Dog Walks with Neil
Customer Privacy Notice

This privacy notice tells you what to expect us to do with your personal information.

Contact Details

Telephone 07989 232318

Email neil@dogwalkswithneil.co.uk

What information we collect, use, and why

We collect or use the following information to provide services and goods, including delivery:

• Names and contact details
• Addresses
• Purchase or account history
• Account information
• Records of meetings and decisions

We collect or use the following information for the operation of customer accounts:

• Names and contact details
• Addresses
• Payment details (including card or bank information for transfers and direct debits)
• Purchase history
• Marketing preferences

We collect or use the following information for service updates or marketing purposes:

• Names and contact details
• Marketing preferences

We collect or use the following personal information for dealing with queries:

• Names and contact details
• Address
• Purchase or service history
• Correspondence

Lawful bases and data protection rights

Under UK data protection law, we must have a “lawful basis” for collecting and using your personal information. There is a list of possible lawful bases in the UK GDPR. You can find out more about lawful bases on the ICO’s website.

Which lawful basis we rely on may affect your data protection rights which are set out in brief below. You can find out more about your data protection rights and the exemptions which may apply on the ICO’s website:

• Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. You can request other information such as details about where we get personal information from and who we share personal information with. There are some exemptions which means you may not receive all the information you ask for. Read more about the right of access.
• Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to correct or delete personal information you think is inaccurate or incomplete. Read more about the right to rectification.
• Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to delete your personal information. Read more about the right to erasure.
• Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to limit how we can use your personal information. Read more about the right to restriction of processing.
• Your right to object to processing - You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data. Read more about the right to object to processing.
• Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you. Read more about the right to data portability.
• Your right to withdraw consent – When we use consent as our lawful basis you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Read more about the right to withdraw consent.

If you make a request, we must respond to you without undue delay and in any event within one month.  To make a data protection rights request, please contact us using the contact details at the top of this privacy notice.

Our lawful bases for the collection and use of your data

For providing services and goods

We rely on the following lawful bases:

• Consent – You’ve given permission after being informed. You can withdraw consent at any time. All data rights apply except the right to object.
• Contract – We need your data to enter into or fulfil a contract. All data rights apply except the right to object.
• Legitimate interests – We use your data to benefit you, our business, or others, without causing harm. All rights apply except the right to data portability.

Why we process your data:

To deliver safe, tailored pet care services, we collect contact details, pet instructions, emergency contacts, and relevant health or behavioural info.

Benefits: This allows us to

• Provide personalised care
• Communicate effectively
• Respond to emergencies
• Maintain safety and service quality

Safeguards: We

• Limit data to what’s necessary
• Store it securely
• Restrict access
• Never share without consent (unless required by law)

We believe these benefits outweigh minimal privacy risks and reflect client expectations.

For operating customer accounts: We rely on

• Consent – You’ve agreed after being informed. You can withdraw consent at any time. All rights apply except the right to object.
• Contract – We need your data to manage your account and deliver services. All rights apply except the right to object.
• Legitimate interests – We use your data to run accounts efficiently and maintain service quality. All rights apply except the right to data portability.

How we process your data

We collect names, contact details, pet profiles, service preferences, and communication history to manage bookings and tailor services.

Benefits: This helps us

• Register and manage accounts
• Schedule services
• Keep accurate care records
• Communicate clearly
• Improve service delivery

Safeguards: We

• Collect only necessary data
• Store it securely
• Limit access
• Never share without consent (unless required by law)

These measures ensure privacy while enabling reliable service.  For more details on our use of legitimate interests, please contact us using the details above.

For service updates or marketing

• Consent – You’ve given permission after being informed. You can withdraw consent at any time. All rights apply except the right to object.

For queries or complaints

• Consent – You’ve given permission after being informed. You can withdraw consent at any time. All rights apply except the right to object.

Where we get personal information from

• Directly from you

Data Retention Schedule

Last updated: October 2025

This schedule outlines how long Dog Walks with Neil retains personal data collected in the course of providing dog walking and pet sitting services. It reflects our commitment to data minimisation and lawful processing under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Key Principles

• We only retain personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose it was collected for.
• We regularly review the data we hold and securely delete or anonymise information that is no longer needed.
• Retention periods are based on legal obligations, industry best practices, and operational requirements.

Client & Pet Information

Data Category          Purpose                                            Retention Period        Justification

Client contact details         Service delivery, communication         6 years from last service     Aligns with HMRC period for claims

Pet care instructions           Safe & tailored service provision          6 years from last service    Continuity of care for bookings

Emergency contacts          Safety and contingency planning       6 years from last service    Retained  for emergency use

Pet health notes                     Risk management/service tailoring   6 years from last service    Necessary for safe handling/care

Financial & Transactional Records

Data Category                  Purpose                                         Retention Period       Justification

Invoices/payment records       Accounting/tax compliance                6 years                                             Required by HMRC 

Bank transfer confirmations   Audit trail and dispute resolution    6 years                                             Financial and legal transparency

Expense receipts                             Business accounting                                6 years                                            HMRC requirement

Communications & Consent

Data Category                   Purpose                                         Retention Period       Justification

Email and message history        Service coordination                              2 years from last contact     Operations  and service

Consent records                                Legal communication                            Until withdrawn + 2 years     ICO guidance

Employee Records

Data Category                    Purpose                                          Retention Period         Justification

Payroll and tax records                   HMRC compliance                                      6 years                                               Required by UK tax law

DBS checks                                            Safeguarding                                                  6 years after termination      ICO and safeguarding

Data Disposal

• Data is securely deleted using appropriate digital and physical methods.
• Paper records are shredded; digital records are permanently deleted or anonymised.
• Disposal is logged where appropriate for audit purposes.

Legal Basis & Review

This schedule is reviewed annually or when there are changes in legislation, business operations, or data processing activities. It supports our obligations under:

• UK GDPR (Article 5: Data minimisation and storage limitation)
• Data Protection Act 2018
• HMRC recordkeeping requirements
• Limitation Act 1980 (for potential legal claims)

Who we share information with

Ionos

This data processor does the following activities for us: IONOS acts as a data processor under GDPR, providing cloud hosting for web services. IONOS processes personal data on behalf of Dog Walks with Neil, who is the data controller. Role: Data Processor Services Covered: Cloud services, web hosting, enquiry routing. Legal Basis: Article 28(3) of the GDPR Responsibility: Follows the instructions of the data controller and implements appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure data protection IONOS handles data only as needed to deliver the contracted services. These are the enquiry details passed by form or business email account.

Monzo

This data processor does the following activities for us: Monzo acts as a data controller when it issues invoices from Dog Walks with Neil's business account and accepts bank transfer payments. Role: Data Controller Context: Banking services, invoicing, payment processing Responsibility: Monzo is responsible for complying with data protection laws in its own right, including providing privacy notices and securing customer data. Dog Walks with Neil uses Monzo to manage client payments, and remains the data controller for clients’ data, and Monzo is a separate data controller for the banking-related processing.

How to complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal data, you can make a complaint to us using the contact details at the top of this privacy notice.

If you remain unhappy with how we’ve used your data after raising a complaint with us, you can also complain to the ICO.

The ICO’s address:           

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

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

Website: https://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

Last updated: October 2025