Privacy Statement

Bedford Model Engineering Society is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy in accordance with the law set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, 2018).

For the purpose of the General Data Protection Regulation, Summerfields Miniature Railways is a trading name of Bedford Model Engineering Society Limited (hereafter BMES). Any questions that arise regarding data control can be sent to the appropriate email address (data control) on our contact page (opens in a new tab).

This privacy policy statement sets out the data processing practices carried out through your use of this web site. It also details how we handle your data if you become a member of the society, or if you choose to opt into an email list for the purpose of notification of upcoming events, for instance.

This policy, together with our terms of use Disclaimer (opens in a new tab) sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us.  Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.

We keep certain basic information when you visit our website (cookies only) and recognise the importance of keeping that information secure and letting you know what we will do with it.

This policy only applies to BMES and our website or other data that you supply directly to us. If you leave our website via a link or otherwise, you will be subject to the policy of that website provider. We have no control over the policies or the terms of other websites and you should check their policy before continuing to access their sites.

 

Information we may collect from you

BMES will only hold minimum details required to run the Society, or to stage certain events. BMES will never exchange, transfer or sell personal details to any other organisation or third party outside of the Society (except where an individual specifically requests us to pass on their contact details when requesting contact with a third party or advertising items for sale/wanted.)

From our website we may collect and process the following data about you:

  • Information that you provide by filling in forms on our site: https://www.bedfordmes.co.uk/ . This includes information provided at the time of registering to use our site (not currently an option), subscribing to our email list (not currently done via the website), or otherwise passing information to us. We may also ask you for information when you report a problem with our site.
  • If you contact us, we may keep a record of that correspondence.
  • Details of your visits to our site including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, weblogs, operating system, browser usage and other communication data, whether this is required for our own billing purposes or otherwise and the resources that you access.

 

IP addresses and cookies

We may collect information about your computer, including where available your IP address, operating system and browser type, for system administration and to report aggregate information to any advertisers from time to time. This is statistical data about our users' browsing actions and patterns, and does not identify any individual and we will not collect personal information in this way.

We may obtain information about your general internet usage by using a cookie file which is stored on the hard drive of your computer. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive. They help us to improve our site and to deliver a better and more personalised service. They enable us:

  • To estimate our audience size and usage pattern.
  • To store information about your preferences, and so allow us to customise our site according to your individual interests.
  • To speed up your searches.
  • To recognise you when you return to our site.

You may refuse to accept cookies by activating  the setting on your browser,  which allows you to refuse the setting of cookies. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our site. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you log on to our site.

 

Internet-based Transfers

Given that the Internet is a global environment, using the Internet to collect and process personal data necessarily involves the transmission of data on an international basis. Therefore, by browsing this web site and communicating electronically with us you acknowledge and agree to our processing of personal data in this way.

 

Uses made of the information

We use information held about you in the following ways:

  • To ensure that content from our site is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer.
  • To provide you with information or services that you request from us or which we feel may interest you, where you have consented to be contacted for such purposes.
  • To allow you to participate in interactive features of our service, when you choose to do so.
  • To notify you about changes to our service.

 

Disclosure of your information

We do not sell or pass your data to any third parties. Any information that we collect from you is solely used by us to communicate with you in a manner that is agreed by you in advance.

 

Security

We endeavour to take all reasonable steps to protect your personal information. All the data collected by us (names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses) is stored only on designated computers owned by appointed members of Bedford MES. Our website uses SSL protection (see the lock in the browser address bar) and any data that you send is 128-bit encrypted.

 

 Your rights
We do not process data for marketing purposes and this will almost certainly never change. However, if we ever decided that it would be in the interests of Bedford MES to do so you would have the right to ask us not to do so.

 

Access to information

If we collect any personal data from you, you have the right to receive/amend/delete information about the personal data we hold about you.

Bedford MES do not charge a fee for this unless we believe the request is excessive or unfounded. If we refuse a request we will tell the individual why and that they have the right to complain to the supervisory authority and to judicial remedy. Bedford MES will do this without undue delay and at the latest within 14 days.

BMES has appointed a Data Protection Compliance Leader (DPCL) to oversee the processing, storage and deletion of all personal data. Any person who wishes to have a copy of the data we hold for them, request a correction or who wishes to withdraw their permission for the Society to hold their data may request such actions of the DPCL. Any such requests will be actioned within 14 days of receipt.

If at any time you no longer wish to receive any of our e-bulletins, newsletters or other information for which you have subscribed then please contact us so that we can remove your relevant details. Please do this by contacting us by using the appropriate email address on our contact page (opens in a new tab).

 

Member's Details

Members’ details will be managed by the Membership Secretary operating as a data

processor under the auspices of the DPCL. Data will be limited to name, postal address, email address and phone number(s). Age will be recorded only for those claiming Junior Membership status.

Members data will be retained for a minimum of one calendar year after membership ceases in order to fulfil Members’ obligations should the Society be wound up. If a member withdraws their permission for BMES to hold their data they will be deemed to have resigned their membership as the Society will no longer be able to communicate with that member. However, their data will still be retained for one calendar year as in the foregoing statement.

 

Members requiring boiler test or insurance certificates must be aware that copies have to be provided to the institution in whose name they are issued. Name, address and contact details of non-members are collected for specific events (e.g. Visitors Gala or Santa Specials).

 

Data Collected For Special Events
The age and gender of children participating in ‘Santa Specials’ is recorded in order for BMES to provide a gift appropriate to that child. All information gathered for specific events will be deleted within one month of the event taking place. However, subject to an individual formally requesting such, a name and a contact e-mail address will be retained in a central database managed by the DCO. This is solely to enable BMES to advise that individual of appropriate future events and activities. Only where an individual requesting this service has no e-mail address will a postal address be substituted.

 

Changes to our privacy policy

We may make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time. You should check this page regularly to see our most up to date policy. We will tell you about any changes to this Privacy policy by showing the date of the changes in the 'Last updated' section below. By using the website after the date we make any changes, you are agreeing to the changes.

 

Contact

Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to the data control email address from our contact page (opens in a new tab).

 

Last updated: May 2018