Privacy Policy

Your privacy matters. This policy explains how personal information is collected, used and protected when you visit Bound in Freedom, subscribe to updates or purchase a book.

1. Who we are

This is the official website for Bound in Freedom by E.L. Pepple. For the purposes of UK data protection law, the data controller is [SELLER LEGAL NAME].

You can write to the controller at [CONTACT EMAIL] or by post at [BUSINESS CONTACT ADDRESS].

This policy is written for a UK-based independent author website. It describes how personal information is handled on this site. It is not a certificate that those practices have been independently audited.

2. Information we collect

We collect only what this website uses, or will use when orders and the mailing list open.

Your name and email address, when an order, a subscription or an enquiry asks for them.
Newsletter details, which are the email address you submit and the fact that you asked to hear from us.
Edition-interest details, which are the email address you submit and the future format you ask to hear about.
Order and delivery information, such as the edition you buy, the delivery address, and a transaction reference.
The contents of a customer enquiry, including anything you choose to include in your message.
Relevant technical and usage information that the host needs to deliver the pages and protect the site, such as an IP address, browser type and the page requested.
Information you provide voluntarily, for example a correction, a press request or a note with an order.

We do not ask you to enter a payment card number on this website. We do not collect account passwords, because the site does not create customer accounts.

3. How we use your information

We use personal information to:

process a book order and keep a record of it;
write to you about that purchase, including confirmation, delay and delivery messages;
arrange delivery of a physical book;
reply to enquiries;
send newsletters where you have agreed to receive them;
write to you about a hardback or audiobook when you have asked to hear about that edition;
keep the website secure and understand technical faults; and
meet legal obligations, including tax and accounting duties.

Buying a book does not add you to the newsletter.

4. Legal bases for processing

UK GDPR requires a lawful basis for each use of personal information. Consent is the basis for the newsletter. It is not the basis for every other use.

Contract

Processing your order, taking a record of payment, arranging delivery and writing to you about that purchase is necessary to perform the contract with you.

Legal obligation

We keep the records the law requires for tax, accounting and similar duties.

Legitimate interests

We rely on legitimate interests to reply to enquiries that are not themselves part of an order, to keep the website secure, and to correct faults. Those interests are running a small publishing website and protecting visitors. They do not override your rights. You can object, as described below.

Consent

We send the newsletter only if you subscribe. We write about a future hardback or audiobook only if you ask to hear about that edition. We add that address to the general newsletter only if you agree separately. You can withdraw that consent at any time, and we will stop marketing messages. Withdrawal does not affect a book order.

5. Payments

Payments are taken through Stripe’s hosted checkout. You enter card details on Stripe’s pages, not on Bound in Freedom. Stripe processes payment information under its own privacy arrangements. Read Stripe’s privacy policy.

We still receive information about the order. That can include your name, email address, delivery address, the book you bought, the amount paid and a transaction reference. We do not receive your full card number through this website.

6. Newsletter subscriptions

If you subscribe, we use your email address to send book news, publication announcements, events and other updates from E.L. Pepple. The email provider is MailerLite. Read MailerLite’s privacy policy.

You subscribe by entering your email address and confirming you want the messages. Each message includes a way to unsubscribe. You can also write to [CONTACT EMAIL] and ask to be removed. We do not add purchasers to the list automatically, and we do not treat a sale as permission to send marketing email.

If you register interest in the hardback or the audiobook, we store that email address with MailerLite so we can write to you about that edition. We add you to the general newsletter only if you also tick the separate option for occasional writing news.

7. Cookies and analytics

This website does not use analytics, advertising cookies, or other non-essential tracking. Because those tools are not in use, the site does not ask you to accept them.

If non-essential cookies or similar tracking are introduced later, we will ask for consent before they are switched on, and we will describe them in this policy first.

We do not sell personal information. We share it with service providers only so they can perform a task for us.

Stripe, when you pay, as described above. Stripe is a separate controller of the card data it collects on its own pages.
MailerLite, so that a newsletter subscription or an edition-interest registration can be stored and a message can be sent.
The website host, [HOSTING PROVIDER], so the pages can be delivered and the site kept secure.
A delivery company, which receives the name and address needed to carry a parcel. At the outset the seller prepares the orders. A separate fulfilment company is used only if one is named in this policy.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect a person from harm. We do not share your details with retailers or event partners unless that is needed to provide a benefit you have been offered, and we will say so before we do.

9. International transfers

Some providers may process personal information outside the United Kingdom. A transfer is made only where UK data protection law allows it. For each provider that processes information abroad, the country and the safeguard used will be recorded here: [INTERNATIONAL TRANSFER SAFEGUARDS].

10. Data retention

We keep personal information only for as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected, including any period required for tax, accounting or legal claims. When that period ends, we delete it or reduce it so that it no longer identifies you.

Order records: [ORDER RETENTION PERIOD].
Newsletter records: until you unsubscribe, and then for [NEWSLETTER RETENTION PERIOD] where a short further period is needed to honour the request and keep a suppression record.
Enquiries: [ENQUIRY RETENTION PERIOD].

11. Your rights

Under UK GDPR you can ask us to:

confirm whether we hold your personal information, and for a copy of it;
correct information that is inaccurate, or complete information that is incomplete;
delete information, where a ground for erasure applies;
restrict how we use information while a request is considered;
object to processing based on legitimate interests, including a profile of you if one were ever made;
receive information you provided to us, in a portable form, where the right of portability applies; and
withdraw consent to the newsletter, without affecting the lawfulness of messages already sent.

Write to the address in the contact section. We may need to confirm it is you. We aim to reply within one month. You will not usually be charged.

You can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office. Make a complaint at ico.org.uk. We would welcome the chance to put something right before you do.

12. Contact

Privacy questions go to [CONTACT EMAIL] or by post to [BUSINESS CONTACT ADDRESS]. Please mark the message for the data controller.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when the website, the products or the law change. The version published on this page is the current version. When it changes, the date of the change will be shown at the end of the policy. If a change affects the newsletter in a way that needs fresh permission, we will ask before we rely on it.