Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

RarePokemonCards.co.uk is an online store offering Pokémon trading cards, booster boxes, graded cards and other collectible trading card products to customers.

In this policy, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to the operator of RarePokemonCards.co.uk. We are responsible for handling personal information in accordance with applicable data protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, where applicable.

For privacy enquiries, you can also use our Contact Us page.

2. Information we collect

The information we collect depends on how you use our website and the services you request.

Information you provide

• Identity details: your name and, where necessary, information used to verify an order.
• Contact details: email address, telephone number and other details you provide when contacting our team.
• Order and delivery details: products ordered, billing address, delivery address, order number and delivery instructions.
• Customer support messages: information you include in enquiries, complaints, return requests or refund requests.
• Account details: login and profile information if you choose to create a customer account.
• Payment-related information: transaction status, payment method and relevant payment references needed to reconcile an order.

Information collected automatically

When you visit our website, technical information may be collected by our website, hosting provider or enabled website tools. Depending on the services in use, this may include your IP address, browser type, device information, pages viewed, referring website, timestamps and website interaction data.

Information from service providers

Where necessary to complete an order or provide support, we may receive limited information from payment providers, delivery companies, website service providers or fraud-prevention services.

We do not intentionally ask customers to provide sensitive personal information unless it is necessary and there is a lawful reason to process it.

3. How we use your information

We use personal information for legitimate business and customer-service purposes, including:

• Processing and managing orders placed through our website.
• Confirming orders and communicating relevant payment, dispatch and tracking information.
• Arranging delivery and responding to delivery-related enquiries.
• Providing customer support and handling cancellations, returns, refunds and complaints.
• Maintaining customer accounts and remembering essential shopping-cart information where those features are available.
• Detecting suspicious transactions, preventing fraud and protecting our website.
• Maintaining accounting records and meeting applicable legal obligations.
• Understanding website performance and improving our store where analytics tools are enabled and their use is lawful.
• Sending promotional communications where permitted by law and, where required, with your consent.

We do not intend to collect more personal information than is reasonably necessary for these purposes.

4. Our lawful bases for processing

Under applicable data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal information. Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on the following bases:

Where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before it was withdrawn.

5. Payments and information security

Payment methods and processing arrangements may vary according to the options presented during checkout or communicated by our team for a particular order.

Where a third-party payment provider processes your payment, that provider may handle payment details under its own privacy and security terms. We may receive information such as payment confirmation, transaction references, amounts and payment status to manage your order.

We aim to limit access to customer information to people and service providers who need it for authorised business purposes. We also take reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

No website, electronic transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If a personal data breach occurs, we will take the steps required by applicable law.

6. Who we share your information with

We do not sell your personal information. We may share relevant information with service providers where necessary to operate our store, complete an order or comply with the law.

• Delivery and fulfilment providers: to prepare, dispatch and deliver your order and provide tracking updates.
• Payment providers and financial institutions: to process or verify payments and help prevent fraud.
• Website and hosting providers: to keep the website running, maintain customer accounts and support checkout functions.
• IT, security and fraud-prevention providers: to protect our systems and investigate suspicious activity.
• Professional advisers: where necessary for legal, accounting or business advice.
• Public authorities or law enforcement: where disclosure is required by law or is otherwise lawfully permitted.

We seek to ensure that service providers who process personal information on our behalf are subject to appropriate confidentiality, security and data-protection obligations.

Where a provider acts as an independent controller, its own privacy policy may also apply to its processing of your information.

7. Cookies and analytics

Cookies and similar technologies may be used to help the website function correctly and remember certain choices. Depending on the tools enabled on the website, they may also be used to measure performance or understand how visitors use the store.

Types of cookies

• Essential cookies: support necessary website functions, such as shopping-cart operations, checkout security and account sessions.
• Preference cookies: remember choices or settings where such features are available.
• Analytics cookies: help measure website traffic and performance when analytics services are enabled.
• Marketing cookies: may be used for marketing-related purposes only where such tools are enabled and the necessary permissions have been obtained.

Non-essential cookies and similar technologies will be used in accordance with applicable consent requirements. You can manage available cookie options through any cookie preference tool provided on the website and through your browser settings.

Blocking essential cookies may affect shopping-cart, account or checkout functionality. Deleting cookies may also reset previously saved preferences.

For more information, please refer to our Cookie Policy if available on our website.

8. How long we retain your information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including fulfilling orders, resolving disputes, maintaining records and meeting legal obligations.

Retention periods vary according to the type of information and the reason it is held. For example:

• Order and transaction records may be retained for the period required by applicable accounting, tax and legal rules.
• Customer support correspondence may be retained for as long as needed to resolve enquiries and address related claims.
• Account information may be retained while an account remains active and for an appropriate period afterwards where necessary.
• Marketing preferences may be retained to record your choices and ensure that those choices are respected.
• Technical and security logs may be retained for a period appropriate to security, troubleshooting and fraud-prevention needs.

When information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to delete it or anonymise it, unless we are legally required or permitted to retain it for longer.

9. International data transfers

Some of our website, payment, communication or delivery service providers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where a transfer is subject to UK data protection rules, we will take steps to ensure that an appropriate transfer mechanism or safeguard is in place where required.

These safeguards may include an adequacy regulation or decision, an approved contractual safeguard, or another lawful transfer mechanism applicable to the circumstances.

10. Your privacy rights

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Request deletion of your personal information where the law gives you that right.
• Restrict processing in certain circumstances.
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing.
• Request portability of certain information you have provided, where the legal conditions are met.
• Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.

These rights are not absolute, and exceptions may apply. For example, we may need to retain some order or transaction records to comply with legal obligations or establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

How to make a request

Email contact@rarepokemoncards.co.uk with the subject “Privacy Request”. Tell us what you would like us to do and, where useful, include the email address associated with your order or account.

We may ask for reasonable information to verify your identity before disclosing or changing personal information. We will handle eligible requests within the time limits required by applicable law.

Right to complain

If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal information, please contact us first so we can try to resolve your concern. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if UK data protection law applies to your circumstances.

ICO website: https://ico.org.uk/

11. Marketing communications

We may send service-related messages that are necessary to manage an order, such as order confirmations, payment updates or dispatch information. These are different from promotional marketing messages.

We will send promotional emails or other direct marketing communications only where permitted by applicable law and where any required consent or other legal condition has been satisfied.

You can unsubscribe from promotional emails using the unsubscribe link provided, where available, or by contacting us at contact@rarepokemoncards.co.uk.

Unsubscribing from marketing does not prevent us from sending essential communications relating to an existing order or customer-service request.

12. Children’s privacy

Our website is an online retail store and is not intended to knowingly collect personal information from children in circumstances where such collection is unlawful. Anyone making a purchase must be legally able to enter into the relevant transaction or have the involvement of a parent or guardian where required.

If you believe a child has provided personal information to us inappropriately, please contact us. We will review the matter and take appropriate steps in accordance with applicable law.

13. External websites and third-party services

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, payment services, delivery tracking pages or social media platforms. When you follow these links, the third party may collect and process information under its own privacy policy.

We do not control the privacy practices of external websites and encourage you to review their policies before providing personal information. A link to an external website does not mean we endorse every aspect of its privacy practices.

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes to our website, the services we use, our data-handling practices or applicable law.

When we make changes, we will publish the revised policy on this page and update the “Last updated” date. Where the law requires additional notice, we will provide it through an appropriate channel.

We encourage you to review this page periodically to understand how your information is handled.

15. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, how your information is used or how to exercise your privacy rights, please contact our team.