Vortex PCs Ltd Privacy Policy

Last updated 27/06/2025

Introduction

Vortex PCs Ltd (Company No. 16474994, registered in England & Wales) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in compliance with the law. We adhere to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, which govern how we collect and use personal information in the UK. In practice, this means we process personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently for explicit purposes, keep it limited to what is necessary, maintain its accuracy, retain it only as long as needed, and secure it against unauthorised access. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, how we use and store it, the measures we take to protect it, and the rights you have regarding your data. Please read this policy carefully – by using our website or services, you acknowledge the practices described herein.

Data Collection

Information You Provide: We may collect personal information that you provide to us when using our website or services. This includes details such as your name, email address, telephone number, postal address, and payment information (for example, billing address or transaction details) necessary to process orders. If you create an account or make a purchase, we will also collect any details needed to fulfil your order (such as delivery address and order preferences) and to communicate with you about your account or enquiries.

Automatically Collected Data: When you visit our site, we collect certain technical information automatically to improve your experience. This may include your IP address, browser type and version, device identifiers, and information about how you navigate or use our website. We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to gather usage data – for example, which pages you view and for how long – to help us understand website traffic and usage patterns. Cookies are small files stored on your device that allow us to recognise your browser and remember preferences (you can manage cookie settings through your browser). These usage details and analytics data do not directly identify you, but they may be linked with other information you provide for the purposes explained below.

Information from Third Parties: In some cases, we may receive personal data about you from third-party sources. For instance, if you use an external payment provider or sign in via a social media account, we might obtain certain information from those parties to facilitate your login or purchase. We may also obtain updated delivery or contact information from carriers or public databases to ensure our records remain accurate and to deliver your orders successfully. Any such third-party data is treated with the same care as information you give us directly and in accordance with this policy.

Data Usage

We only use your personal data when we have a valid legal basis to do so (for example, to perform a contract with you, to comply with a legal obligation, with your consent, or for our legitimate business interests). The main purposes for which Vortex PCs Ltd uses personal data are:

• Providing Products and Services: To process and fulfil your orders for custom PCs or other products, arrange delivery, and provide any services or support you request. This includes using your contact and payment details to take payment and send you order confirmations, receipts, and updates on the status of your purchases. We use this data to perform our contract with you – for example, delivering the PC you purchased or responding to warranty claims.
• Account Management and Customer Support: If you create an account on our site, we use your details to maintain your account, allow you to log in securely, and remember your preferences. We also keep records of your communications with us (such as emails or contact form messages) so that we can assist you effectively whenever you reach out with questions, requests, or technical issues. This information helps us provide customer service and technical support, ensuring we can identify you and the history of your orders or queries.
• Updates and Marketing Communications: With your consent, we may use your email or other contact information to send you newsletters, special offers, or information about new products and promotions that we think may interest you. You will only receive marketing communications if you have opted in to receive them, and you can withdraw your consent at any time by unsubscribing or contacting us (opting out will not affect your ability to use our core services). We will never send you unsolicited marketing, and we do not share your data with third parties for their own advertising purposes without your explicit consent.
• Improving Our Website and Services: We analyse how customers use our website and services to help improve their functionality, performance, and user experience. Personal data and usage information (including aggregated analytics from cookies) are used to troubleshoot problems, perform data analysis, test new features, and enhance the design and content of our website. This is done under our legitimate interest in improving our offerings and understanding customer needs, and wherever possible we use aggregated or anonymised data for these purposes.
• Legal Compliance and Protection: We may process and retain personal information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, such as financial record-keeping for tax and accounting purposes, fraud prevention, or responding to lawful requests by public authorities. For example, we keep transaction records to meet HMRC requirements and may use personal data to verify identity and prevent fraudulent activities on our site. We may also use or disclose personal data where necessary to establish or defend our legal rights (for instance, in resolving disputes or responding to claims). In such cases, we rely on legal obligation or legitimate interest as the basis for processing.

Data Sharing: We value your privacy and do not sell or rent your personal data to third parties for marketing or any other purposes. However, we do share certain data with trusted third parties when it is necessary to carry out the uses described above, under strict conditions:

• Service Providers: We employ reputable third-party companies to perform functions on our behalf, such as payment processing, product shipping, IT infrastructure, or email newsletter distribution. These providers will have access to the personal information needed to perform their functions but may not use it for other purposes. We ensure any third-party data processors are bound by contractual obligations to keep your information confidential and to use it only to provide the agreed services, in line with data protection law. For example, our courier will use your name and address to deliver your PC, and our payment processor will handle your credit card details through secure systems – all such parties are required to protect your data to GDPR standards.
• Legal Requirements and Safety: We may disclose personal data to courts, law enforcement, regulators, or other authorities if required to do so by law, or if we believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary to comply with legal obligations. This includes situations where we must share data for an audit, to respond to a court order or government request, or to investigate and address illegal activities (such as suspected fraud or security threats). We may also share information as necessary to enforce our terms and conditions or to protect the rights, property, or safety of our business, our customers, or others. In any scenario of data disclosure, we will ensure the request is legitimate and only the minimum necessary information is provided.

Aside from the above, we will not use your personal data for any new purpose that is incompatible with those outlined in this Policy without informing you and, if required, obtaining your consent. Should we ever need to process your information for an unrelated purpose, we will provide an updated privacy notice or seek your permission as appropriate under the law.

Data Storage and Security

We understand the importance of securely storing your personal data. Vortex PCs Ltd takes appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard the information we hold, and we keep it only for as long as necessary:

• Retention Period: We will not retain your personal data for longer than is needed to fulfil the purposes stated in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. In general, we keep customer data for as long as you have an active relationship with us (for example, an open account or pending order) and for a certain period after, in case of queries or legal requirements. For instance, order records and invoices may be kept for a number of years to satisfy tax and accounting regulations. We periodically review the data we hold and erase or anonymise personal data that is no longer required for our business purposes. When deleting personal data, we ensure it is safely removed from our systems or securely archived in a way that no longer identifies you.
• Security Measures: We have implemented robust security measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include encryption, secure network protocols, firewalls, and access controls. For example, any sensitive information transmitted via our website (such as payment details) is encrypted using industry-standard TLS/SSL technology to prevent eavesdropping. Personal data is stored on secure servers, and we limit access to your information to employees and contractors who need it to perform their job duties. All such persons are subject to confidentiality obligations. We also maintain procedures to detect, respond to, and notify (where required) of any data breaches or security incidents. While we strive to protect your information, please note that no method of electronic storage or transmission over the internet is 100% secure; however, we continuously update and assess our security practices to mitigate risks to your data.
• International Transfers: The personal data we collect is principally stored and processed in the United Kingdom. In cases where we might need to transfer your information outside of the UK or the European Economic Area (for example, if we use a cloud service provider based overseas), we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with GDPR requirements. This means we will only transfer data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of data protection, or use approved mechanisms such as Standard Contractual Clauses or binding corporate rules to protect your privacy. You can contact us for more information about any international data transfers related to your information. We remain responsible for the protection of your personal data, regardless of where it is processed.

By implementing these retention rules and security measures, we aim to protect the confidentiality and integrity of your personal data throughout its life cycle. We regularly review our policies and update our practices to keep your data safe.

Individual Rights under GDPR

As a data subject under the UK GDPR, you have a number of important rights regarding your personal data. Vortex PCs Ltd is dedicated to respecting these rights and enabling you to exercise them. You have the right to:

• Right to Be Informed: To be given clear, transparent information about how your personal data is collected and used. We fulfill this through documents like this Privacy Policy, which explains who is collecting your data, what we use it for, who we share it with, and other necessary details. If you require any further information about our data practices, you can always contact us for more details.
• Right of Access: To request access to the personal data we hold about you. This allows you to obtain confirmation of whether we are processing your data and to receive a copy of the information in an accessible format (commonly known as a Subject Access Request). We will provide additional information such as why we have your data, what we are using it for, who we disclose it to, how long we plan to keep it, and the safeguards in place if we transfer it overseas. We will respond to access requests without undue delay, and in any event within one month, as required by law.
• Right to Rectification: To have inaccurate personal data corrected, or completed if it is incomplete. If you discover that any information we hold about you is incorrect or outdated (for example, you change your address or spot an error in your contact details), you have the right to ask us to rectify it. We will update the information as soon as possible and notify any third parties who have received the inaccurate data, where feasible.
• Right to Erasure: To have your personal data erased in certain circumstances, also known as the “right to be forgotten”. You can request deletion of your data, for example, if the information is no longer necessary for the purposes it was collected, if you withdraw consent (where the data processing was based on consent), or if you object to us processing your data and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for us to continue. Please note that this right is not absolute – sometimes we may need to retain certain data to comply with legal obligations or for the establishment or defense of legal claims. However, we will always assess and inform you of the rationale if we cannot fulfill an erasure request in full.
• Right to Restrict Processing: To request that we limit the processing of your personal data in certain situations. This means that while we would still store the data, we would temporarily stop using it or delete it. You might exercise this right if, for instance, you contest the accuracy of the data (allowing us time to verify or correct it), or if you object to processing and we are considering your objection request. You can also ask us to retain data you need (while we would otherwise delete it) for legal purposes. When processing is restricted, we will clearly mark the data and ensure it is only processed for the specific reasons that allow the restriction (e.g., with your consent or for legal claims).
• Right to Data Portability: To receive the personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and have the right to transmit that data to another controller. This applies to information processed by automated means, which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the data to perform a contract with you. Where technically feasible, and upon your request, we can also directly transfer that data to another organisation. This right is designed to enable you to easily move, copy, or transfer your personal data between different services.
• Right to Object: To object to certain processing activities of your personal data. You have an absolute right to stop your data being used for direct marketing – if you object, we will cease using your data for that purpose immediately. You can also object if you feel our processing is not justified by our legitimate interests or is for research/statistical purposes. In some cases we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to continue processing (for example, if data is needed for a legal claim), but otherwise, if you object, we will review and honor your request where applicable.
• Rights Related to Automated Decision-Making and Profiling: To not be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (without human involvement) that significantly affects you. Vortex PCs Ltd does not currently make decisions about customers purely by automated means without any human review (such as automated profiling for credit scoring or hiring decisions). In the event that we ever utilise automated decision-making that has legal or similarly significant effects, you have the right to be informed about the logic involved and to request human intervention or challenge the decision. We will also obtain your consent for any automated profiling that is not exempt and will ensure any such activities are in compliance with data protection laws.

These rights are provided free of charge and can be exercised by contacting us using the details in the Contact section of this Policy. We will generally respond to requests within one month, but have the right to extend this period by two further months if the request is complex (we will notify you if more time is needed). To protect your privacy, we may require you to verify your identity before we accommodate any request to exercise your rights. If you have given consent to any particular use of your data, you can withdraw that consent at any time, and we will stop the processing in question (this will not affect the lawfulness of processing before consent was withdrawn).

Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us. Vortex PCs Ltd is the data controller responsible for your personal information. You can reach us by:

• Email: support@vortexpcs.com
• Telephone: +44 (0)1603 975440
• Post: Vortex PCs Ltd, 6 Mallard Way, Dereham, Norfolk, NR19 1FJ, United Kingdom

Please feel free to contact us if you wish to access, correct, or delete your information, or to exercise any of your other data protection rights. We take all privacy enquiries seriously and will respond promptly.

If you believe that we have not adequately addressed your data protection concerns, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the supervisory authority for data protection issues. You can contact the ICO for advice or to file a complaint via their website (ico.org.uk) or by calling their helpline. We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO, so please consider reaching out to us first.

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or relevant laws. The “last updated” date at the top indicates when the latest revisions were made. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically. By continuing to use our services after any updates, you acknowledge the revised Policy.