Privacy & Cookies Policy

BedfordBID are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We strive to protect the security of information which you provide to BedfordBID, and will use up-to-date measures to provide such security.

This Policy explains how we use personal information we collect about you when you use our websites – www.lovebedford.co.uk, www.lovebedfordoffers.co.uk and www.lovebedfordbusinesses.co.uk. It also explains the conditions under which we may pass your personal information on to others and how we keep your information secure.

By using our websites, you’re agreeing to be bound by this Policy.

Who are we?

BedfordBID represents businesses in Bedford town centre, supporting the trading environment and helping to attract new customers and investment to Bedford. BedfordBID is a private and independent company run by a Board of Directors chosen from those businesses that actually pay the BID levy, including both small and large businesses.

How do we collect information from you?

We obtain information about you when you use our websites, for example, when you make an enquiry with us via a web form, sign-up to receive personalised communication via email or enter a competition or Free Prize Draws.

What information do we collect from you?

The personal information we collect might include your name, address, email address, contact number, date of birth, IP address and analytical data (e.g. what web pages you accessed and at what time.)

Why do we collect this information?

We collect your information to:

Process and respond to any enquiries you have made with us about our services
Carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into by you and us
Notify you of changes to our services
Send you communication which you have requested and that may be of interest, such as news, events, offers, news of commercial value and acquire your feedback about Bedford town centre.
Personalise your repeat visits to our websites, including remarketing activities (see section below).
Contact you via email to announce that you have been successful in one of our free prize draws. Please note that this email is only used for contact purposes and will not be used for other communication unless you have given your consent.
An email address is used as a unique identifier in our free prize draws to differentiate between entrants and make sure the entry is valid

What do we do with your information?

Your personal information is stored on highly-secure external databases that are only accessible by appropriate BedfordBID staff and their web developer.

For free prize draws, your data will be processed by BedfordBID staff with an email address being used as a unique identifier, allowing us to pick a winner fairly using random.org which generates a random number which we match against a spreadsheet of form submissions.

Entrants who have given consent will have their details added to our email marketing provider Mailchimp. The original details contained in the spreadsheet, along with non-consented entrants will be destroyed immediately after the draw has been made.

When you give us personal information, we take steps to ensure that it’s treated securely. Any sensitive information is protected and processed via 256-Bit SSL encryption.

Nothing is ever guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your information, we make our best effort to ensure its security on our systems.

How long do we keep hold of your information?

We will only hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity, or as long as is set out in any contract you hold with us.

Who might we share your information with?

We will not share your information with third parties outside of BedfordBID, except where we have a legal or contractual requirement to do so.

Cookies

Cookies are small data files which are sent to your web browser and stored electronically. They act as your personal identity online. This information is used by us to track visitors to our websites and to compile statistical reports on website activity. You can set your browser not to accept cookies and the following website tells you how to remove cookies from your browser: www.cookiesandyou.com

What cookies are used on our websites?

Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics to track visitors to our website. For example, it allows us to view data on how many people are browsing the website on a mobile device so we can seek to improve their online browsing experience. Whilst Google Analytics allows us to track your progress through our site we are not able to track you directly – only that an unidentified user has accessed content.

Visit Google's website for information on opting out of services and changing your privacy settings.

Social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram)
We use the sharing tools and widgets for the above social media platforms. These widgets give you the functionality to post, share, and email content on the website to a friend. If you have a cookie stored already with one of the social media platforms (for example, if you're logged into Facebook) our website will recognise this, saving you the hassle of having to login again.

JotForm
We use JotForm for all our online form submissions. All form submissions are submitted to a secure database. None of your details are shared with any third parties, and we will never add your contact details to a mailing list without expressed permission and consent.

Visit JotForm's website for information on their privacy policies.

Mailchimp
We use Mailchimp as our email platform of choice, informing people who have consented to receive communications relating to news, events, offers and more of interest in the Bedford town centre region. All contact details are stored on a secure database. None of your details are shared with any third parties, and you may unsubscribe from receiving communications easily at any time.

Visit Mailchimp’s website for information on their privacy policies.

Remarketing
Remarketing is a way for us to connect with you based upon your past interactions with our websites. Third party marketing platforms may be used by BedfordBID to perform remarketing services, such as Google AdWords. These sites use cookies to serve ads based on a user’s prior visit to a website. To opt out of customised Google Display Network ads, visit www.google.com/settings/ads/onweb. You can find out more about how Google uses any data it collects by visiting www.google.co.uk/policies/privacy.

Other websites
Our websites contain links to websites operated by third parties. BedfordBID has no control over such third party websites and accordingly cannot be responsible for the protection of any personal information that you may provide while visiting such websites.

Your choices

You have a choice about whether or not you wish to receive information from us. If you do not want to receive direct marketing communications from us about news, events, offers and more from around Bedford town centre, then you can unsubscribe at any time.

We will not contact you for marketing purposes by email, phone, post or text message unless you have given your prior consent. You can change your marketing preferences at any time by emailing us at info@lovebedford.co.uk or by calling 01234 404500.

How can I access and update the information you hold about me?

You have the right to ask for a copy of the information that BedfordBID hold about you. If you want to make such a request, or if you believe that any information that BedfordBID holds about you is incorrect or incomplete, you should write to the Director of Operations, BedfordBID, 1 Lurke Street, Bedford MK40 3TN.

Changes to our privacy policy

We keep our privacy policy under regular review and we will place any updates on this web page. This privacy policy was last updated in May 2018.

How to contact us

If you have any queries about this privacy policy or the data we hold on you, please contact us via the following methods:

Email: info@lovebedford.co.uk

Phone: 01234 404500

Post: 1 Lurke Street, Bedford MK40 3TN