Michael Swift Horologist - Privacy Policy

Your personal information is your private property. We collect only what we need to carry out the services you request, and we will always be upfront about what information we hold. We delete the information we hold about you once it is no longer needed, unless you direct us otherwise. We do not use your information for any form of marketing.

Who we are

“We”, means the business “Michael Swift Horologist” and it’s employees. The employee responsible for ensuring your data is collected and stored safely is James Swift [the data controller]. Employees will be able to view the personal information you share with us in connection with their work.

Information we collect

We collect information through our website (when you browse pages or create an account) and through written, telephone and email correspondence. Before collecting any information about you, or before storing any information on your device we ask for your consent first, unless consent is obviously implied.

Information We Collect	Purpose of Collection	Retention period, after last use*
Public IP address	Like a return address on an envelope, we need this to respond to your browser’s requests. We also use this information to block specific computers or networks who are acting maliciously and to generate statistics.	6 Months
Operating System	We note the operating system used on each device to help you see which devices have been connected to your account and manage your account security.	1 Year
Your Name	To identify you when come to pick up your items, or otherwise engage with the business.	1 Year
Phone Number	We need this to communicate with you in relation to your repairs.	1 Year
Email Address	The primary way we will contact you to inform you of account changes, repair updates and so on.	1 Year
Password	Your password is encrypted in such as way as to make it impossible for anyone (including us) to ever read it. We need to store this encrypted password to confirm your identity the next time you try to log in.	1 Year
Secret Answers	If you choose to, you can store some secret answers to some questions, to help securely identify you in case you forget your password. Your answers are one-way-encrypted the same as passwords are.	1 Year
Addresses	We need your address to be able to return your repairs and communicate by post. You can store multiple addresses for convenience. Your address validity may be confirmed by sending it to the Google Maps geocoding api and examining the results. For more details see Google’s privacy policy. Addresses you enter are stored on our server and in your browser.	1 Year
Repair History	Each timepiece you leave with us is given a unique identifier. This is linked to the invoices we issue which have their own identifier. These items themselves contain no personal information, but they are in turn linked to your user account. When you delete your account, or after it is automatically deleted (1 year after it is last used) the link is severed and the items can no longer be traced back to your personal information. However, if an item returns to us in the future, we will be able to look up its service history with it’s unique identifier.	Lifetime of user account, Indefinitely Anonymised
Email Correspondence	Whenever we send you an email, or you email us, we keep a record of this correspondence to help us improve our customer service and have a record in case of any disputes.	2 Years
Account Actions	We log important events associated with your account, such as changing your password. Employees will have their account ID logged every time they perform a significant action (such as altering an invoice, completing an order etc.) This helps us improve security and prove accountability in case of disputes.	1 Year for normal users. Indefinitely for employees.

*Retention period after last use: After the last time you perform an action in your account, or we use your data to provide a service (such as when an item is returned under warranty), an internal timer counts down towards the deletion date. This period is normally one year, but for your convenience you can increase the period. For example, allowing us to hold your information longer means you won’t need to re-enter it the next time you have a timepiece serviced. It will also allow you to view your timepiece service history for longer. You can decrease the period again at any point or delete your account if you wish, however we will retain your information for a minimum of one year after this to allow us to fulfill warranties and handle disputes.

How your information is used

We use your information to perform the tasks you ask us to, such as creating a repair order or checking if your repair is ready. We may also use your information to monitor for suspicious activity and prevent abuse of our systems.

We never share or sell your information with others, except as required by law and as outlined below:

Connections to our servers pass through a company called Cloudflare who help us prevent attacks on our system. You can read their privacy notice here.

We use google analytics to collect anonymised statistics about visitors to our website to help us monitor and improve our service. You can read their privacy notice here.

We use the Google Maps geocoding api to resolve street addresses and confirm typed addresses are valid. You can read their privacy notice here . By using this service you agree to be bound by Google’s Terms of Service.

To prevent abuse of our systems, we sometimes require you to solve a puzzle to prove that you are a real human. To do this, we use Google’s reCaptcha service. You can read their privacy policy here.

To process credit card transactions, we use a service called Stripe. They are responsible for storing your credit/debit card details along with other personal information you provide to them. Read their privacy notice here.

Cookies and similar technologies

With your consent, we store small amounts of data on your device. For example when your device connects for the first time or you log in, we store a token which serves to identify you as you and not some other user - this improves the security of your connection to our server. We also store some of your preferences on your device for your convenience.

We do not use “tracking” cookies to try and identify your visits to other websites. However Google Analytics does set cookies which help them build statistics about the way people use our website, and how regularly they visit. This information is not traceable to you individually, but is anonymised. This is standard practice for website operators.

When you first visit this website, you will be asked to decide which cookies you allow. If you wish to change your Cookie Settings, click here.

Your rights

The law guarantees you some rights. We wholeheartedly agree with these and have endeavoured to protect them in the way we have designed this policy. You can read more about these rights at here.

a right of access to a copy of the information comprised in their personal data;
a right to object to processing that is likely to cause or is causing damage or distress;
a right to prevent processing for direct marketing;
a right to object to decisions being taken by automated means;
a right in certain circumstances to have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed; and
a right to claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the Act.

Contact Us

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us.