Privacy Policy

Who We Are

J Thompson Butchers (“we”, “us”, “our”) is a family-run butcher shop based at 125 High St, Northallerton, DL7 8PQ. We are the data controller for the personal information we collect through our website at thompsonbutchers.com.

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, please contact us at info@thompsonbutchers.com or call us on 01609 773336.

What Data We Collect

When you place an order

We collect your name, email address, phone number, delivery address (if applicable), order details, and any notes you include. This is necessary to fulfil your order and communicate with you about it.

When you create an account

We collect your email address and password (which is securely hashed — we never store it in plain text). You may also add your name, phone number, and a saved delivery address to your profile for convenience.

When you contact us

Our contact form collects your name, email address, phone number (optional), and your message. We use this solely to respond to your enquiry.

When you submit a catering enquiry

We collect your name, email, phone number, company or organisation name, event details (type, date, guest count, budget range), and your requirements. This is used to prepare a quote and communicate with you about your event.

When you subscribe to our newsletter

We collect your email address only. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Automatically collected data

We collect your IP address for rate limiting and abuse prevention on our forms. We do not use this for tracking or marketing purposes.

How We Use Your Data

• To fulfil your orders — processing payment, preparing your order, arranging collection or delivery, and sending you order confirmation and status updates.
• To respond to enquiries — replying to your contact form messages and catering requests.
• To manage your account — providing access to your order history, wishlist, and saved details.
• To send newsletters — only if you have opted in by subscribing.
• To prevent abuse — rate limiting form submissions using your IP address.

Legal Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we process your data on the following bases:

• Contract — processing orders you have placed with us.
• Consent — newsletter subscriptions and account creation.
• Legitimate interest — responding to contact form enquiries and preventing abuse of our services.
• Legal obligation — retaining order records for tax and accounting purposes.

Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate our website. These services may process your data as described:

• Stripe — processes your card payments securely. We never see or store your full card details. Stripe is PCI DSS Level 1 certified. Stripe Privacy Policy
• Supabase — hosts our database and authentication system in the EU (Ireland). Stores your account details, orders, and enquiries.
• Resend — delivers order confirmation emails and newsletter emails on our behalf.
• postcodes.io — validates UK postcodes for delivery. Only your postcode is sent, no other personal data.
• Google Maps — an embedded map on our contact page shows our shop location. We do not track your location.
• Google Analytics — if enabled, we use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our site. This data is anonymised and not used to identify individuals.

Cookies & Local Storage

We use minimal browser storage:

• Authentication cookies — functional cookies to keep you logged in if you have an account. These are not used for tracking.
• Shopping basket — your basket contents are saved in your browser's local storage so they persist between visits. This data stays on your device and is not sent to any third party.
• Recently viewed products — stored in your browser's local storage for your convenience. This data stays on your device.

We do not use any marketing or advertising cookies. When you first visit our site, you will see a cookie banner asking for your consent to analytics cookies. You can accept or reject these at any time. If you reject, no analytics data is collected. You can change your preference by clearing your browser's local storage.

How Long We Keep Your Data

• Order records — kept for a minimum of 6 years for tax and accounting purposes, as required by HMRC.
• Account data — kept until you delete your account. You can do this from your account settings.
• Newsletter subscriptions — kept until you unsubscribe.
• Contact messages & catering enquiries — kept for up to 2 years, then deleted.

Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access your personal data — request a copy of the data we hold about you.
• Rectify inaccurate data — ask us to correct any errors.
• Erase your data — request deletion of your personal data (subject to legal retention requirements).
• Restrict processing — ask us to limit how we use your data.
• Data portability — receive your data in a structured, commonly used format.
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Withdraw consent at any time (e.g. unsubscribing from our newsletter).

You can delete your account directly from your account settings. For all other requests, please email info@thompsonbutchers.com. We will respond within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

Children's Privacy

Our website and services are not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so we can delete it.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated “last updated” date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.