Last updated: 31 August 2026
Happy Tortoise Habitat respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal information when you visit our website, place an order, make an enquiry or otherwise contact us.
1. Who We Are
Happy Tortoise Habitat is operated by Ken Dickinson.
Business address:
Happy Tortoise Habitat
18 Preston Road
Hull
HU9 5TF
United Kingdom
Email: sales@happytortoisehabitat.co.uk
Website: happytortoisehabitat.co.uk
For the purposes of UK data protection law, Happy Tortoise Habitat is responsible for the personal information described in this Privacy Policy.
2. Information We Collect
Depending on how you use our website and services, we may collect and process information including:
- your name
- billing and delivery address
- email address
- telephone number
- details of products you order
- order and transaction information
- information you provide when contacting us or making an enquiry
- correspondence relating to an order or enquiry
- IP address and technical information about the device and browser used to access the website
- information about how you use and navigate the website
- cookie and analytics information, where you have consented to the relevant cookies
We do not receive or store your full payment card details when payment is processed by an external payment provider.
3. How We Collect Your Information
We may receive personal information directly from you when you:
- place an order through our website
- create or use a customer account
- contact us by email or telephone
- complete an enquiry or contact form
- communicate with us about an existing order
- request information about our products
- arrange delivery or collection
- purchase a live tortoise
We may also collect limited technical and usage information automatically when you visit the website through cookies and similar technologies, depending upon your cookie choices.
4. How We Use Your Personal Information
We use personal information where necessary to operate Happy Tortoise Habitat and provide our products and services.
This includes using your information to:
- process and fulfil orders
- take and administer payments
- arrange delivery or collection
- arrange specialist delivery where required for live animals
- send order confirmations and other transactional emails
- communicate with you about your order
- respond to enquiries
- provide customer service
- deal with returns, refunds, complaints or other problems
- maintain appropriate business, accounting and transaction records
- prevent fraud and protect the security of the website
- comply with legal and regulatory requirements
- understand how visitors use the website and improve its performance and usability, where the appropriate consent has been given
- measure advertising or website activity where the appropriate consent has been given
We do not currently use customer information to send email newsletters or routine promotional marketing emails.
5. Our Lawful Bases for Processing Your Information
UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful reason for processing personal information.
Depending upon the circumstances, we may rely on the following lawful bases.
Contract
We process information where it is necessary to fulfil an order or take steps requested by you before entering into a contract.
For example, we need your name, contact information and delivery address to process and deliver an order.
Legal obligation
We may process and retain information where this is necessary to comply with legal obligations, including taxation, accounting, consumer protection and other applicable requirements.
Legitimate interests
We may process limited personal information where this is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where those interests do not override your rights.
This may include:
- responding to customer enquiries
- maintaining appropriate business records
- preventing fraud and misuse
- protecting the security of the website
- establishing, exercising or defending legal claims
Consent
Where processing requires your consent, such as the use of certain non-essential analytics or advertising cookies, we rely on the consent you provide through the website’s cookie controls.
You may withdraw your consent at any time.
6. Orders and Payments
Happy Tortoise Habitat uses WooCommerce to operate its online shop.
When you place an order, information including your name, billing address, delivery address, email address, telephone number, products ordered and order history may be stored within the website’s order-management system.
Payments are processed through the payment methods made available at checkout, which currently include PayPal services.
Payment providers process payment information under their own privacy policies and security procedures. Happy Tortoise Habitat does not receive or store your complete payment card details where those details are processed directly by the payment provider.
7. Deliveries
Where an order requires delivery, we may provide the information necessary to complete that delivery to the relevant postal service, parcel carrier or courier.
This will normally include information such as your:
- name
- delivery address
- telephone number
- email address, where required by the carrier
- information necessary to identify or deliver the order
Live Tortoise Deliveries
Live tortoises are transported using a specialist reptile courier.
Where you purchase a tortoise requiring courier delivery, we may provide the courier with the personal information reasonably necessary to arrange and complete safe delivery.
We only provide delivery services with information necessary for carrying out the delivery.
8. Enquiries and Communications
If you contact Happy Tortoise Habitat by email, telephone or through a website form, we may retain your contact details and the contents of the correspondence where reasonably necessary to answer your enquiry, provide customer service or maintain appropriate business records.
Transactional emails relating to orders, payments, deliveries and enquiries are not marketing emails.
9. Cookies
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies.
Some cookies are strictly necessary for the website and online shop to function. These may be required for functions such as:
- maintaining your shopping basket
- processing checkout
- remembering necessary session information
- website security
- account functionality
Other cookies are not essential to the operation of the website and may be used for purposes such as analytics or measuring advertising activity.
Where consent is legally required, non-essential cookies should only be used after you have given your consent.
You can use the website’s cookie controls to accept, reject or manage non-essential cookies.
The Information Commissioner’s Office states that visitors must be told about cookies and what they do, and that cookies which are not strictly necessary generally require the user’s agreement.
10. Analytics and Advertising Technologies
The website may use services including Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors find and use the website.
Information collected may include pages visited, approximate location, device and browser information, traffic sources and interactions with the website.
The website may also contain technology associated with Meta/Facebook, including the Meta Pixel, which can be used to measure website and advertising activity.
These technologies may use cookies or similar identifiers and may involve information being processed by the relevant third-party provider.
Where these technologies involve non-essential cookies or tracking, they should only operate where the required consent has been obtained.
Analytics cookies are not treated as strictly necessary cookies by the ICO and therefore require appropriate consent.
11. Who We Share Personal Information With
We do not sell your personal information.
We may share information where reasonably necessary with organisations that help us operate the business and provide our services, including:
- payment providers
- banks and financial service providers
- delivery companies and couriers
- specialist live-animal couriers
- website hosting and technical service providers
- website and eCommerce software providers
- analytics and advertising technology providers, where applicable
- accountants or professional advisers
- government bodies, regulators, law enforcement agencies or other authorities where disclosure is legally required
These organisations should only receive the information necessary for the relevant purpose.
12. International Processing
Some of the external services used by the website may process information outside the United Kingdom.
This may include international technology providers involved in payments, website services, analytics or advertising.
Where personal information is transferred internationally, the relevant provider is responsible for applying appropriate safeguards required by applicable data protection law.
13. How Long We Keep Personal Information
We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting and taxation requirements and resolving disputes.
Order and transaction records may therefore be retained for a number of years after an order has been completed.
Enquiry correspondence may be deleted when it is no longer reasonably required, unless it subsequently forms part of an order, complaint, legal matter or other business record that needs to be retained.
Technical, security, analytics and cookie information may have different retention periods depending upon the systems and providers involved.
14. How We Protect Your Information
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.
The website uses HTTPS encryption to protect information transmitted between your browser and the website.
However, no internet-based system or electronic storage method can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
15. Your Data Protection Rights
Depending upon the circumstances and the lawful basis being used, UK data protection law gives you rights concerning your personal information.
These may include the right to:
- ask us for a copy of personal information we hold about you
- ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
- ask us to delete personal information in certain circumstances
- ask us to restrict the processing of your information in certain circumstances
- object to certain types of processing
- request transfer of information to you or another organisation in certain circumstances
- withdraw consent where we rely upon consent for processing
Not every right applies in every circumstance.
If you wish to exercise a data protection right, please contact:
sales@happytortoisehabitat.co.uk
We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request.
16. Complaints
If you have concerns about how Happy Tortoise Habitat handles your personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to investigate the matter.
You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection regulator.
Information Commissioner’s Office
Information about your data protection rights is also available from the ICO.
17. Links to Other Websites
Our website may contain links to websites operated by other organisations.
Happy Tortoise Habitat is not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of third-party websites. If you follow a link to another website, you should review that organisation’s privacy information.
18. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy when our business practices, website services, technology or legal obligations change.
When we make significant changes, we will update the Last updated date at the top of this page.
We recommend checking this page periodically for the latest version.
19. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, how your personal information is used or your data protection rights, please contact:
Happy Tortoise Habitat
Ken Dickinson
18 Preston Road
Hull
HU9 5TF
United Kingdom
Email: sales@happytortoisehabitat.co.uk
Website: happytortoisehabitat.co.uk