Privacy policy

1. Introduction

Apex Culinary Supplies operates this website and online store.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and share personal information when you:

  • visit or use our website;
  • create an account;
  • place or attempt to place an order;
  • contact us;
  • subscribe to marketing;
  • interact with our advertisements; or
  • otherwise use our products and services.

Throughout this policy, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Apex Culinary Supplies.

For the purposes of applicable UK data-protection law, Apex Culinary Supplies is responsible for deciding how and why personal information collected through our store is used.

Our online store is hosted by Shopify. Shopify provides the ecommerce platform that enables us to operate the website and process orders.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By using our website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood how we handle personal information.

2. Personal information we collect

The personal information we collect depends on how you interact with us.

Contact and identity information

This may include:

  • your name;
  • email address;
  • telephone number;
  • billing address;
  • delivery address; and
  • other information needed to identify or contact you.

Account information

If you create an account, we may collect:

  • your username or account identifier;
  • password or authentication information;
  • saved addresses;
  • account preferences; and
  • order history.

Passwords are normally stored and managed through Shopify’s systems and are not visible to us in plain text.

Order and transaction information

This may include:

  • products viewed or purchased;
  • products added to your basket;
  • order number;
  • purchase date;
  • order value;
  • delivery method;
  • delivery status;
  • returns, refunds or cancellations;
  • discount codes used; and
  • previous transactions with us.

Payment information

Payments are processed by Shopify and other payment providers offered during checkout.

Payment providers may collect information such as:

  • payment-card details;
  • billing information;
  • payment method;
  • payment authorisation;
  • transaction identifiers; and
  • fraud-prevention information.

We do not normally receive or store your complete payment-card number.

Communications

We collect information you provide when you:

  • email us;
  • contact customer support;
  • submit a complaint;
  • request a refund or return;
  • respond to a survey;
  • leave a review; or
  • communicate with us through another available contact method.

Technical and device information

When you use the website, we or our service providers may automatically collect:

  • IP address;
  • browser type;
  • device type;
  • operating system;
  • device identifiers;
  • network information;
  • approximate location derived from your IP address;
  • referring website;
  • pages visited;
  • dates and times of visits; and
  • information about how you interact with the website.

Advertising and analytics information

Where the relevant technologies are enabled and you have provided any consent required by law, we may collect information relating to:

  • advertisements viewed or clicked;
  • pages and products viewed;
  • searches submitted;
  • items added to your basket;
  • checkout activity;
  • completed purchases;
  • advertising campaign identifiers;
  • cookie or device identifiers; and
  • marketing attribution and conversion information.

Fraud, safety and verification information

Where reasonably necessary, we may collect or receive information used to:

  • verify an order;
  • confirm a customer’s identity;
  • assess potentially fraudulent transactions;
  • confirm the intended lawful use of a product;
  • protect customers and our business; and
  • comply with legal or safety obligations.

This may include age-confirmation information, delivery-address checks, payment-risk indicators and information provided in response to an order-verification request.

Marketing preferences

We may collect information about:

  • whether you have agreed to receive marketing;
  • your preferred communication method;
  • when and how consent was obtained;
  • marketing messages opened or interacted with; and
  • whether you have unsubscribed.

3. How we collect personal information

We may collect personal information from the following sources.

Directly from you

For example, when you:

  • place an order;
  • create an account;
  • enter information at checkout;
  • contact us;
  • request customer support;
  • subscribe to marketing;
  • submit a review; or
  • complete a form.

Automatically through the website

Information may be collected through:

  • cookies;
  • pixels;
  • tags;
  • local storage;
  • server logs;
  • analytics tools; and
  • similar technologies.

From Shopify and other service providers

We may receive information from organisations that help us operate the store, including:

  • Shopify;
  • payment providers;
  • fraud-prevention providers;
  • delivery companies;
  • website and hosting providers;
  • customer-support services;
  • analytics providers; and
  • advertising platforms.

From advertising and business partners

Where legally permitted, we may receive information from platforms such as Google concerning advertisement interactions, website activity and campaign performance.

4. How we use personal information

We may use personal information for the following purposes.

Providing products and processing orders

We use information to:

  • receive and process orders;
  • take and confirm payment;
  • send order confirmations;
  • arrange delivery;
  • provide tracking information;
  • manage accounts;
  • process cancellations, returns and refunds;
  • respond to order enquiries; and
  • fulfil our contract with you.

Customer service and communication

We use information to:

  • respond to questions;
  • investigate complaints;
  • resolve delivery problems;
  • provide product information;
  • send important service messages; and
  • maintain our relationship with customers.

Security and fraud prevention

We use information to:

  • verify transactions;
  • detect and prevent fraud;
  • investigate suspicious activity;
  • secure customer accounts;
  • protect the website;
  • prevent misuse of our products; and
  • protect customers, our business and third parties.

Legal and regulatory compliance

We may process information to:

  • maintain accounting and transaction records;
  • comply with tax obligations;
  • respond to lawful requests from authorities;
  • enforce our Terms of Service;
  • establish, exercise or defend legal claims;
  • comply with product-safety requirements; and
  • comply with other applicable legal obligations.

Operating and improving the website

We may use information to:

  • monitor website performance;
  • diagnose technical problems;
  • understand how customers use the store;
  • improve navigation and checkout;
  • assess product demand;
  • improve our products and services; and
  • develop new features.

Marketing

Where permitted, we may use information to:

  • send promotional emails;
  • inform customers about products or offers;
  • measure marketing performance;
  • understand which advertisements resulted in visits or purchases; and
  • show more relevant advertisements.

You can unsubscribe from promotional emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link in the email or by contacting us.

Unsubscribing from marketing will not prevent us from sending necessary messages about an order, account, refund or customer-service request.

Advertising and conversion measurement

Where you consent to the relevant advertising technologies, we may use Google Ads and related services to:

  • measure advertisement clicks;
  • record purchases and other website events;
  • understand which campaigns resulted in sales;
  • create advertising audiences; and
  • show advertisements that may be more relevant to you.

Information about your activity may be shared with Google and processed in accordance with Google’s own privacy terms and your consent choices.

5. Our lawful bases for processing

UK data-protection law requires us to have a lawful reason for processing personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on the following lawful bases.

Contract

Processing may be necessary to:

  • process and deliver an order;
  • take payment;
  • provide customer support;
  • process a return or refund; or
  • take steps requested before entering into a contract.

Without the necessary information, we may be unable to accept or fulfil an order.

Legal obligation

We may process information where necessary to comply with legal requirements, including:

  • tax and accounting obligations;
  • consumer-protection requirements;
  • fraud-prevention obligations;
  • lawful requests from authorities; and
  • obligations relating to legal claims.

Legitimate interests

We may process information where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and those interests are not overridden by your rights.

These interests may include:

  • operating and improving our store;
  • protecting the business against fraud;
  • securing our systems;
  • understanding business performance;
  • responding to customers;
  • maintaining accurate records;
  • preventing misuse of products; and
  • promoting our products where legally permitted.

Consent

We may rely on consent for activities such as:

  • non-essential cookies;
  • certain analytics technologies;
  • targeted advertising;
  • some forms of email or electronic marketing; and
  • other optional processing.

You may withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

6. Cookies and similar technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies.

Cookies are small files or identifiers stored on or accessed from your device.

Essential technologies

Essential cookies may be used to:

  • operate the basket and checkout;
  • remember privacy choices;
  • keep the website secure;
  • prevent fraud;
  • maintain customer sessions; and
  • provide features requested by you.

These technologies are necessary for the website to function properly.

Analytics and performance technologies

With your consent where required, analytics technologies may help us understand:

  • the number of visitors to the website;
  • how visitors navigate the store;
  • which pages or products are popular;
  • whether technical errors occur; and
  • how the website can be improved.

Advertising technologies

With your consent where required, advertising technologies may be used to:

  • measure advertisement performance;
  • record conversions;
  • understand whether an advertisement led to a purchase;
  • create audiences; and
  • personalise advertising.

You can accept, reject or manage non-essential technologies through the cookie banner or cookie-settings option available on our website.

Your choices may need to be made again if you clear browser cookies, change device or use a different browser.

7. How we share personal information

We may share personal information where reasonably necessary with the following categories of recipient.

Shopify

Shopify hosts our online store and processes information needed to operate the website, checkout, customer accounts and related ecommerce services.

Shopify may process some information on our behalf and may also process certain information for its own purposes, as explained in Shopify’s Consumer Privacy Policy.

Payment providers

Payment providers process transactions, authorise payments, prevent fraud and handle refunds.

Delivery providers

We share delivery information with couriers and fulfilment providers where necessary to deliver orders.

These providers may include Royal Mail, DPD or another courier shown during checkout.

Technology and service providers

We may share information with providers that assist with:

  • website hosting;
  • IT support;
  • email delivery;
  • customer support;
  • fraud prevention;
  • security;
  • data storage;
  • order management;
  • website analytics; and
  • business administration.

Advertising and analytics providers

Where permitted and subject to your consent choices, we may share information with advertising and analytics providers, including Google.

Professional advisers

Information may be shared with accountants, legal advisers, insurers, auditors or other professional advisers where reasonably necessary.

Government bodies and law enforcement

We may disclose information where required by law, court order or a valid request from a regulator, tax authority, law-enforcement agency or other public body.

Business transfers

If all or part of the business is sold, transferred, reorganised or merged, relevant information may be disclosed to prospective purchasers and their advisers.

Any recipient would be required to handle the information appropriately and in accordance with applicable law.

We do not sell customers’ personal information for money.

8. International transfers

Some service providers, including Shopify, Google and other technology providers, may process personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the transfer is protected through an approved legal mechanism.

Depending on the destination and provider, this may include:

  • UK adequacy regulations;
  • the UK International Data Transfer Agreement;
  • the UK Addendum to approved standard contractual clauses; or
  • another safeguard permitted under applicable data-protection law.

9. How long we keep personal information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy.

The retention period depends on:

  • why the information was collected;
  • whether an account remains active;
  • whether an order or complaint remains unresolved;
  • legal and accounting requirements;
  • fraud and security considerations;
  • applicable limitation periods; and
  • whether information is needed to establish or defend a legal claim.

Order, transaction, invoice and accounting information will generally be kept for up to six years after the end of the relevant financial year, or longer where required by law, an investigation or an unresolved dispute.

Account information may be retained while the account remains active and for a reasonable period after closure.

Customer-service communications may be retained for as long as necessary to resolve the matter and maintain appropriate business records.

Marketing information will normally be retained until you unsubscribe, withdraw consent or the information is no longer required. We may keep limited suppression information to ensure that we continue to respect an unsubscribe request.

Cookie and advertising information is retained according to the duration of the relevant cookie or technology and your privacy choices.

When information is no longer required, it will be deleted, anonymised or securely disposed of where reasonably possible.

10. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:

  • unauthorised access;
  • accidental loss;
  • misuse;
  • alteration;
  • disclosure; and
  • destruction.

These measures may include access controls, secure payment processing, encryption, account authentication, security monitoring and fraud-prevention systems.

No internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

You are responsible for keeping your account password and login details confidential. Contact us promptly if you believe that your account has been accessed without permission.

11. Children’s information

Our store and products are not intended to be purchased by children.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children for the purpose of selling products to them.

If you believe that a child has submitted personal information to us without appropriate permission, contact us so that we can investigate and take appropriate action.

12. Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the following rights.

Access

You may request confirmation of whether we hold personal information about you and request a copy of that information.

Correction

You may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information.

Erasure

You may ask us to delete personal information in certain circumstances.

This right does not apply where we are legally required or otherwise permitted to retain the information.

Restriction

You may ask us to restrict the way we use personal information in certain circumstances.

Objection

You may object to processing based on legitimate interests.

You have the right to object at any time to the use of your personal information for direct marketing.

Portability

Where applicable, you may request personal information that you provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.

Withdrawal of consent

Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.

Complaints

You may raise a complaint with us about how your personal information has been handled.

We may need to request information to verify your identity before responding to a rights request. This helps prevent personal information from being disclosed to somebody who is not authorised to receive it.

Data-protection rights are subject to legal limitations and exceptions.

13. Marketing choices

You can stop receiving promotional emails by:

You can manage advertising and analytics cookies through the cookie-settings option on our website.

It may take a short period to process a marketing opt-out.

We may continue sending non-marketing communications where necessary, including order confirmations, delivery updates, security notices and responses to customer-service enquiries.

14. Third-party websites

Our website may contain links to websites or services operated by third parties.

We are not responsible for the privacy, security or content of third-party websites.

You should read the privacy policy of any external website before providing personal information to it.

The presence of a link does not necessarily mean that we endorse or control the third-party service.

15. Complaints to the Information Commissioner

Please contact us first if you have concerns about how we use personal information so that we can try to resolve the matter.

You also have the right to complain to the UK’s data-protection regulator:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Making a complaint to us does not affect your right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

16. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:

  • changes to our business;
  • changes to the website;
  • new services or technologies;
  • changes to our data practices; or
  • legal and regulatory requirements.

The updated policy will be published on this page with a revised “Last updated” date.

Where required by law, we will provide additional notice before a significant change takes effect.

17. Contact information

Questions, complaints and requests relating to this Privacy Policy or your personal information should be sent to:

Apex Culinary Supplies

Email: info@apexculinary.co.uk

Postal address:
71–75 Shelton Street
London
WC2H 9JQ
United Kingdom

When contacting us about a data-protection request, please provide enough information for us to identify you and understand your request.