1. Who We Are
Bear Brothers Furniture Ltd ("we", "us", "our") is a bespoke furniture maker based at Unit 5, 135 Lindsey Street, Epping, Essex, CM16 6RE. We are the data controller for the personal information we collect through this website (bearbrothersfurniture.com) and through our day-to-day business activities.
If you have any questions about this policy, please contact us at info@bearbrothersfurniture.com or call 07782 238 898.
2. What Information We Collect
We may collect and process the following personal data:
- Contact details — name, email address, telephone number and postal address, provided when you fill in our contact or quote request form.
- Project information — room dimensions, photographs and design preferences you share during a consultation.
- Technical data — IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL and pages visited, collected automatically when you browse our site.
- Communication records — emails, call notes and messages exchanged with our team.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
- To respond to enquiries and provide quotes for bespoke furniture commissions.
- To schedule and carry out home surveys, design consultations and installations.
- To manage contracts, process payments and fulfil our obligations to you.
- To send updates about your project, including delivery and installation schedules.
- To improve our website, services and customer experience.
- To comply with legal and regulatory obligations.
We will never sell, rent or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.
4. Lawful Basis for Processing
We rely on the following legal bases under UK GDPR:
- Contractual necessity — processing required to fulfil a commission or respond to a quote request.
- Legitimate interests — improving our services, website analytics and fraud prevention, where your rights do not override those interests.
- Consent — where you have opted in to receive marketing communications (you can withdraw consent at any time).
- Legal obligation — where we are required to retain records for tax or regulatory purposes.
5. Cookies and Analytics
Our website uses essential cookies to ensure the site functions correctly. We may also use analytics cookies (such as Google Analytics) to understand how visitors use our site. These cookies do not identify you personally. You can control cookie preferences through your browser settings.
6. Data Sharing
We may share your data with:
- Trusted suppliers — timber merchants or specialist finishers, only when necessary to complete your commission.
- IT and hosting providers — who process data on our behalf under strict data processing agreements.
- Professional advisers — accountants or solicitors, where required by law.
We do not transfer personal data outside the United Kingdom without appropriate safeguards.
7. Data Retention
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected. Typically:
- Quote and enquiry data — 2 years from last contact.
- Contract and invoice records — 7 years (to meet HMRC requirements).
- Marketing consent records — until you withdraw consent.
8. Your Rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you.
- Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Request erasure of your data (the "right to be forgotten").
- Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
- Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances.
- Data portability — receive your data in a structured, commonly used format.
- Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.
To exercise any of these rights, email info@bearbrothersfurniture.com. We will respond within 30 days.
9. Security
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction. This includes encrypted communications, secure hosting and restricted access to personal information.
10. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.