Privacy policy

Distinctive Pets respects your privacy  and is committed to protecting your personal information. 

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use and protect personal information when you visit or purchase from our website, www.distinctivepets.co.uk contact us, sign up to our marketing communications or otherwise interact with Distinctive Pets. 

1. Who Are We.

Distinctive Pets is a UK-based online retailer selling gifts and products for pets and their owners, including dog food, treats, toys, accessories and other pet-related products. 

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Distinctive Pets is the data controller for the personal information we collect and use. 

Business Name: Distinctive Pets 

Business Address: Westwood Cottage, Thornholme Driffield, Yorkshire, YO25 4NN

Email: info@distinctivepets.co.uk 

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we use your personal information, please contact us using the details above. 

2. What Personal Information We Collect. 

Depending on how your interact with us, we may collect the following information: 

When you place an order: 

• Your name
• Billing and delivery address
• Email address
• Telephone number, where provided. 
• Details of the products you purchase
• Order number and transaction details
• Payment and delivery information and 
• Communications relating to your order. 

We do not normally have access to your full payment card details. Payments are processed securely by our payment providers. 

When you create an account.

We may collect your name, email address, account information and information relating to your orders. 

When you contact us. 

If you contact us by email, telephone, social media or another method, we may keep a record of your communication and any  information you provide so that we can respond and deal with your enquiry. 

When you sign up for marketing. 

If you choose to receive our marketing emails, we may collect your name and email address and information about your marketing preferences. 

When you use our website. 

We may automatically collect certain technical information, including your IP address, browser type, device information, approximate location, pages visited and information about how you use our website. 

Some of this information is collected through cookies and similar technologies. Please see the Cookies section below. 

3. How we use your information

We use personal information for the following purposes:: 

Processing and delivering orders. 

• Process and fulfil your orders. 
• Arrange payment 
• Arrange delivery 
• Provide order confirmation and updates. 
• Deal with returns, refunds and exchanges 
• Provide customers services and 
• Keep appropriate records of transactions. 

The legal basis for this processing is that it is necessary to perform our contract with you, or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. 

Running and improving our website. 

We may use information about how visitors use our website to maintain, improve and develop the website, understand which products and pages are popular and improve the experience we provide. 

When appropriate, we rely on our legitimate interests to operate and improve our business. Where consent is required for cookies or similar technologies, we will ask for your consent. 

Marketing

If you have agreed to receive marketing communications from us, we may use your name and email address to send you information about: 

• New products
• Special Offers 
• Promotions 
• Pet-related products and information 
• News from Distinctive Pets and 
• Other information we believe may be of interest to you. 

Where we rely on your consent for electronic marketing, you can withdraw that consent at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our emails or contacting us. 

We will not make you provide consent to marketing as a condition of purchasing from us. 

Legal and administrative purposes. 

We may use personal information where necessary to:

• Comply with legal and regulatory requirements. 
• Maintain appropriate business and financial records. 
• Prevent fraud or misuse of our website. 
• Protect our business and customers 
• Establish, exercise or defend legal claims and
• Enforce our terms and conditions. 

4. Our lawful bases for using your information. 

Under UK Data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal information. 

Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on: 

Contract: where processing is necessary to fulfil an order or provide a service you have requested. 

Legal obligation: where we are required to process or retain information to comply with the law, for example accounting and tax requirements. 

Legitimate interests: where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. 

Consent: where you have actively given us permission to use your information for a particular purpose, such as certain marketing or non-essential cookies. 

5. Who we share your information with. 

We do not sell your personal information. 

We may share personal information with trusted organisations where necessary to operate our business and provide our services. 

These may include;

• Shopify, which provides our ecommerce platform.
• Payment service providers that securely process payments. 
• Delivery and courier companies. 
• Email marketing provider 
• Website, analytics and technology providers. 
• IT and software service providers. 
• Accountants, professional advisors and insurers where necessary and
• Government bodies, regulators, law enforcement agencies or other organisations where we are legally required to do so. 

We only share information where there is a legitimate reason for doing so and where required., appropriate contractual and security arrangements are in place. 

6. Payments 

Payments made through our website are processed by third-party payment providers. 

Your payment details are handled by the relevant payment provider in accordance with its own privacy and security policies. We do not normally store your complete payment card details ourselves. 

7. Cookies and similar technologies. 

Our website uses cookies and similar technoliges. 

Some cookies are essential for the website to function, for example, to allow you to add products to your basket and complete a purchase. 

Other cookies may be used for purposes such as: 

• Understanding how visitors use our website. 
• Analysing website performance
• Remembering preferences 
• Improving our website and 
• Marketing and advertising. 

Where consent is required, we will ask for your consent before using non-essential cookies or similar technologies. 

You can manage your cookie preference through our cookie consent mechanism and can adjust your browser setting. 

The Information Commissioner's Office states that non-essential cookies generally require active consent and that users should be given clear information about what cookies do and why they are used. 

8. Third Party Websites. 

Our website may contain links to other websites, including manufacturers, suppliers, social media platforms and other third-party websites. 

If you follow a link to another website, that website will have it's own privacy policy and  terms. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites. 

9. Social Media. 

We may use social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to communicate with customers and promote our products. 

If you interact with us through social media, the relevant platform may collect and process your personal information in accordance with its own privacy policy. 

10. How long we keep your information. 

We only keep personal information for as long as we reasonably need it for the purposes described in the Privacy Policy. 

Different types of information may be retained for different periods. 

• Order and financial records may need to be retained for a number of years to meet legal, accounting and tax requirements. 
• Customer service correspondence may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary to deal with the enquiry and maintain appropriate records. 
• Marketing information will generally be retained until your unsubscribe or we determine that it is no longer appropriate to retain i 
• Cookie and analytics information will be retained in accordance with the relevant technology provider's settings and our own retention arrangements. 

When information is no longer required, we will securely delete it or anonymise it where appropriate. 

11. Your rights 

Depending on the circumstances, you have rights under UK data protection law, including the right to: 

• ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information. 
• ask us to delete your personal information in certain circumstances. 
• object to certain types of processing, including direct marketing. 
• ask for certain information to be provided in a portable formatand
• withdraw consent where we rely on consent as our lawful basis. 

You can unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link included in our emails. 

If you wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact us using the details in Section 1. 

We may need to verify your identity before dealing with certain requests.

12.Direct Marketing 

You can opt out of marketing emails at any time. 

Every marketing email we send will include an unsubscribe option. 

If you unsubscribe from marketing, we will stop sending you promotional communication, although we may still contact you where necessary about an order you have placed or another service-related matter. 

13. Children's Privacy. 

Our website is intended for adults and is not directed specifically at children. 

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children for marketing purposes. 

14.Keeping your information secure. 

e take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration or disclosure. 

However, no internet transmission or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. 

15. Changes to this Privacy Policy. 

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our business, the services we use or applicable legal requirements. 

When we make significant changes, we will update the date at the top of this policy. 

16. Complaints. 

If you have concerns about how we have used your personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to resolve your concern. 

You also have the right to complain to the UK's data protection regulator. 

Information Commissioners's Office - Website -www.ico.org.uk  Telephone 03031231113

The ICO recommends that organisations tell people about their right to complain to the ICO as part of their privacy informaton. 

17. Contact us 

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, your personal information or the way we use it, please contact. 

Distinctive Pets - Westwood Cottage,Thornholme, Driffied,E Yorkshire, YO25 4NN

Email info@distinctivepets.co.uk 

 

Updated 9th September 2026