Privacy & Cookies

Who This Notice Covers

This notice explains how personal information is handled when you visit thegrumblers.com, contact Richie Graham about The Grumblers, buy from the online shop, use a customer account or enquire about a school visit or event.

Richard Graham operates The Grumblers as a sole trader and is responsible for the personal information described in this notice. Business address: 19 Kendall Croft, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA13 9EN, United Kingdom.

For privacy questions, requests or concerns, email richardgraham@oddsocktales.com.

What Information We Collect

• Enquiries and bookings: your name, email address, message and details you provide about a proposed school visit, event or other enquiry.
• Orders: your name, contact details, billing and delivery addresses, products purchased, delivery instructions, payment status and correspondence about the order, including returns or refunds.
• Personalised books: any recipient name and dedication text you provide. These may include information about someone other than the purchaser. Please provide only the details needed for the dedication and avoid sensitive or unnecessary information.
• Customer accounts: account and login information, saved addresses and order history where you use an account.
• Payments: payment providers process the information required for the payment method you choose. We receive information needed to manage your order, such as payment confirmation and transaction references. Their privacy notices explain their processing.
• Technical information: our website services may process IP addresses, browser and device information, referring pages, access times and information about use of the site for operation, security and measurement.
• Cookie preferences: choices you make through our consent controls and information associated with cookies and similar technologies. See our Cookie Policy for further information.

More detail about information processed by WordPress.com and Automattic is available in Automattic’s Privacy Notice for visitors to users’ sites.

Why We Use It

We use personal information to answer enquiries, discuss and arrange visits or events, process purchases, prepare personal dedications, arrange delivery, provide customer service and handle returns, refunds or disputes. We also use information to operate and protect the website and meet legal obligations.

The principal lawful basis for routine enquiries is our legitimate interest in responding to people who contact us and running The Grumblers. Processing necessary to fulfil your purchase or booking, or take steps you request before an agreement, is based on contract. Where an adult supplies a recipient’s name or dedication for someone else, our legitimate interest is preparing the personalised gift requested, using only the information needed for that purpose. Legal obligations may require us to retain or disclose certain business records. We also have legitimate interests in protecting the website, preventing misuse and resolving disputes.

Where processing relies on consent, you can withdraw it for future processing. Our cookie controls let you choose optional categories. Contact-form information is not used to add you to a marketing list unless you separately opt in.

Information needed to fulfil an order or booking must be provided for us to deliver that service. A personal dedication is optional.

Contact-form information is not used to add you to a marketing list unless you separately choose to opt in to one.

Children’s Privacy

The Grumblers includes content for children, but children do not need an account or to submit personal information to enjoy its stories, characters and free activities. Purchases, customer accounts and enquiries should be managed by an adult.

Children should not send personal information through the contact form or by email themselves. They should ask a parent, carer, teacher or another responsible adult to contact Richie for them.
An adult may provide a child’s first name or a short dedication when ordering a personalised book. Please provide only what is needed for the inscription. We use those details to prepare and administer the order; they are not an invitation to send a child marketing messages.

If unnecessary information about a child is submitted, we will take reasonable steps to minimise or delete it when it is no longer needed. Please contact us with any concern about a child’s information.

Who We Share Information With

Information may be processed by providers needed to operate the website and fulfil your request or order. These include WordPress.com/Automattic and WooCommerce services, payment providers supporting your chosen payment method, delivery services and providers used to deliver communications. We share information needed for their role, such as a delivery name and address for posting an order. Payment services identified in the site’s cookie inventory include PayPal and Stripe; the available methods are shown at checkout.

Information may also be disclosed where required by law or reasonably necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal rights. We do not sell or rent contact-form information.

Some providers operate internationally and may process information outside the UK. Their privacy documentation explains their processing locations and applicable safeguards. See Automattic, PayPal and Stripe.

How Long We Keep Information

We keep information for as long as it is needed for its purpose, including any applicable recordkeeping obligation or unresolved issue.

• Enquiry and visit correspondence is retained while we deal with the enquiry, arrange or deliver a booking, and resolve related questions or disputes.
• Order and payment records are retained for fulfilment, delivery, returns, refunds, accounting and applicable legal recordkeeping requirements.
• Recipient names and dedication text form part of the personalisation instructions. They are needed to prepare the book and resolve any question about the inscription; unnecessary detail should not be kept longer than that purpose requires.
• Account information supports your account and customer service. Removing an account does not necessarily remove order records that still need to be retained for another lawful purpose.
• Cookie and similar technology retention periods are described in the Cookie Policy; these differ from retention of an order or enquiry.

The relevant criteria are whether the service or enquiry is complete, whether a return or dispute remains possible or unresolved, and whether a legal obligation requires continued retention. You can contact us to ask about retention or request deletion; some records may need to be retained despite a deletion request.

Your UK Data Protection Rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have rights to access your personal information, correct inaccurate information, request deletion, restrict processing, receive a portable copy of certain information and object to processing based on legitimate interests. These rights are subject to conditions and are not absolute.

Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time for future processing. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal. You can object to use of your personal information for direct marketing at any time.

To exercise a right or ask about your information, email richardgraham@oddsocktales.com. We may need information to confirm your identity before responding. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK data protection regulator.

Contact the Information Commissioner’s Office

Where applicable, Jersey residents can contact the Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner and Guernsey residents can contact the Office of the Data Protection Authority.

Cookies

Cookies are small files stored on your device. We also use related technologies such as local storage. Necessary cookies support functions such as your basket, checkout, security and remembering consent choices.

We use Complianz to manage cookie preferences. You can accept optional cookies, deny them or choose categories through the consent banner. You can reopen Manage consent to change your choices. Denying optional categories does not require you to give up use of the basket and checkout.

See our Cookie Policy for details of cookies and services and access to consent settings. You can also delete or block cookies through your browser, although blocking necessary cookies may affect shopping functions.

Links to Other Websites

The Grumblers website links to other websites, including booksellers and social media platforms. Those services have their own privacy and cookie practices. This notice applies to The Grumblers website and does not replace the privacy information provided by those third parties.

Changes to This Notice

This page may be updated as the website develops, new services are added or legal requirements change. The date at the top of the page will show when it was last updated.