Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

The British Chelonia Group ("BCG", "we", "us", "our") is a UK-registered charity dedicated to the care and conservation of tortoises, terrapins and turtles. This policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you visit our website, apply for membership, make a donation, or otherwise interact with us.

2. What information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

• Membership details: name, address, email, phone number, date of birth (where relevant to membership category, e.g. Senior Citizen or Student rates), payment details (processed securely by our payment provider — we do not store card details ourselves)
• Donation/Appeal details: name, contact details, and payment information for one-off or recurring donations
• Communications: any information you provide when contacting us by email, post, or through the website (e.g. enquiries, re-homing requests)
• Website usage data: standard technical information such as IP address, browser type, and pages visited, collected automatically to help us understand how the site is used

3. How we use your information

We use your information to:

• Process and manage your membership, including renewals and communications about your membership status
• Send you our Newsletter and the annual Testudo journal, where you have opted to receive these as part of membership
• Process donations and issue receipts, including Gift Aid claims where applicable
• Respond to enquiries, re-homing requests, and other correspondence
• Administer regional meetings and events you register for
• Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, including those set by the Charity Commission

4. Our legal basis for processing

We process your data on the following bases:

• Contract: to provide the membership benefits you've signed up for
• Consent: where you've opted in to receive communications such as the Newsletter
• Legitimate interests: to operate effectively as a charity, including basic website analytics
• Legal obligation: where required for Gift Aid, accounting, or charity regulation purposes

5. Payment processing

Membership fees and donations may be collected via PayPal, or by Direct Debit through our appointed BACS-approved bureau, Access Paysuite. These providers process your payment details directly under their own privacy policies — the BCG does not store your full card or bank details.

6. Sharing your information

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We may share limited data with:

• Payment processors (PayPal, Access Paysuite) to process transactions
• HMRC, where required for Gift Aid claims
• Regional group coordinators, where relevant to organising local meetings you've registered for
• Professional advisors (e.g. accountants) where necessary for our legal and financial obligations

We do not transfer your data outside the UK/EEA other than where our service providers require it, and only where appropriate safeguards are in place.

7. How long we keep your information

We retain membership and donation records for as long as necessary to administer your membership, meet legal/accounting obligations (typically up to 7 years for financial records), and maintain accurate charity records. You can ask us to delete data we no longer have a legal basis to retain.

8. Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your information (subject to our legal retention obligations)
• Object to or restrict certain processing
• Withdraw consent for marketing communications at any time
• Complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe we have mishandled your data

To exercise any of these rights, or with any questions about this policy, please get in touch via the contact details listed on our Contacts page.

9. Cookies

We do not use analytics, advertising, or tracking cookies on this website. The only cookies you may encounter are essential ones set by our payment provider (PayPal) when you make a payment, which are required for the checkout process to work securely and are outside our control. These do not track you across other websites.

If this changes in future — for example, if we introduce website analytics — we will update this policy and, where required, add a cookie consent option.

10. Contact us

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, please get in touch via the contact details listed on our Contacts page, or write to us at:

Causeway House, The Causeway, Walsham-le-Willows, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP31 3AB

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last revised.