We are required by law to clearly and simply explain what personal data we collect and the reasons why we collect it.

Here is our Privacy Policy in a nutshell ...

We collect the bare minimum of personal data and use it only for the core business purposes of accounts, record keeping and the delivery of goods.

Who are we?

Virtual Yarns Ltd is a company registered in Scotland
Registration number at Companies House, Edinburgh, is SC 394836

Registered Office –
63 Kenneth Street
Stornoway
Isle of Lewis HS1 2DS
SCOTLAND, UK

Business Premises –
Virtual Yarns
Suite 2/8
60 Brook Street
GLASGOW, G40 2AB
SCOTLAND, UK

We have two websites, our main website is virtualyarns.com and our Video Tutorial website where our online courses and classes are accessed can be found at steek.scot.

What personal data do we collect?

We collect three kinds – contact data, transaction data and membership data.

Contact data consists of your name, delivery address, billing address, email address, IP address and phone number. We collect this data so we can send your order to you and contact you about your order if necessary.

Transaction data consists of what you ordered, how much you paid for it and by what means you paid. It is simple common sense to keep a note of what we have sold, but we are also required by law to keep business accounts and to submit an annual tax return. The transaction data is an integral part of this process.

Membership data consists of your name and email address. If you purchase a Project Class project or a Creative Course, which includes access to video tutorials, we will make a membership for you on our sister site www.steek.scot. This will allow you to access the video tutorials for your Project Class or Creative Course.

We collect no other personal data or financial data. The financial data associated with our transactions goes to PayPal, and does not come to us.

How do we collect your personal data?

Directly from you when you fill in our online order form with your contact and transaction details. We are required to obtain your clear consent before collecting your data, and so you have to click a consent box before your order form is sent.

Also, if you send us an email then we will obviously receive your email address.

Our Website & Cookies

Our website is hosted by Flywheel, who keep our website and online data safe and secure. The website runs a Flywheel cookie which collects very basic information on the number of site visitors we have per day.

We process all payments using WooCommerce through Paypal. WooCommerce runs two necessary cookies on the website to enable the shop and checkout to function throughout your session.

We use Google Analytics to monitor statistics on our website. We use this data to analyse which pages are of most interest to our visitors as a whole so that we can provide relevant future content. We do not profile shopping cart behaviour, or use any data from our website for marketing or targeted ads of any kind. Google Analytics runs four cookies through the website for the purposes of gathering statistical and behavioural  information. Our website is set to anonymise individual IP addresses before they are stored by Google Analytics.

If you disable Cookies in the privacy section of your browser you will still be able to access and browse our website, but you will not be able to make an order, as WooCommerce cookies are required for the functionality of the checkout pages.

How Do We Store Your Personal Data?

Customer order data is stored securely on our website, in our dedicated orders email account and in our tax records dating back 6 years. We can anonymise your order details on request which will strip all personal information from your order. Please remember that if you request this then we can only respond to enquiries about your order if you provide the order number, as that will be our only means of identifying your purchase.

Our customer accounts are stored securely on our website and can be deleted on request.

Our monthly newsletter subscription list is stored on Mailchimp.

Our video class and creative course memberships are stored securely on our dedicated Video Tutorial website www.steek.scot.

Email enquiries are stored on our dedicated email account, and are deleted along with your contact information after the enquiry has been dealt with.

How long do we keep your personal data?

If you have opted to receive our newsletter then we will keep your contact data until you unsubscribe, at which point we will delete it. If you order from us without opting to receive our newsletter then we will keep your contact details for 12 months before deleting them. We will delete them sooner if you request us to do so.

UK tax laws require us to keep all accounting and transaction data for 6 years following the submission of our tax return.

Can I insist that my personal data is deleted from your records?

Yes, it is your statutory right to do so. We will delete your personal data on request, apart from any current transaction data that we must retain for tax purposes.

Do we share personal data with any third parties?

Our Newsletter

The Virtual Yarns newsletter is entirely opt-in. You only receive it if you have checked the “I would like to receive...” box at checkout, or you have signed-up on the Follow Us page. You may unsubscribe at any time.

What do we do with your name and email address?

The answer is, we send you a monthly newsletter.

We don’t –

Use your information to target you with offers.

Send any more than one newsletter per month.

Add you to any other lists, (we do not in fact have any other mailing lists).

Our monthly newsletter mailing list is held securely by Mailchimp. Your personal information (your email address and name) is not sold or given to any other third party.

When Will You Hear From Us?

If you make an order you will get a confirmation email after you have completed checkout, and you will get an Order Completed email to let you know your order has dispatched.

If we have a question about your order information we will email you before dispatch to clarify any details that we are not sure about (for example if your shipping address does not include a postcode).

If you buy a Virtual Yarns Gift Voucher (or if someone buys you a gift Voucher)  the Voucher will be emailed to you.

If you create a customer account at checkout your will receive an email acknowledging that your account is set up.

If you buy a Project Class or Creative Course product with a video class your membership details to our steek dot scot tutorial website will be emailed to you.

If you email us or use our Contact Us form we will reply to your enquiry.

If you sign up for our newsletter then about once a month (but no more than that) you will receive an email telling you what Alice & Jade are currently up to in knitting and/or photography. It will also mention any new additions to our website and occasionally tell you how our cows and calves getting on.

Customer Accounts

Our customer accounts exist purely for your own convenience. They are entirely opt-in and you can checkout as guest if you do not wish to make one. The customer account allows you to log in and check your shipping address is correct, or view your orders and gift vouchers. You can request for your account to be deleted at any time you wish.

Our steek dot scot website accounts are essential for you to view and access your online course or classes, and while you can request that your account is deleted you will lose access to your course or class information if the account is removed.