Protecting your Privacy

1. Introduction

At The Mewes Vets Ltd, we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Notice explains in detail the types of personal data we may collect about you when you interact with us. It also explains how we’ll store and handle that data, and keep it safe.

We are aware that there’s a lot of information here but we want you to be fully informed about your rights, and how The Mewes Vets Ltd uses your data.

For example, this Notice will explain things such as our reasons for processing your data, and how you can unsubscribe.

We hope the following sections will answer any questions you have but if not, please do  email us on privacy@themewes.co.uk, or phone us on 01444 456886.

It’s likely that we’ll need to update this Privacy Notice from time to time. We’ll notify you of any significant changes, but you’re welcome to come back and check it again whenever you wish.

1. Who are The Mewes Vets Ltd?

The Mewes Vets Ltd is an independent veterinary clinic which serves the health care needs of pets in Haywards Heath and the surrounding area. We are not associated with or owned by any other business or clinic. Our Director is Dr J. Mewes MRCVS.

For simplicity in this notice, the terms ‘we’ and ‘us’ are used to refer to The Mewes Vets Ltd, and its team members.

Contact details
Post
The Mewes Vets Ltd, 4 Haywards Road, HAYWARDS HEATH, West Sussex,
RH16 4HT, GB
The Mewes Vets Ltd, 16 Marine Drive, ROTTINGDEAN, East Sussex BN2
7HQ, GB
The Mewes Vets Ltd, 44 Lincoln Avenue, PEACEHAVEN, East Sussex BN10
7JU
Telephone
Haywards Heath: 01444 456886
Rottingdean: 01273 359090
Peacehaven: 01273 359092
Email
Haywards Heath: info@themewesvets.co.uk
Rottindean: rottindean@themewesvets.co.uk

Peacehaven: peacehaven@themewesvets.co.uk

What information we collect, use, and why
We collect or use the following information to provide and improve products and services for clients:
● Names and contact details
● Addresses
● Pronoun preferences
● Transaction data (including details about payments to and from you
and details of products and services you have purchased)
● Usage data (including information about how you interact with and
use our website, products and services)
● Employment details (including salary, sick pay and length of
service)
● Credit history and credit reference information
● Information relating to compliments or complaints
● Video recordings
● Records of meetings and decisions

We collect or use the following personal information for the operation of client or customer accounts:
● Names and contact details
● Addresses
● Purchase or service history
● Account information, including registration details
● Marketing preferences

We collect or use the following personal information for information updates or marketing purposes:
● Names and contact details
● Addresses
● Marketing preferences
● Purchase or account history

We collect or use the following personal information to comply with legal requirements:
● Name
● Contact information

We collect or use the following personal information for recruitment purposes:
● Contact details (eg name, address, telephone number or personal
email address)
● Employment history (eg job application, employment references or
secondary employment)
● Education history (eg qualifications)
● Right to work information

We collect or use the following personal information for dealing with queries, complaints or claims:
● Names and contact details
● Address
● Payment details
● Account information
● Purchase or service history
● Video recordings of public areas
● Witness statements and contact details
● Customer or client accounts and records
● Financial transaction information
● Information relating to health and safety (including incident
investigation details and reports and accident book records)
● Correspondence

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.
● Your right to rectification – You have the right to ask us to
correct or delete personal information you think is inaccurate or
incomplete. 
● Your right to erasure – You have the right to ask us to delete your
personal information. 
● Your right to restriction of processing – You have the right to
ask us to limit how we can use your personal information. 
● Your right to object to processing – You have the right to object
to the processing of your personal data. 
● 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.
● Your right to withdraw consent – When we use consent as our
lawful basis you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. 

If you make a request, we must respond to you without undue delay and
in any event within one month.
To make a data protection rights request, please contact us using the
contact details at the top of this privacy notice.
Our lawful bases for the collection and use of your data
Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to provide
and improve products and services for clients 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.
● Legal obligation – we have to collect or use your information so we
can comply with the law. All of your data protection rights may
apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right
to data portability.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for the
operation of client or customer accounts 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 have to collect or use the information so we can enter
into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection
rights may apply except the right to object.
● Legal obligation – we have to collect or use your information so we
can comply with the law. All of your data protection rights may
apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right
to data portability.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for
information updates or marketing purposes 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.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to comply
with legal requirements:
● 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.
Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for
recruitment purposes 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.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for dealing
with queries, complaints or claims 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.

Where we get personal information from
● Directly from you
● CCTV footage or other recordings

How long we keep information
We retain your pet’s medical information after you leave the clinic for the
potential lifespan of your pet, ie for twenty years, in case of a medical query or complaint.
We remove your personal contact details seven years after you leave the clinic.
We delete video recordings after 75 days at Peacehaven and 31 days at
Haywards Heath, and phone recordings at Peacehaven and Rottingdean after 30 days.

Who we share information with
Data processors
Idexx Animana
This data processor does the following activities for us: Record all our
patient records
Premier Vet Alliance
This data processor does the following activities for us: Process monthly
direct debit payments.

Others we share personal information with
● Debt collection agencies
● Other financial or fraud investigation authorities
● Insurance companies, brokers or other intermediaries
● Professional or legal advisors
● Organisations we’re legally obliged to share personal information with
● Professional consultants
● Various Pet Insurance companies
● Various Microchip companies
● Various Veterinary Referral centres, Hospitals and the Pets Emergency service
● The Veterinary Defence Society, our Professional Indemnity Insurers.
● Credit card machine device *
● Agfa radiography processor *
● Scanner/printer devices *
● Google Analytics *
● Facebook *
● Instagram *
● YouTube *
* We are still checking where exactly your data is processed by these companies.

Sharing information outside the UK
Where necessary, we may transfer personal information outside of the
UK. When doing so, we comply with the UK GDPR, making sure appropriate safeguards are in place. For further information or to obtain a copy of the appropriate safeguard for any of the transfers below, please contact us using the contact information provided above.

Organisation name: Idexx Animana
Category of recipient: Storage provider for clinical records
Country the personal information is sent to: Holland
How the transfer complies with UK data protection law:
https://help.animana.com/kb/in-focus-data-security/#Animana-IDEXX
How to complain
If you have any concerns about our use of your personal data, you can make a complaint to us using the contact details at the top of this privacy
notice. If you remain unhappy with how we’ve used your data after raising a complaint with us, you can also complain to the ICO.
The ICO’s address:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
Last updated
3rd March 2025