What exactly is a privacy policy? In a nutshell, it’s where you can find out how we use, store and protect your data – be it your name, your address, your telephone number, your email, or anything else you might tell us about yourself.It’s also where you can find out about your privacy rights – the things you can ask us to do with your information.

We’ve tried to keep it as short and free from technical speak and legalese as we can.

But even so, the chances are that you won’t want to read it all the way through. So, we’ve split it up into sections, which you can get to quickly using the links below.

Need to knows

We’ll go into more detail about what we use your data for below, but the first thing we want you to know is that we don’t collect it to be nosy. And it’s not so we can sell it on to someone else. We never have, and we never will.

In short, we normally either use it because we have to – so we know where to send your order, for instance. Or, because it’ll help us improve – like when we collect information on how you use our website – so we know what’s working and what isn’t.

And of course, we’ll only ever use your data legally.

When it comes to what you’d like to hear from us (like whether or not you’d like to get our emails) we’ll always give you the option to opt out at any time. Just let us know or click the ‘unsubscribe’ link at the bottom of any of our emails.

This is our main privacy policy, which applies whether you decide to buy something or are just visiting our website. But we also have another privacy policy on the data we collect if you’re applying to work with us, which you can find a bit further down.

It’s important that you read both policies to make sure you know all the ins and outs of how we’re using your data. They’re designed to work together, not override one another.

It’s always good for us to have up-to-date information on you – for instance, we wouldn’t want to send your subscriber copy of Stories to the wrong address. So please just get in touch with us if things ever change.

And of course, we’ll always let you know if we make any changes to our privacy policy.

We should also mention that there are certain details (like your name, address and telephone number) that we need from you before you can do things like buy one of our designs or use our kitchen design service. Without that information, we won’t be able to go ahead.

The other thing to say is that we’ll sometimes include links on our website to another brand’s website. They might collect and use your data in a different way, so it’s a good idea to take a look at their privacy policy too, just in case.

The Neptune family

We’re one big family, with a few different sections. There’s Neptune (Europe) Ltd – the part of our company that runs our website and HQ (including our head office, warehouse, delivery teams and bespoke and refinishing departments).

There’s also Neptune Retail Ltd – which, you guessed it, runs our own stores.

We share information with each other all the time. That’s why we have one central privacy policy that covers the lot.

There are also our retail partners – the stores that we don’t own but that sell our designs. Even though we’ll share information with one another, they have their own privacy policies. If you’d like to know more about our stores and how we all link together, just get in touch – all our contact details are below.

Contacting us

Our legal team looks after everything to do with our privacy policy – they’re who you’ll need to get in touch with if you’ve ever got any questions about it.

The legal team
Neptune Europe Ltd
Blagrove
Swindon
Wiltshire
SN5 8YG

Email: legal@neptune.com

The data we collect about you

So, what do we mean by ‘data’?

The list below gives you an idea of the sort of information we might have in our records:

• Information about your identity – your first and last names and maiden name if you have one; address; username; marital status; title; date of birth and gender.
• Your contact details – which also includes your delivery and billing addresses as well as your email address and telephone numbers.
• The details of your bank account and credit or debit cards.
• Information about the things you’ve bought from us and how you paid for them – whether it’s one of our designs or a service like our kitchen design consultations.
• The techy stuff – like your internet protocol (IP) address; your login information (your username and password); the type of browser you’re using to view our website and any plug-ins it might have; your computer’s time zone and location; and the type of device you’re looking at our website on (including its operating system and the technology that might be on it).
• Information about how you use our website, services or designs, including the things you’ve shown an interest in.
• Your preferences (like whether you want to receive our emails or subscribe to Stories).
• Any feedback you’ve given us (on surveys or by getting in touch with us).
• Whether you’ve entered any of our competitions or prize draws.
• And CCTV images of you – which we’ll get if you visit one of our stores or park in one of our car parks.

We might also collect something called ‘aggregated data’. That sounds fancy, but it’s basically just a summary of all (or many) of our customers’ data. It’s different to personal data because it can’t be used to identify you. For example, we might use the details of how you use our website together with the same details from all our other customers, to see how many of you are using a particular feature. The thing to know is that aggregated data doesn’t usually fall under our privacy policy, but if we ever use it together with something that might identify you (like your name) then it will.

There are also certain types of information that we won’t ever collect (unless you’re applying to join our team – see below). These include your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health, and genetic and biometric data.

How we collect it

One of the ways we access data is directly from you. You might fill in a form (or we might fill one in for you, like when you buy something in-store) or get in touch with us by email, phone or post.

We also get data through other companies.

Like Google, who give us search engine data and analytics.

On top of that, we’re given information like your contact and bank details and the things you’ve bought from us from the people that provide us with payment and technical services.

There are also companies that we work with who collect information from public records (such as the census and electoral register), and we also do this ourselves. The details we get from these sources will be things like your name, address and date of birth.

The final area is data that’s automatically collected. This one applies to our website, which picks up on things like the type of internet browser you’re using and which pages you’ve visited. You can find out more about this in our cookie policy. We use four types of cookie:

• Essential cookies: these make our website work as it should, like logging into secure areas of the site to enter payment information when you check out.
• Analytical/performance cookies: we can recognise and count the number of people visiting our site as well as understanding how you use it with the help of these cookies. It’s how we can make improvements such as helping you find what you’re looking for more quickly.
• Functionality cookies: these tell us that you’re somebody returning to our website so we can remember any preferences you’ve shared, like your choice of language or closest store.
• Targeting cookies: the final sort of cookie tells us what pages you’ve visited on our website. We’ll use this information to make sure any advertising we show you is more relevant, based on what you’ve looked at before. The hope being, you won’t be shown anything generic.

And what we use it for

• To register you as our customer
• To put through your order and deliver it to you
• To get in touch with you if we need to (like if we change our privacy policy, to ask for your feedback, or to see if you’d like to receive our emails and post – and sending them to you if you do)
• To enter you into one of our prize draws or competitions, or so you can fill out a survey
• To keep things running smoothly (to help with troubleshooting)
• So we can show you things that are relevant to you (on our website and in our advertising), and recommend things you might be interested in
• So we can improve our website, the services we offer and the things we make, and the experiences you have with us

We only use your data in ways that the law allows us to.

Most of the time we use it because we need to as part of our contract with you (every time you buy something from us, we enter into a ‘contract’); or because we have a legitimate interest which isn’t overridden by your rights; or because it’s our legal obligation. 

If you’d like to know exactly what kind of data we use for each of these things, and the specific legal reasons why we use it, just get in touch. We’d be more than happy to fill you in.

We’ll also only use your data for what we collected it for, unless we think there’s something else we can use it for that’s relevant (like using your email address to confirm your order, and then to send you a survey). If we’d like to use it for an unrelated reason, we’ll let you know.

Who we’ll share it with (and why)

We’re not going to pass your information on to every Tom, Dick and Harry. That’s not our style. But we will share it with a handful of people – and with good reason.

Most of the time, we’ll pass it on to the companies we work with to get our jobs done. Such as when we use a courier to deliver your order, or with FastSMS, who run our texting service for confirming your delivery slot.

If you're a Facebook user, we’ll also share it with them. That way, we can make sure you’re seeing adverts about stores near you, not the other side of the country.

There are also times when we’ll join forces with another business – usually when we open a new partner store. We might share your data then too, for example to let you know when a new store is opening. And while we’re not planning on selling or merging Neptune right now, if we ever did, we’d have to pass your data on.

Rest assured that the people we do choose to share your information with are just as trustworthy as we are and they’ll need to have assured us they’ll only ever use it legally.

What happens when we have to share your data with someone outside the EU

We’re an international company, with stores across Europe and a production house in Qingdao in China, as well as makers in all parts of the world. So sometimes your data might go outside the EU. Most of the time this is to Qingdao so they can make the pieces you’ve ordered.

Whether the businesses we’re sharing it with are in the UK, the EU or elsewhere, we make sure the same rules apply, and they can only use it for what we’ve asked for. We also make sure that those that are outside the EU are in countries which have data protection laws that are just as good as the ones we have here in the UK and EU; or, that we have a contract with them that’s approved by the European Commission.

How we keep your data safe

It means a lot to us to keep your information safe. So, we do everything we can to make sure that it won’t be lost; used or looked at without permission; changed; or passed on. We’ve also done our best to make sure that we don’t get hacked and your information stolen, and if that did happen and it posed a risk to you, we’d let you know.

And how long we’ll hold on to it for

We’ll only keep your data for as long as we need to. But, that said, we have to hold on to certain things – like your name, contact information and some bank details, and data on the things you’ve bought from us for six years after you gave them to us – because we legally have to.

Otherwise, the amount of time we’ll keep hold of it for depends on what type of data it is. If it’s something that’s sensitive (like your bank details) or if we know a lot about you, we’ll delete it sooner. You can find out more about how long we keep personal data for by getting in touch with us.

We should also mention that there are times when we’ll keep it but anonymise it – so no one can connect it to you.

You can also find details on what you can ask us to do with your data in the ‘Your legal rights’ section below.

Our recruitment privacy policy

If you’re applying for a job with us, things are much the same, but there are a couple of extra points to bear in mind.

The kinds of information we’ll collect about you include:

• your name, address and contact details, including email address and telephone number
• details of your qualifications, skills, experience and employment history
• information from interviews and telephone-screenings you may have
• information about your current salary, including benefit entitlements
• information about your right to work in the UK

We may collect this information in a variety of ways. For example, it might come from application forms or CVs (including when you send these to us as part of speculative applications or queries), from your passport or other identity documents, or collected through interviews or other methods of assessment.

We may also collect personal data about you from third parties, such as references supplied by former employers. We’ll only ask for this once we’ve offered you a job though.

Why do we process personal data?

We collect and process your data only where we have your consent or where necessary to perform a contract. We’ll also use it when we have a legitimate interest in doing so, for instance:

• To manage the recruitment process, assess and confirm whether you’re suited to the position, and decide who we’d like to offer a job to.
• To get in touch with you – whether that’s to answer your questions, invite you to an interview, or keep you up to date with what’s happening with your application. We’ll also share your details with the person you’d be working for, so they can talk to you about your application too.
• To let you know about any jobs that might be relevant to you in the future if you’re not successful this time.
• To match your details to the positions we have available, so we can find the right fit.
• In some cases, we need to process data to ensure that we are complying with our legal obligations. For example, we’re required to check your eligibility to work in the UK before employment starts, which will involve copying your form of identification.

Who has access to your data?

Your information may be shared internally within the company for the purposes of the recruitment process. This includes members of the HR team, interviewers involved in the recruitment process, and managers in the business area with a vacancy.

We won’t share your data with third parties unless your application for employment is successful and an offer of employment is made. We’ll then share your data with former employers in order to obtain references. In addition, we may need to share your personal information with a regulator or otherwise to comply with the law.

How long do we keep recruitment data for?

If your application for employment is unsuccessful (including when you have speculatively applied to us for a role which isn’t available), we’ll hold your application data on file for up to one year. At the end of that time, we’ll securely delete or destroy your data. If you’ve had any identity documentation copied, we’ll securely destroy this straight away if you’re not offered a position with us.

If your application for employment is successful, personal data gathered during the recruitment process will be transferred to your personnel file and kept securely during your employment.

You have a right to be forgotten, so if you’d ever like to us delete your information or your CV, or would like a copy of the details we have for you, that’s absolutely fine. Just get in touch with us at jointheteam@neptune.com. We’ll need to ask you for proof of your identity though.

Neptune is an equal opportunities employer, and it’s something we wholeheartedly believe in.

Your legal rights

We’ve included your legal rights here too, because they’re an important part of our privacy policy. They’re a list of all the things you can ask us to do, under certain circumstances, with your data. You can find out more about when we can and can’t do these things by getting in touch.

You can ask us to:

• Show you the information we have about you
• Correct it
• Delete or stop using it, or change the way we use it

You’re also always able to opt-out of receiving our marketing (like emails and copies of Stories).

Just let us know if you’d like to do any of these things. You won’t have to pay anything, but if you ask us lots of times to do the same thing and it’s not something we’re required by law to do, then we might charge you a small fee or say no.

We’ll also need you to send us proof of your identity before we can go ahead – we wouldn’t want to pass your information on to the wrong person.

We’ll do what you’ve asked us to as quickly as we can – usually within a month – but sometimes things can take a bit longer. We’ll always keep you up to date though.

And that’s everything. We hope it all makes sense and remember, if you’ve got any questions or concerns, we’re here.