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Privacy Policy

Privacy matters, but a privacy policy should not need a law degree to understand. This page explains what information we collect, why we need it and what we do with it.

The short version is simple: we use the information needed to run our website, process and deliver orders, provide customer service, meet our legal obligations and keep the website secure. We do not sell personal information.

Who we are

Better Independent Living is a trading name of Mobility Smart Limited.

Mobility Smart Limited
Unit 12–13, Creamery Industrial Estate
Kenlis Road, Barnacre
Preston, Lancashire, PR3 1GD

Company number: 05251905
Telephone: 01524 888453
Email: contact@betterindependentliving.co.uk

Mobility Smart Limited is responsible for the personal information covered by this policy.

What information we collect

Depending on how you use our website or contact us, we may collect:

  • your name, address, email address and telephone number;

  • delivery details and the details of the person receiving the goods;

  • order, invoice, payment, refund, return and delivery information;

  • customer account details and order history;

  • emails, messages, call notes and telephone recordings where calls are recorded;

  • photographs, videos or other information you send when asking for advice or reporting a problem;

  • VAT-relief declarations, including limited information about a disability or long-term condition;

  • marketing preferences, reviews and feedback; and

  • technical information such as your IP address, browser, device, pages visited and cookie choices.

We normally receive information directly from you. We may also receive relevant information from payment providers, couriers, suppliers, manufacturers, repairers, fraud-prevention services and other companies helping us fulfil an order or provide a service.

If you order on behalf of somebody else, you should have their permission to give us their details.

We do not normally see or store your full card details. These are handled securely by the payment provider. We may see limited information such as the card type, last digits, payment status and the results of security checks.

How we use your information

We use personal information to:

  • answer questions and provide information before a purchase;

  • process payments, orders, deliveries and refunds;

  • manage customer accounts;

  • arrange delivery, installation, collection, repair or servicing;

  • deal with returns, faults, warranties and complaints;

  • process VAT-relief claims;

  • prevent fraud and protect our website;

  • send important messages about an order, delivery, payment, product or safety issue;

  • keep the records required for tax, accounting and legal purposes;

  • improve our website and customer service; and

  • send marketing where you have agreed to it or where the law otherwise allows it.

Data-protection law requires us to have a proper reason for using personal information. The reasons we normally rely on are:

  • Contract: to process and fulfil an order or deal with a request before purchase.

  • Legal obligation: to keep tax, VAT, accounting, product-safety and other records required by law.

  • Legitimate interests: to provide customer service, prevent fraud, improve the website, run the business properly and protect our legal position.

  • Consent: for optional marketing, non-essential cookies and health or disability information supplied for VAT relief where required.

If you do not provide the basic information needed for an order, delivery or VAT-relief claim, we may be unable to provide that particular service. You can still browse the website without creating an account or placing an order.

VAT relief and disability information

To claim VAT relief, the customer must tell us why they or the person using the product qualifies. This may include limited information about a disability or long-term condition. The law treats this as sensitive or “special-category” information.

We only use it to:

  • assess and process the VAT-relief claim;

  • apply the correct VAT;

  • keep the declaration with our tax records; and

  • provide evidence to HM Revenue & Customs if required.

We rely on your explicit consent to process health or disability information when you choose to claim VAT relief. We may then need to keep the declaration for at least six years to meet tax and legal requirements.

We do not use this information for marketing or advertising. If you would rather not provide it, you can still buy the product at the VAT-inclusive price where applicable.

Who we share information with

We only share information where it is reasonably needed to fulfil an order, provide a service, run the business or comply with the law.

This may include:

  • payment providers, banks and fraud-prevention services;

  • couriers, delivery companies, installers and repairers;

  • suppliers and manufacturers, including those sending goods directly to you;

  • website hosting, IT, security, email and customer-service providers;

  • review, analytics and marketing providers where permitted;

  • accountants, insurers and legal advisers; and

  • HM Revenue & Customs, regulators, courts or the police where legally required.

For example, a courier needs the recipient’s name, address and contact number to make a delivery. A manufacturer dealing with a warranty claim may need the order details and information about the fault.

Companies processing information for us must protect it and use it only for the agreed purpose. Some companies, such as payment providers, may also have their own privacy policies.

We do not sell or rent customer information to other businesses.

Cookies and CookieScript

Cookies are small files used by websites to remember information. Some are essential for things such as the basket, checkout, account login, security and remembering your privacy choices. Others help us understand how the website is used or measure advertising.

We use CookieScript, provided by Objectis, UAB in Lithuania, to manage cookie choices. It places a cookie called CookieScriptConsent to remember whether you accepted or rejected different types of cookies.

If consent recording is enabled, CookieScript may also keep a random consent reference, your choice, a shortened IP address, the date and time, the page and basic browser information. We use this to respect your choice and show that it was recorded correctly.

Essential cookies may operate without consent where the law allows. Analytics, advertising and other optional cookies will only be used where permitted and, when required, after you have agreed to them.

You can accept, reject or choose individual cookie categories through the cookie banner. You can change your mind at any time using the Cookie Settings link in the website footer.

The Cookie Settings panel contains the current list of cookies found on the website, together with their purpose, provider and how long they last. This live list is kept up to date by CookieScript.

Marketing and reviews

If you join our mailing list, we may send news, offers and product information. We may also contact existing customers about similar products where the law allows.

You can stop marketing at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link or emailing contact@betterindependentliving.co.uk. We may keep your email address on a suppression list so we know not to contact you again.

Stopping marketing will not stop essential messages about an order, delivery, payment, return, warranty or product-safety issue.

We may invite customers to leave a review using a specialist review platform. If you publish a review, the information you submit may be visible publicly, so please do not include anything you want to keep private.

How long we keep information

We keep information only for as long as we reasonably need it.

As a general guide:

  • order, invoice, payment and VAT-relief records are normally kept for at least six years;

  • account information is kept while the account is active and for a reasonable period afterwards;

  • customer-service, return, repair, warranty and complaint records are kept until the matter is resolved and for a reasonable period afterwards;

  • marketing information is kept until you unsubscribe, followed by a basic suppression record; and

  • cookie information is kept for the period shown in Cookie Settings.

We may keep information longer if there is an unpaid balance, complaint, safety issue, fraud investigation or legal claim. When information is no longer needed, we delete it, anonymise it or dispose of it securely.

Information processed outside the UK

Some of the companies providing website, payment, email, analytics or other services may process information outside the UK.

Where this happens, we use providers and legal safeguards intended to give the information proper protection under UK data-protection law. You can contact us if you want more information about a particular service.

Automated payment and fraud checks

Payment and fraud-prevention providers may use automated checks when assessing a transaction. This can result in a payment being delayed or declined.

If you believe a genuine payment has been incorrectly affected, please contact us and we will check the information available to us or explain what to do next.

Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

  • ask what personal information we hold about you;

  • ask us to correct inaccurate information;

  • ask us to delete or restrict the use of information;

  • object to certain uses, including direct marketing;

  • receive information you supplied in a portable format; and

  • withdraw consent where we rely on consent.

These rights are not absolute. For example, we cannot delete an invoice or VAT declaration that we are legally required to keep.

To make a request, email contact@betterindependentliving.co.uk. We may need to confirm your identity before releasing or changing information.

Keeping information secure

We use sensible technical and organisational measures to protect personal information. These include secure website connections, payment-provider security, access controls, system monitoring, backups and limits on which staff can access information.

No website or email system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect the information entrusted to us.

Questions or complaints

If you have a question or concern, please contact us first and we will do our best to sort it out.

Mobility Smart Limited
Unit 12–13, Creamery Industrial Estate
Kenlis Road, Barnacre
Preston, Lancashire, PR3 1GD

Telephone: 01524 888453
Email: contact@betterindependentliving.co.uk

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy if the website, our services or the law changes. The current version will always be available on this page.