to your information.

How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose, including legal, accounting, reporting and claims requirements. Our normal periods are:

• an enquiry that does not become a client matter: up to 12 months after the last meaningful contact
• service, contract, transaction and accounting records: normally seven years after the service or relationship ends, unless a longer period is required for a documented reason
• website security and server logs: up to 12 months, unless needed for an active investigation
• cookie choices and analytics information: for the periods stated in our Cookie Notice and cookie settings
• data protection requests and complaints: normally three years after closure; and
• marketing preferences: until you opt out, followed by a minimal suppression record so that we respect your choice.

We may keep information for longer where law requires it, a dispute or legal claim makes it necessary, or safeguarding and regulatory considerations apply. We may securely delete or irreversibly anonymise information when it is no longer needed.

Cookies and similar technologies

The website may use cookies, local storage, scripts, tags, pixels and similar technologies. Some are necessary for security or for a function you request. Other technologies require your consent unless a specific PECR exception applies and its conditions are met.

Limited aggregate analytics may be used without consent only where it falls entirely within the statistical-purpose exception, is used solely to improve the website, does not track or profile individuals, and you are given a simple, free way to object. Advertising, cross-site tracking, profiling and non-exempt embedded technologies will not be activated before valid consent.

Our Cookie Notice identifies the technologies in use, their providers, purposes and durations, and explains how to change your choices at any time.

You can review or change your choices at any time using the Cookie settings link at the bottom of every page.

Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information. These include access controls, secure transmission, system maintenance and controls appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. No internet or email transmission can be guaranteed completely secure, so please use any secure method we provide for sensitive information.

Children

The website is intended for adults arranging or considering funeral services and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly ask children to submit personal information through the website. If you are under 18, please ask a parent, guardian or another trusted adult to contact us. If we learn that a child has submitted information without appropriate involvement, we will assess and delete it where appropriate.

Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and our lawful basis, you may have the right to:

• ask for access to your personal information
• ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
• ask us to delete information
• ask us to restrict how information is used
• object to processing based on legitimate interests and object at any time to direct marketing
• receive certain information you provided in a portable format, where the right applies
• withdraw consent at any time, without affecting earlier lawful processing; and
• ask for safeguards where a significant decision is made solely by automated means. We do not currently make such decisions using website information.

These rights are not absolute and exemptions may apply. We may need information to confirm your identity. We will normally respond within one month after receiving any information reasonably required to identify you or clarify a subject access request.

Your right to object: where we rely on legitimate interests, you may object to that use based on your particular situation. You may object to direct marketing at any time. If you object to direct marketing, we will stop using your information for that purpose.

To exercise a right, email office@valentinesfunerals.com or use the postal address above.

Data protection complaints

Please contact us first if you have concerns about how we use personal information. You can complain by email or post using the details above. We will acknowledge a data protection complaint within 30 days, take appropriate steps to investigate it, keep you informed where necessary and tell you the outcome without undue delay.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator:

• website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint (opens in a new tab);
• telephone: 0303 123 1113; or
• post: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Changes to this notice

We will review this notice when the website, suppliers or uses of personal information change. We will publish the updated notice here and change the effective or review date. If a change would materially affect how we use information already collected, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of affected people and seek consent where required.