We take the privacy and security of your personal information seriously. This privacy policy explains how and why we use the personal information that you give us and tells you about your rights in relation to it.  The Policy is effective from 25th May 2018, and incorporates the requirements of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We may need to make changes to this policy from time to time, and any updates will be recorded here.  

Who we are: 

We are Cogito Books and trade as a bookshop from premises in Hexham in Northumberland.

What we need: 

Cogito Books will be a “controller” of the personal information that you provide to us in person in our shop or via telephone or through our website. 

 
How we collect your personal Data: 

We may collect your personal information in various ways including: 

When you order goods or services from us in our shop, over the phone or online; 

When you sign up to receive email newsletters; 

When you browse our website through the use of log files and cookies; 

When you send us emails or letters and when you contact us by phone. 

 
The kind of personal Data that we collect: 

The information that we collect and use may include your name, address, email address, IP address and telephone number. 

When you order a subscription as a gift, we may collect from you the details of the Third parties in order to deliver the requested service. 

Subscriptions for children may include their names. 

On our website we use log files to allow us to record visitors’ use of the website. Log files do not contain any personal information and cannot access a user’s computer. 

A cookie is similar to a log file, except that it is a small file placed on the user’s hard drive that enables our website to identify the user’s computer but does not provide any access to a user’s computer or any information about the user other than that which you share with the company. 

A user can set their web browser to refuse cookies. 

Why we need your personal information: 

We need to collect personal information so that we can fulfil enquiries and orders, manage your participation in our organised events and provide you with information about activities at Cogito Books. 

We will use your personal information to: 

Send out information by email of organised events and activities that Cogito Books is involved with; 

To process orders to provide you with the goods and services that you purchase from us; 

To process subscriptions as requested. If the subscription is for a third party their information will also be held; 

 No card payment details are held on file by us; 

To respond to enquiries, requests or complaints via email, letter or in person; 

To analyse, via Google Analytics, and make changes to the website layout to improve the user experience and recognise a user when they return to Cogito Books’s website. 

Who we will share your personal information with: 

We may be required to share personal information with statutory or regulatory authorities and Law enforcement organisations to comply with statutory and legal obligations. 

We may also share personal information with our professional and legal advisors for the purposes of taking their advice. 

Cogito Books has an account with MailChimp, an email service provider. This service provider processes personal information on our behalf and is subject to written contractual conditions to only process that personal information under our instructions and to protect it. 

MailChimp are subject to the terms and conditions of the GDPR and in particular must comply with their own Privacy Shield certification in respect of how information is securely accessed, processed and confidentiality. 

In the event that we do share personal information with any other external third parties, we will only share such personal information strictly required for the specific purposes and take reasonable steps to ensure that those recipients shall only process the disclosed personal information in accordance with those purposes. 

How we protect your personal information: 

We protect your personal information by ensuring that access to it is strictly monitored and limited by keeping effective data protection software in place wherever data is stored electronically and by monitoring and protecting our website with appropriate security measures. 

MailChimp is required to comply with all aspects of the GDPR and as stated previously must comply with their own Privacy Shield certification. 

How long we keep your personal information: 

We will only keep your personal information for as long as necessary to provide you with customer information of events and activities at Cogito Books. 

Your rights: 

You can exercise any of the following rights by writing to us FAO Claire Grint, Cogito Books, 5 St Mary’s Chare, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 1NQ. 

Your rights in relation to your personal information are: 

You have a right to request access to the personal information that we hold about you by making a “subject access request”; 

If you believe that any of your personal information is inaccurate or incomplete, you have a right to request that we correct or complete your personal information; 

You have a right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information for specific purposes;  

If you wish us to delete your personal information, you may request that we do so. 

Any request received by Cogito Books will be considered under applicable data protection legislation. If you remain dissatisfied, you have a right to raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.org.uk.