Security & Privacy
The Chocolate Tasting Club is part of the Hotel Chocolat Group.
Hotel Chocolat is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected and that we fully comply at all times with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. This privacy policy explains how we use the information we collect about you, how you can instruct us if you prefer to limit the use of that information and procedures that we have in place to safeguard your privacy.
1. The information we collect and how we use it
When you order or enquire about our products we need to know your name, postal address, e-mail address, telephone number, and, if ordering, your credit card number and expiry date. If you have ordered products for a third party we will need to know their postal address. We gather this information to allow us to process your registration and process any orders you may make. The relevant information is then used by us, our agents and sub-contractors to organise delivery,provide you with statements of your account and to communicate with you on any matter relating to the conduct of your account and the provision of our service.
We may also use aggregate information and statistics for the purposes of monitoring website usage in order to help us develop the website and our services and may provide such aggregate information to third parties. These statistics will not include information that can be used to identify any individual. From time to time we may provide your information to our customer service agencies for research and analysis purposes so that we can monitor and improve the products and services we provide. We or our agents and sub-contractors may contact you by post, e-mail or telephone to ask you for your feedback and comments on our products and services.
We and our group companies may also wish to provide you with information about special features of our website or any other service or products we think may be of interest to you. If you would rather not receive this information, please click here. You can also unsubscribe from our contact list at any time by replying to a marketing email with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line, by emailing custserv@hotelchocolat.co.uk or by calling us on 08444 93 23 23 from 8.30am to 7pm Monday to Friday, or 9am to 2pm Saturday.
We may also want to provide you with related information from third parties we think may be of interest to you. If you would rather not receive this information, please login to your account and change your preferences by clicking here. We may also provide your information to carefully selected third parties whose products or services we believe may be of interest to you. If you do not wish us to disclose your information in this way, please login to your account and change your preferences by clicking here.
2. Our use of cookies and other information gathering technologies
A cookie is a small text file which we transfer to your hard drive through your web browser when you visit our website or open certain emails. It enables our own system to recognise you when you visit our website again and improve our service to you. This information can be used to enhance the content of our website and make your use of it easier. For more information about cookies please visit www.allaboutcookies.org.
Three types of cookie may be used during your visit to hotelchocolat.co.uk
• Hotel Chocolat session cookies that are deleted after each visit
• Hotel Chocolat persistent cookies are not deleted after each visit
• Third party cookies that are used by our partners, for example, to help us measure site visitors
Some of these cookies are essential for you to use hotelchocolat.co.uk
Here is a list of all the cookies that Hotel Chocolat set and how we use them:
|
Cookie name |
Purpose |
|
Session cookie |
Used to maintain your transaction with Hotel Chocolat (expires within a 30 day period). Minimises the need to transfer your information across the Internet. |
|
hotelchocolat.co.uk tracking cookie |
Used to recognise repeat visitors to the site and in conjunction with other information we hold to attempt to record specific browsing information (that is, about the way you arrive at the site, pages you view, options you select, information you enter and path you take through the site) against an individual customer profile. |
Here is a list of some cookies that may be set by our business partners on hotelchocolat.co.uk:
|
Partners |
Purpose |
|
Redeye |
We use Redeye's software to carry out statistical analysis of page use, page interactions and paths through hotelchocolat.co.uk. This is known as 'web metrics'. We may also record certain information that customers provide during a purchase or other process, such as name, email or catalogue request reference. We also capture a customer identifier when Hotel Chocolat registered customers log on to hotelchocolat.co.uk. This information allows us to identify customers and more accurately understand their individual behaviours and needs. This means that we can more easily tailor offers and information which may be of interest to individuals. We will only send marketing emails when customers have given us permission to do so. Redeye has access to this along with other Hotel Chocolat data, to help increase the relevancy of our direct marketing. |
|
Commission Junction |
Our affiliate network, Commission Junction, use a 45-day persistent cookie for the purpose of rewarding digital publishers for a purchase or other process, such as catalogue request. They report back non-personal identifiable information to Commission Junction about the interaction performed. |
|
MyThings Media |
When a visitor enters our website, they are tagged with a simple smart cookie. When later entering any ad network site, MyThings use aggregated anonymous data to create a personalised banner. |
|
Social Bookmarks |
Our bookmarking supplier, used to allow you to easily bookmark selected hotelchocolat.co.uk pages |
If you wish to reject our cookies, you can configure your browser to do so.
3. How we protect your information
Security is a major issue for anyone purchasing on the internet. You need to know that a website is legitimate, and transactions are secure before you buy. To address these issues, the Hotel Chocolat website uses a Digital Certificate from Verisign. Our secure server software uses the digital certificate to encrypt your credit card number. The encryption process takes the characters you enter and converts them into bits of code which are then securely transmitted over the internet. We also keep your information confidential. The internal procedures of Hotel Chocolat cover the storage, access and disclosure of your information.
4. Sale of business
If this business is sold or integrated with another business your details may be disclosed to our advisers and any prospective purchasers and their advisers and will be passed on to the new owners of the business.
5. Updating your details
If any of the information that you have provided to us changes, for example if you change your e-mail address or name, please login to your account by clicking here. If you wish to cancel your registration, please send an e-mail by clicking here, or by sending a letter to Hotel Chocolat Ltd, Mint House, Newark Close, Royston, SG8 5HL, England.
6. Your consent
By submitting your information you consent to the use of that information as set out in this policy. If we change our privacy policy we will post the changes on this page, and may place notices on other pages of the website, so that you may be aware of the information we collect and how we use it at all times. We will also e-mail you should we make any changes so that you may consent to our use of your information in that way. Continued use of the service will signify that you agree to any such changes.
7. How to contact Hotel Chocolat
We welcome your views about our website and our privacy policy. If you would like to contact us with any queries or comments please send an e-mail by clicking here.
