Privacy Notice

Distilled is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information of its officers, employees, suppliers, business partners, members and their clients.  We value the trust of those with whom we work and recognise that maintaining this trust requires transparency and accountability in how we treat personal information that is shared with us. 

This Privacy Notice has been adopted to guide how we collect, use and disclose the personal information acquired in the course of conducting our business and fulfilling our professional responsibilities. 

Personal information is defined as any information that can be used to distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual, including information about age, income, opinions or beliefs, home location and family. However, business contact and other information about individuals that is available in the public domain, such as names, addresses and telephone numbers published in directories, are not considered personal information. Public information is not subject to privacy legislation and therefore is excluded from this policy. 

 

Contact Details

Contact us by writing to: Neil Forster, 21 Little Warren Close, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 8PW.

Contact us by emailing: neil.forster@thedistilledgroup.com.

 

What Information We Collect, Use, And Why

We collect or use the following information to provide and improve products and services for our clients:

  • Names and contact details

  • Addresses

  • Gender

  • Pronoun preferences

  • Occupation

  • Date of birth

  • Marital status

  • Payment details (including card or bank information for transfers and direct debits)

  • Transaction data (including details about payments to and from you and details of products and services you have purchased)

  • Usage data (including information about how you interact with and use our website, products and services)

  • Employment details (including salary, sick pay and length of service)

  • Credit history and credit reference information

  • Health information (such as medical records or health conditions)

  • Criminal records data (including driving or other convictions)

  • Information relating to compliments or complaints

  • Records of meetings and decisions

  • Website user information

We collect or use the following personal information for the operation of client or customer accounts:

  • Names and contact details

  • Addresses

  • Purchase or service history

We collect or use the following personal information for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of crimes:

  • Names and contact information

  • Client accounts and records

  • Financial information e.g. for fraud prevention or detection

  • Location data

We collect or use the following personal information for information updates or marketing purposes:

  • Names and contact details

  • Addresses

  • Profile information

  • Marketing preferences

  • Purchase or account history

We collect or use the following personal information for research or archiving purposes:

  • Names and contact details

  • Addresses

  • Purchase or client account history

We collect or use the following personal information to comply with legal requirements:

  • Name

  • Contact information

  • Identification documents

  • Client account information

  • Health and safety information

  • Any other personal information required to comply with legal obligations

  • Criminal offence data

We collect or use the following personal information for dealing with queries, complaints or claims:

  • Names and contact details

  • Addresses

  • Payment details

  • Account information

  • Purchase or service history

  • Customer or client accounts and records

  • Financial transaction information

  • Information relating to health and safety (including incident investigation details and reports and accident book records)

  • Correspondence

  • Location data

 

Lawful Bases And Data Protection Rights

Under UK data protection law, we must have a “lawful basis” for collecting and using your personal information. There is a list of possible lawful bases in the UK GDPR. You can find out more about lawful bases on the ICO’s website.

Which lawful basis we rely on may affect your data protection rights which are set out in brief below. You can find out more about your data protection rights and the exemptions which may apply on the ICO’s website:

If you make a request, we must respond to you without undue delay and in any event within one month.

To make a data protection rights request, please contact us using the Contact Details information at the top of this Privacy Notice.

 

Our Lawful Bases For The Collection And Use Of Your Data

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to provide and improve products and services for clients are:

  • Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

  • Legal obligation – we must collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability.

  • Legitimate interest – we collect or use your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interest allows us to tailor our communications to be relevant to you and the needs of third parties.

For more information on our use of legitimate interest as a lawful basis you can contact us using the Contact Details set out above.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for the operation of client or customer accounts are:

  • Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

  • Legal obligation – we must collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability.

  • Legitimate interest – we collect or use your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interest allows us to tailor our communications to be relevant to you and the needs of third parties.

For more information on our use of legitimate interest as a lawful basis you can contact us using the Contact Details set out above.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of crimes are:

  • Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

  • Legal obligation – we must collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for information updates or marketing purposes are:

  • Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

  • Legal obligation – we must collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability.

  • Legitimate interest – we collect or use your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interest allows us to tailor our communications to be relevant to you and the needs of third parties.

For more information on our use of legitimate interest as a lawful basis you can contact us using the Contact Details set out above.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for research or archiving purposes:

  • Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

  • Legal obligation – we must collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability.

  • Legitimate interest – we collect or use your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interest allows us to tailor our communications to be relevant to you and the needs of third parties.

For more information on our use of legitimate interest as a lawful basis you can contact us using the Contact Details set out above.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to comply with legal requirements:

  • Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

  • Legal obligation – we must collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for dealing with queries, complaints or claims are:

  • Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

  • Legal obligation – we must collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability.

  • Legitimate interest – we collect or use your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interest allows us to tailor our communications to be relevant to you and the needs of third parties.

For more information on our use of legitimate interest as a lawful basis you can contact us using the Contact Details set out above.

 

Where We Get Personal Information From

  • Directly from you

  • Regulatory authorities

  • Legal bodies or professionals (such as courts or solicitors)

  • Publicly available sources

  • Previous employment

  • Market research organisations

  • Providers of marketing lists and other personal information

  • Suppliers and service providers

 

How Long We Keep Information

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

We keep information on unsuccessful employment applications for two years in case another alternative role becomes available for which we think you may be suitable.

We keep usage data indefinitely as this is always relevant to product and service development.

We keep basic personal data and financial information about our customers for the duration of your business relationship with us and thereafter as required for legal and audit purposes.

We retain testimonials until withdrawn at your request.

We retain personal information linked to service support requests indefinitely because historical data about service issues is always relevant to service development. For more information on how long we store your personal information or the criteria we use to determine this please contact us using the Contact Details provided above.

 

With Whom We Share Information

In some instances, we may be required to share your personal information with outside companies, service providers or vendors such as:

  • Professional or legal advisors

  • Regulatory authorities

  • External auditors

  • Organisations with whom we are legally obliged to share personal information

  • Suppliers and service providers

  • Professional consultants

 

By providing personal information online to us, you are consenting to the transfer and/or storage of your personal information in this manner. Distilled does not sell personal information to any third parties, nor will we transfer your personal information to any third parties for their own direct marketing use.

 

How To Complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal data, you can make a complaint to us using the Contact Details at the top of this Privacy Notice.

If you remain unhappy with how we have used your data after raising a complaint with us, you can also complain to the ICO.

The ICO’s address is:           

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

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

Website: https://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

 

Last Updated

November 2025