Last updated: 27 August 2026
This policy explains what we do with your personal information when you order firewood from us, contact us, or use this website. We keep it short and we mean it: we use your details to deliver your wood and to run the business, and we do not sell them to anyone.
Who we are
The Firewood Company is the data controller for the information described here.
- Proprietor: The Firewood Company is a trading name of James Marlow, who trades as a sole trader.
- Address: The Spinney, Heath Road, Breachwood Green, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 8PL
- Email: orders@thefirewoodcompany.co.uk
- Telephone: 07971 554 958
What we collect and why
When you place an order
We collect your name, delivery address, billing address, email address, telephone number, the details of what you ordered, and any delivery instructions you give us. We use this to take your order, deliver it, keep our accounts and deal with any questions afterwards.
Our lawful basis is performance of a contract with you, and for our accounting records, compliance with a legal obligation.
We do not see or store your card details. Payments are handled by PayPal, who process your payment information under their own privacy policy.
When you contact us
If you email, call, use a contact form or message us on social media, we keep a record of that correspondence so we can answer you and refer back to it if you get in touch again.
Our lawful basis is our legitimate interest in responding to enquiries and running the business properly.
When you use this website
Our website sets cookies and similar technologies. Some are strictly necessary to make the shop work at all, for example remembering what is in your basket and keeping you logged in. Others help us understand how people find and use the site, including whether a visit came from an advertisement.
Our lawful basis for strictly necessary cookies is our legitimate interest in providing a working website. For analytics and advertising cookies it is your consent.
Cookies and measurement
We use the following:
- WordPress and WooCommerce. Necessary cookies that run the shop, the basket and the checkout.
- Google Analytics. Tells us how many people visit, which pages they look at and how they found us. The information is aggregated and we do not use it to identify individuals.
- Google Ads conversion tracking. When we advertise, this tells us whether a click on one of our advertisements led to an order, and what that order was worth. It is how we work out whether advertising is paying for itself.
- PayPal. Sets cookies during checkout to process your payment securely and to prevent fraud.
The full list
Every cookie this website sets, what it does and how long it lasts:
You can block or delete cookies at any time in your browser settings, though the shop may not work properly if you block the necessary ones.
Marketing
We do not send marketing emails or text messages. We will only contact you about an order you have placed.
We do not sell, rent or trade your details to any third party for their own marketing.
Who we share your information with
Only where it is needed to run the business:
- Our website host, who stores the site and its database.
- PayPal, to take and refund payments.
- Google, for website analytics and advertising measurement.
- Our accountant, for bookkeeping and tax.
- Professional advisers and service providers who help us run the website and marketing, under a duty of confidentiality.
We will also disclose information where we are required to by law.
Information leaving the UK
Some of the services above, including Google and PayPal, are based outside the United Kingdom. Where information is transferred abroad, it is protected by an adequacy decision or by standard contractual clauses approved for use in the UK, which give your information the same level of protection it has here.
How long we keep it
- Order and transaction records: seven years, which is how long HMRC requires us to keep business records.
- Customer account details: for as long as you have an account with us. Ask us and we will close and delete it.
- General correspondence: two years.
- Website analytics: as set in our Google Analytics retention settings.
Keeping it safe
Our website runs over a secure encrypted connection. Access to customer records is limited to the people who need it to do their job. Card payments are handled entirely by PayPal and never touch our systems.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- Ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you
- Ask us to correct anything that is wrong
- Ask us to delete it, where we do not need to keep it for legal or accounting reasons
- Ask us to restrict how we use it
- Object to us using it where we rely on legitimate interests
- Ask for it in a portable format
- Withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on consent
Email orders@thefirewoodcompany.co.uk and we will respond within one month. There is no charge.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first and we will try to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK regulator for data protection, at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last changed.