Who we are

Blackdown Hearing Ltd is the data controller for your information. We are a company registered in England and Wales (number 12773024), with our registered office at 40 St James Buildings, St James Street, Taunton TA1 1JR. Our clinic is at Swan Retreat, Stoke Road, Stoke St Mary, Taunton TA3 5DE. We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), registration number ZA887377.

You can contact us about anything in this notice at contact@blackdownhearing.co.uk or on 01823 586777.

What we collect

• Your contact details: name, address, phone number, email address and date of birth.

• Your appointments: dates, times, the service you booked and any notes you add.

• Your health information: your hearing history, relevant medical history, ear examination notes, hearing test results and audiograms, and your hearing aid details and settings.

• Family and carers: if someone books for you or comes to your appointment, we may record their name and contact details.

• Payments: what you paid and when. Card payments are handled by PayPal Zettle, so we never see or store your full card number.

• Website use: how people use our website, through cookies. See our cookie policy.

Why we use it and our legal basis

• Booking and providing your hearing tests, hearing aids and aftercare: to carry out our agreement with you (contract). For health information, because it is needed to provide health care by a registered health professional (UK GDPR Article 9(2)(h)).

• Keeping clinical and financial records: to meet our legal and professional obligations.

• Replying to enquiries: our legitimate interest in answering you.

• Contacting your GP or the NHS about your hearing: only with your agreement, unless there is an urgent risk to your health.

• Website statistics: our legitimate interest in improving the site. You can opt out at any time (see our cookie policy).

• Advertising (Google): our legitimate interest in letting people know about our services. You can opt out at any time (see our cookie policy).

We do not sell your information, and we do not use automated decision-making.

Who we share it with

We only share what is needed, with organisations that keep it secure:

• Cliniko: our appointment and patient records system, hosted in the UK.

• PayPal Zettle: card payments.

• Google: email and office software, website statistics and advertising.

• Squarespace: our website host.

• Elfsight: shows our Google reviews on the website.

• Hearing aid manufacturers: to order, repair or replace your hearing aids.

• Your GP or the NHS: with your agreement, or if there is an urgent risk to your health.

• Our professional advisers and insurers, and anyone we are required to share with by law.

Information sent outside the UK

Some of these providers, such as Google and Squarespace, may handle data in other countries, including the United States. When they do, the transfer is protected by UK data protection safeguards, such as the UK-US data bridge or approved contract clauses.

How long we keep it

• Patient records: at least seven years after your last appointment.

• Financial records: six years, as HMRC requires.

• Enquiries that don't lead to an appointment: 12 months.

• Website statistics: up to 14 months in Google Analytics.

Keeping it safe

Your records are kept in secure, password-protected systems that only our clinic team can access. We take reasonable steps to protect your information, but no system is completely secure. If a breach affects you, we will tell you and the ICO where the law requires it.

Your rights

You have the right to:

• get a copy of the information we hold about you

• ask us to correct anything that is wrong

• ask us to delete your information. We may need to keep clinical records for the period above, and we will explain if so.

• ask us to limit how we use it, or object to how we use it

• ask for your information in a format you can pass to someone else

• opt out of website statistics and advertising cookies at any time

To use any of these rights, contact us at contact@blackdownhearing.co.uk or on 01823 586777. We will reply within one month.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first at contact@blackdownhearing.co.uk or on 01823 586777. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days and aim to give you a full reply within 20 working days.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.

Changes to this notice

We will update this notice when things change. This version was last updated on 30 October 2026.