Last updated: 14 July 2026
1. Who we are
Buntingford Men’s Shed is a charity based in Buntingford, Hertfordshire. We provide a place for people to meet, share skills and work on practical projects together.
This policy explains what personal information we collect through our website, why we collect it, what we do with it, and what rights you have over it.
For data protection law, Buntingford Men’s Shed is the “data controller” meaning we are responsible for the information described below.
- Registered charity number: 1216713
- Address: 101 High Street, Buntingford, Herts, SG9 9AE
- Email: info@buntingfordmensshed.org.uk
If you have any questions about this policy, or about how we handle your information, please contact us using the details above.
2. What information we collect
We only collect information you give us directly, plus some basic technical information about your visit.
When you use our contact form, we collect:
- Your name
- Your email address
- Your telephone number (if you provide one)
- The message you send us
When you make a donation, we collect:
- Your name
- Your email address
- Your postal address
- Your company name (if applicable)
- The amount you have donated and the date
Card and payment details: we do not collect or store your card number, expiry date or security code. Payments are handled directly by our payment provider, Stripe, who process them securely on our behalf. We only receive confirmation that the payment was successful, along with the details listed above.
Technical information: like most websites, our site may automatically collect basic information such as your IP address, browser type and the pages you visit. This is used to keep the site working and secure.
Accessibility toolbar: our website includes an accessibility toolbar called Readabler, which lets you adjust things like text size, colour contrast, spacing and cursor size. The toolbar is installed on our own website and does not send your personal information to its developer. If you change a setting, your choice is saved on your own device so the site can remember it next time you visit.
Two features of the toolbar do involve other companies, but only if you choose to use them:
- Read aloud (text-to-speech): if you ask for text on a page to be read out to you, the text being read is sent to Google’s text-to-speech service to generate the audio.
- Dictionary lookup: if you look up a word or phrase, your request is sent to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, which are run by the Wikimedia Foundation.
If you never use these two features, nothing is sent to Google or Wikimedia.
3. Why we use your information, and our legal basis
Data protection law requires us to have a valid reason (a “lawful basis”) for using your information. Ours are set out below.
| What we do | Why | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Reply to your enquiry and keep a record of the conversation | So we can answer your question and follow up if needed | Legitimate interests — it is in both our interests that we can respond to people who contact us |
| Process your donation and send you a receipt or thank-you | So we can accept and acknowledge your gift | Legitimate interests — running the charity and administering donations properly |
| Keep accounting and charity records of donations received | To meet our legal duties as a registered charity | Legal obligation — charity and tax law requires us to keep financial records |
| Send you newsletters or updates about the Shed | To keep supporters informed | Consent — only if you have specifically opted in. You can unsubscribe at any time |
| Keep the website secure and working properly | To protect the site and its visitors | Legitimate interests |
| Provide accessibility adjustments and remember your chosen settings | So that people with disabilities can use our website | Legitimate interests — making our website usable by everyone |
| Read text aloud, or look up a word, when you ask us to | To make our content easier to use | Consent — these features only run when you choose to use them |
We do not sell your information, and we do not share it with other organisations for their own marketing.
We do not currently claim Gift Aid on donations, so we do not collect Gift Aid declarations or share donor details with HMRC for that purpose.
4. Who we share your information with
We share information only where we need to, and only with organisations that handle it on our behalf or provide a service you have chosen to use:
- Our website host and platform: WordPress and IONOS — store the website and any form submissions.
- Our payment provider: Stripe — processes donations and card payments. Stripe has its own privacy policy, which we recommend reading.
- Our email provider: IONOS — used to receive and send emails, and to send newsletters if you have opted in.
- Google: only if you use the “read aloud” feature of our accessibility toolbar. The text being read out is sent to Google’s text-to-speech service to create the audio.
- Wikimedia Foundation: only if you use the dictionary lookup feature of our accessibility toolbar. The word or phrase you look up is sent to Wikipedia and Wiktionary.
We may also disclose information if we are legally required to do so, for example by a court or a regulator.
Some of these providers may store data outside the UK. Where that happens, we make sure appropriate safeguards are in place, as required by UK data protection law.
5. How long we keep your information
- Contact form enquiries: normally kept for up to 2 years after our last contact with you, then deleted.
- Donation records: kept for at least 6 years after the end of the financial year they relate to, because charity accounting and tax rules require it.
- Newsletter sign-ups: kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove you.
- Accessibility settings: stored on your own device until they expire or you clear your browser’s cookies. We do not keep a copy.
6. Cookies
Cookies are small text files that a website stores on your computer, phone or tablet. They are used to make a site work properly and to remember your choices between visits.
We keep our use of cookies to a minimum. We do not use advertising cookies, we do not use tracking cookies, and we do not use cookies to build a profile of you or to follow you across other websites.
The cookies our website uses fall into two groups.
Strictly necessary cookies
These are needed for the website to work, and cannot be switched off:
- Website cookies (WordPress): keep the site running, help protect it against misuse, and allow forms to be submitted correctly.
- Payment cookies (Stripe): set when you use the donation form. Stripe uses these to process your payment securely and to help detect fraud.
Preference cookies
- Accessibility settings (Readabler): if you use the accessibility toolbar to change text size, contrast, spacing or any other setting, your choice is saved on your device so that you do not have to set it again every time you visit. Nothing is saved unless you actively change a setting, and the information stays on your device.
How to control cookies
You can block or delete cookies at any time through your browser settings — look for “Privacy” or “Cookies” in the settings menu of Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Edge.
Please note that if you block strictly necessary cookies, parts of the site may stop working properly, including the donation form. If you clear your cookies, any accessibility settings you have chosen will be forgotten and you will need to set them again.
7. Security
We take reasonable steps to keep your information safe. Our website uses a secure (HTTPS) connection, access to form submissions and donation records is limited to the small number of volunteers who need it, and payments are handled by a specialist provider rather than by us.
No system is completely secure, but we will tell you and the relevant authority if a serious breach ever occurs, as the law requires.
8. Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:
- Be informed — know what we do with your information (this policy).
- Access — ask for a copy of the information we hold about you.
- Rectification — ask us to correct anything that is wrong.
- Erasure — ask us to delete your information (though we may need to keep donation records for legal and accounting reasons).
- Restriction — ask us to pause using your information while a concern is resolved.
- Object — object to us using your information where we rely on legitimate interests.
- Portability — ask for your information in a portable format.
- Withdraw consent — where we rely on consent (such as newsletters), you can change your mind at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, email us at info@buntingfordmensshed.org.uk. We will respond within one month. Exercising your rights is free of charge.
9. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please contact us first so we can try to put it right.
You also have the right to complain to the UK’s data protection regulator:
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF Helpline: 0303 123 1113 Website: ico.org.uk
10. Children
Our website and activities are aimed at adults. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child, please contact us and we will delete it.
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with a new “last updated” date.