Privacy Policy
Privacy Notice
How we keep your personal information safe
Countrywide Hearing Ltd (30 Stanley Street, Mumbles, Swansea, SA3 4NE) is registered as a company in England and Wales (no 08010945). Countrywide Hearing Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under registration number ZA381363.
This Privacy Notice describes how your personal data, including sensitive data, are collected and processed. This Privacy Notice replaces earlier versions and is prepared in line with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) guidance that will apply from 25 May 2018, and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA).
Lawful bases and data protection rights
Under UK data protection law, we must have a “lawful basis” for collecting and using your personal information. There is a list of possible lawful bases in the UK GDPR. You can find out more about lawful bases on the ICO’s website.
Which lawful basis we rely on may affect your data protection rights which are in brief set out below. You can find out more about your data protection rights and the exemptions which may apply on the ICO’s website:
- Your right of access – You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. You can request other information such as details about where we get personal information from and who we share personal information with. There are some exemptions which means you may not receive all the information you ask for. Read more about the right of access.
- Your right to rectification– You have the right to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information. Read more about the right to rectification.
- Your right to erasure– You have the right to ask us to delete your personal information. Read more about the right to erasure.
- Your right to restriction of processing– You have the right to ask us to limit how we can use your personal information. Read more about the right to restriction of processing.
- Your right to object to processing– You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data. Read more about the right to object to processing.
- Your right to data portability– You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you. Read more about the right to data portability.
- Your right to withdraw consent – When we use consent as our lawful basis you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Read more about the right to withdraw consent.
- Your right to raise concerns with us directly about how we handle your personal data before contacting the ICO. See complaints procedure below for more information.
If you make a data access request around any one of those points, we will consider it in accordance with all data protection laws and regulations. If you make a request, we must respond to you without undue delay and in any event within one month. No administrative fee will be charged to handle the request provided it does not become excessive.
You can make a request by contacting [email protected] or write to us at the address above. We will endeavour to respond within 14 working days but no later than 30 days. We want to make sure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. You may ask us to correct or remove information you think is inaccurate.
Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to provide services and goods are:
Consent – we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
Contract – We collect data on the basis of “contract” meaning we collect only information that is necessary for us to undertake a contract in which data subjects are party to or at their request prior to entering into a contract.
What information do we collect?
We collect personal information. Personal information is any information that can be used to identify you e.g., if you ask to have a quote for a new hearing aid or your insurance company asks us to assist on your hearing aid claim, then we collect and process the personal information that you provide.
We may also collect information from you if you want replacement batteries or if you have expressed an interest in upgrading or changing your hearing aids. This information may include your name, postal address, email address, telephone or mobile number or date of birth. We use this to provide you with the information, products or services in which you are interested.
Marketing Communications
We will only send you marketing communications (e.g. updates on hearing technology) where:
- You have given consent, or
- You are an existing customer, and we are relying on legitimate interests. Our legitimate interest is keeping existing customers informed about hearing aid technology, accessories, servicing and related products that may be relevant to their existing hearing aids.
You can opt out at any time by:
- Emailing us
- Calling us
Where we get your personal information from
- Directly from you
- Insurance Companies
The main source of our information comes from your insurance provider. If you have made a claim for a lost hearing aid, that is how we will have your details. Otherwise, you will have contacted us directly to enquire about hearing aids. Calls are recorded for training, quality assurance, complaint handling and regulatory purposes. Recordings are retained for 90 days unless required longer for legal reasons.
Given the nature of our business, we may also collect basic information on your health (i.e that you have a hearing loss or that you require hearing aids). This is classified as “special category data”. We only record any further health information if you give us consent to do so.
We process this data based on:
- Your explicit consent, or
- Where necessary for health-related services
We ensure appropriate safeguards including:
- Restricted access
- Secure storage
- Staff confidentiality obligations
We process this health information under Article 6(1)(b) UK GDPR (contract) and Article 9(2)(h) UK GDPR (health or social care services), or where applicable Article 9(2)(a) (explicit consent).
Keeping your information up to date
To make sure we always have the most up-to-date information about how to contact you, we may also, from time to time, update your records to reflect any changes to your personal information.
This information may come directly from you, or it may come from a third party that we consider is legitimate and trustworthy and in circumstances where it is appropriate and where you will have had a clear expectation that your details would be passed on for this purpose. This may include insurers, hearing aid manufacturers, audiologists, or publicly available address verification services.
How long will we keep your information?
We hold your personal information for as long as we have a legal or business reason to do so, which generally means for as long as you remain a Countrywide Hearing customer and require aftercare for your hearing aids, or as required to meet our legal and statutory obligations such as VAT purposes, resolve disputes or enforce our agreements or contracts.
Following a predefined trigger event as outlined below, records will usually then be retained for a maximum of 7 years (but may be up to 10 years if there is a legal or regulatory need)
Trigger Events:
- Completion of Hearing Aid Claim ‘Validation Only’ Services for Insurance Companies
- If you decide to no longer be a customer of Countrywide Hearing
- Completion of a Complaint (if you are not a customer)
- Completion of any General Queries (if you are not or do not become a customer)
7 Years reflects statutory liability of 6 years, plus 1 additional year to complete the data processing lifecycles e.g. record disposal.
We’ll always store your data securely and won’t use it for any other purpose.
The law allows you to withdraw your consent to any particular usage of your data at any time without needing to specify a reason. You can withdraw your consent by emailing our customer care team on [email protected] or calling 0330 016 5110.
How we store your information
Your information is primarily stored securely on our servers and within UK and European Economic Area (EEA) only.
Where data is transferred outside these areas, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:
- UK adequacy regulations
- Standard contractual clauses
It is kept in line with the GDPRs security principle and we ensure that:
- the data can be accessed, altered, disclosed or deleted only by those we have authorised to do so (and that those people only act within the scope of the authority given to them);
- the data we hold is accurate and complete in relation to why we are processing it; and
- the data remains accessible and usable.
How we use your information.
- To obtain pricing for replacement hearing aids
This may include using your personal information to help gather a quote for replacement hearing aids.
- To arrange for an audiologist to fit the new hearing aids and provide aftercare
This may include using your personal information to identify an appropriate audiologist to assist you for the term of your new hearing aids.
- To validate your insurance claim
We may use your personal data to ensure the insurance company is providing you with an appropriate cash settlement for your lost hearing aids.
We will not rent or sell your personal information to other organisations for use by them in any way, including in their own direct marketing activities.
However, where you have given us permission to contact you, we may pass on your information to external service providers to contact you on our behalf. This would be audiologists for example or occasionally manufacturers.
We do not use automated decision-making or profiling that has a legal or similarly significant effect on individuals.
All decisions involving your personal data are made by appropriately trained staff.
Who we share information with:
- Insurance Companies
To discuss your hearing aid claim, and for any other contractual or regulatory purposes.
- Audiologists
With your permission, to complete a replacement service or on a consultation basis.
- Hearing Aid Manufacturers
With your permission, to complete the necessary replacement order.
How will we contact you?
We will contact you regarding your quote, insurance claim or purchase via phone, email, text or letter. We may also contact you with information on advances in hearing aid technology and developments. If you wish us to stop contacting you completely you can request this by contacting our customer care team on [email protected] or calling 0330 016 5110.
How we use your debit or credit card information
As well as for any purchases, sometimes we are required to collect excess premiums on your insurance policy via a card transaction over the phone. We do not collect this data over the internet or email. We are PCI compliant and use Payment Card Industry compliant providers to handle transactions. We do not store any payment data, once the payment has gone through all information is immediately destroyed.
Cookies
When you visit a website that uses cookies for the first time, a cookie is downloaded onto your PC. The next time you visit that site, your PC checks to see if it has a cookie that is relevant (that is, one containing the site name) and sends the information contained in that cookie back to the site. The site then ‘knows’ that you have been there before, and in some cases, tailors what pops up on screen to take account of that fact.
We use cookies to improve your website experience.
These include:
- Essential cookies – required for website functionality
- Analytics cookies (e.g. Google Analytics)
Where required, we will ask for your consent before placing non-essential cookies.
You can manage your preferences via your browser cookies options by accessing the ‘Tools’ menu.
Making a complaint
If you have any questions about of data policy or our data practices, please email [email protected] or write to us at the address above and we will be happy to help.
If you would like to raise a complaint, you can use any of the following methods:
– Email: [email protected]
– Phone: 0330 016 5110
– Address: 30 Stanley Street, Mumbles, SA3 4NE
– Website: https://www.countrywidehearing.co.uk/contact-countrywide-hearing/
Complaints can be submitted in any format.
We will:
- Acknowledge your complaint within 30 days
- Investigate and respond without undue delay
- Keep you informed of progress
- Provide you with the outcome
If you are not satisfied, you may contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at https://ico.org.uk.
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
We maintain internal procedures for handling data protection complaints and demonstrating compliance with UK data protection law.
Please see our Data Protection Complaints Policy below for more information.
Data Protection Contact:
Countrywide Hearing Ltd
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 0330 016 5110
Data Protection Complaints Policy
- Purpose
We are committed to protecting personal data and complying with UK GDPR requirements, including the latest Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA).
This policy explains how individuals can raise concerns about how their personal data is handled directly to Countrywide Hearing.
2. How to Make a Complaint
You can raise a complaint using the following methods:
– Email: [email protected]
– Phone: 0330 016 5110
– Address: 30 Stanley Street, Mumbles, SA3 4NE
– Website: https://www.countrywidehearing.co.uk/contact-countrywide-hearing/
Complaints can be submitted in any format.
3. What Happens Next
We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days. We will investigate promptly, keep you informed, and provide a clear outcome.
4. Timeframes
We aim to resolve complaints within 3 months, depending on complexity.
5. Your Rights
If you are not satisfied, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at https://ico.org.uk or 0303 123 1113.
6. Record Keeping
We maintain records of all complaints and outcomes to demonstrate compliance and improve our processes.
7. Accessibility
This policy is available via our website and upon request in accessible formats.