Security FAQ's

WHY ON EARTH WOULD BODEN WANT MY EMAIL ADDRESS OR PHONE NUMBER?

It’s always good to be in touch. We ask for your details so we can drop you a line on the rare occasion there might be a problem with your order. Don’t worry, though. That only happens once in a while. In about one order in 50, we might get into a pickle with delivery. In that case, we’ll contact you to sort it out. We also like to keep you updated with what we have going on. That’s why we might email you special Boden offers and other news. Think about it this way: if we have your email address, we can alert you to our online sale first. Who doesn’t love a bargain?

We are always careful with your information. But we also know what you enjoy. We’ll keep your phone number and email address to ourselves, unless you have objected. We might also occasionally give your name and address to our clever friends at the data brokers who can work their magic to find other companies whose products they think you might like. We believe we have a legitimate interest to take part in this so, in return, we can find new customers who might like our products too. If you would rather that didn’t happen, please call us on 0330 333 0000 or email us at privacy@boden.co.uk. We’ll make sure to stop as soon as we can.

HOW DO YOU KEEP MY INFORMATION SAFE?

We don’t use a lock and key for starters. But all Boden online purchases are safe and secure thanks to sophisticated technology designed to protect everything you’re kind enough to share with us.

Our IT team cleverly encrypt your credit card information before it travels over the internet, ensuring your transactions with us are private and protected. In addition, we only accept orders from web browsers that allow communication through SSL technology (that’s Secure Socket Layer), meaning you won’t inadvertently place an order through a dodgy connection. Most web browsers support this security.

This is serious stuff, so your payment details stay encrypted until we process your order and, when we do that, it’s on computers that aren’t connected to the internet (yes, they do exist). This encryption makes it virtually impossible for anyone without permission to read the information you’ve given us. We believe you deserve the best, whether that’s clothes, customer service or internet security, so the encryption technique we use is the highest standard available for e-commerce and certified by VeriSign, the world’s most respected certification body for internet firms. Think of it as a safe with a combination that no one is likely to work out. We know it’s a complicated business so, if you do have any more burning questions about our credit card security policies, feel free to drop us a line on 0330 333 0000 and we’ll be happy to talk them through with you.

If you want to wear Boden but shopping online still brings you out in a nervous sweat, there’s the option of ordering on the good, old-fashioned telephone. Our team are always extremely friendly and you can place an order on 0330 333 0000 any time from Monday to Saturday 8am-10pm or on Sunday 10am-6pm.

YOU KNOW WHERE I LIVE, BUT WHAT ELSE DO YOU KNOW?

To help us provide the best possible service, we also keep records of:

Your penchant for Richmond trousers, neon prints and all things rainbow. We make a note of your purchases so we can send you offers tailored to you, for things that you’ll actually want. If there’s a problem with your order (unlikely, but it does happen), this also means we can deal with it super-fast.
Your email correspondence. We love hearing from you and keep a record of anything you send to us. If you’ve had an issue with any of our products or services, we use this correspondence to help get to the bottom of things.
Incoming calls. Our customer service is the best in the business and your calls help us keep it that way. We might use them to help train new staff. A big thank you for that.

HOW DO YOU USE MY PERSONAL DATA AS A FORCE FOR GOOD?

The information we collect via our website or through other correspondence makes shopping with Boden an easier/happier/more stylish experience. We promise that your details will only be used for:

Dealing with the boring nitty-gritty of orders and accounts, which help the supply of our goods and services.
Planning and managing Boden’s business activities – and what we do next. How can we continue to go beyond your expectations? By getting to know you better. We do this by analysing your shopping habits and preferences.
Research (we love an Excel document).
Giving YOU the information you need about the products and services we offer. It’s crucial, for example, to know if those petite Richmonds are going to fit.
Keeping you up to date about offers from other companies that might interest you – although you can ask us not to do this.
Beautiful clothes don’t grow on trees and we need to get paid for the products we provide. We may make enquiries about you, including searching the records held on you by organisations such as Equifax and credit reference agencies. It goes without saying that, where we do use or disclose your information, it will remain secure and in good hands.

We never pass on credit card details to anyone, because that would just be crazy. In fact, we can count on one hand the circumstances where we may share some of your data with others.

With agents (think credit card reference agencies, credit card clearing agencies – Barclays Merchant Services in the UK and Payment Tech in the USA – and fraud prevention and detection agencies). We use these very reliable, very trustworthy companies to process the orders you place with us or help us in the services we provide to you. We couldn’t do what we do without them but, even so, we only give them the information they need to get the job done.
In the unlikely event that our business assets are sold or purchased by another company, our data records will be sold too as part of our business.
We care what you think so we sometimes ask outside research companies to contact you directly for opinions on our products and services (again, we’ll only give them the information they need to get this done).
We work with Epsilon Abacus (registered as Epsilon International UK Ltd), Sub2, Experian and Data Locator Group that manage prospect pools on behalf of UK retailers. This members-only club includes shops active in the clothing, collectables, food and wine, gardening, gadgets and entertainment, health and beauty, household goods, and home interiors categories. As we’re all among friends, we share information on what our customers buy and this information is analysed to help us understand your buying patterns. This helps us plan what we send you, based on what you like to buy, whether it’s a reminder to stock up on shorts in May or 20% off partywear in November (because we know you like to sparkle over Christmas). We won’t be offended if you don’t want us to hold this information about you. You can change your preferences at any time by updating them here or by emailing mailingoptout@boden.co.uk with your account number (found above your address on you latest catalogue).

WILL YOU EVER PASS ON MY DETAILS TO YOUR FRIENDS?

We will never pass on your email address on to a third party for marketing purposes – even if they ask nicely. We work with Epsilon Abacus (registered as Epsilon International UK Ltd), Sub2, Experian and Data Locator Group, companies that manage prospect pools on behalf of UK retailers.

In other words, we send customers’ names, addresses and purchase history to these companies, and they use their technology to analyse what is bought by our customers and other companies’ customers. They then find people who don’t shop at Boden, but fall into a similar demographic. They then share their names and addresses with us so we can send them catalogues. We are relying on what’s called legitimate interest to do this. That means we have a business reason and that this is the most effective way of achieving our goal. We also believe that the rights and freedoms of individuals are not significantly affected by our doing so.

SINCE WHEN DOES DATA TRAVEL OVER THE INTERNET?

The internet is called the ‘world wide web’ for a reason and, despite not having a passport, your data can travel internationally to places inside and outside the European Union. We like to be straight with you, so we want you to know that when you visit or shop with Boden, you’re not objecting to us processing data in this way. We’ll be careful with it, we promise.

WHAT IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE I WANT TO KNOW?

We hope we’ve cleared up a few of the questions/concerns/rumours about your personal data and our privacy policy but, if you have any other questions, just email us at privacy@boden.co.uk. You can also check what information we have on you personally and correct any inaccuracies (oops) by writing to:

The Data Protection Officer
JP Boden & Co Ltd
Boden House
114-120 Victoria Road
London NW10 6NY

NO OFFENCE, BUT HOW DO I OPT OUT OF RECEIVING INFORMATION FROM YOU?

None taken. We like to keep our customers in the loop when it comes to style so we send you catalogues, special offers and promotions by post and email from time to time.

If you don’t wish to receive any more emails (and we quite understand if you don’t), please contact us here. Just be aware that if you unsubscribe, we won’t be able to send you sale details before we send them to anyone else and you might miss out on some fantastic clothes.
If you don’t wish to receive anything else in the post from Boden, please contact us here. Just include your full name and address, as well as an account number if applicable and we’ll take you off our database. So long, farewell and no hard feelings.
If you’ve opted in to receiving offers in the post from companies we thought might interest you but have changed your mind, just contact us here. We’ll make sure they know to leave you alone from now on (unless you allow them to contact you through another company).

To make life easier for us (and you), please make sure you include your full name and address, as well as account number where applicable when you get in touch. We’ll start the opt-out process straight away but, as catalogues get printed in advance, it can take up to eight weeks for you to unsubscribe; for emails it may take around five working days.

YOU'VE GOT THINGS COVERED AT YOUR END BUT IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO INCREASE SECURITY?

Most online transactions are quick, easy and trouble-free. We do everything we can to keep it that way by making your experience as safe and secure as possible. But there are some precautions you can take to up your security even more:

It’s simple, but effective: always close down your internet browser when you’ve finished shopping online, especially if you’re using a shared computer. Any temporary internet cookies (and personal information) will be permanently deleted from the sites you’ve visited.
Pretty standard but don’t reveal your password to anyone else.
Make your password foolproof. Don’t, for example, use your name, your partner’s name or the street you live on as this could all be easily obtained by a third party.
Be imaginative. Try not to use the same password again and again, across multiple sites. Boden will NEVER ask for personal details over email. If you receive an email asking for them, it’s not from us. Please contact our Customer Service team immediately if this happens.

THE PRICE HAS CHANGED AT CHECKOUT. WHAT'S GOING ON?

Sorry for any confusion. We’re a British brand so all prices quoted are based on UK delivery. If your delivery address is in Europe but outside the UK, we may apply your local tax rate to comply with local tax requirements (it’s not our decision, promise). So for some customers we recalculate your payment to cover the difference between UK and local tax rates.