Privacy Policy

Last updated: 31 July 2026

Introduction

Canal Boat Day Hire ("we", "our" or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, how long we keep it and your rights under UK data protection legislation.

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or the personal information we hold about you, please contact us at:

Email: contact@canalboatdayhire.co.uk

What information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following information.

Booking information

When making a booking we collect:

Full name
Postal address
Email address
Telephone number
Booking date and time
Number of adults and children
Payment status
Any information you choose to provide relating to your booking

Hire Agreement

On the day of your hire we also collect information recorded on the Hire Agreement, including:

Lead hirer's details
Vehicle registration
Names of other members of your party
Signatures of adult participants

Children under the age of 18 are not required to sign the Hire Agreement.

Correspondence

If you contact us by email or through our website we may keep copies of those communications to help us respond to your enquiry and provide customer support.

Safety and Incident Records

Where appropriate we may create records relating to:

Accidents
Damage to the boat
Customer complaints
Safety incidents
Insurance claims

Safety Briefing Video Recording

To help protect both our customers and staff, parts of the customer handover process are recorded using video and audio equipment.

What may be recorded

Recordings may include:

Customers arriving at the boat
The onboard safety briefing
Demonstrations of the boat's controls
Practical tuition before departure
Lock demonstrations where appropriate

The purpose of these recordings is to demonstrate that appropriate safety information and practical instruction have been provided before customers take control of the boat.

Why we record

These recordings are made under our legitimate interests as a boat hire operator.

They help us:

Promote customer and staff safety
Demonstrate that safety briefings have been completed
Investigate accidents and incidents
Respond to complaints
Support insurance claims
Assist criminal investigations where legally required
Protect and defend legal claims
Improve staff training and consistency

Storage and Security

Following each hire, recordings are transferred from the camera to an external hard drive.

The hard drive is stored securely in a locked cabinet within a secure office.

Only Canal Boat Day Hire has access to these recordings.

The recordings are not uploaded to cloud storage and are not backed up elsewhere.

Retention

Recordings are normally retained for 90 days.

They are then permanently deleted unless required in connection with:

An ongoing complaint
An insurance claim
An accident investigation
Criminal investigations
Legal proceedings

Sharing recordings

Recordings are only shared where legally required or where necessary for:

Insurance claims
Law enforcement
Legal advisers
Court proceedings

They are never used for advertising, promotional material or social media without separate permission.

How we use your information

We use your information to:

Process and manage bookings
Contact you regarding your booking
Provide customer support
Deliver our boat hire services
Meet legal obligations
Investigate incidents
Protect the safety of customers and staff
Prevent fraud
Defend legal claims where necessary

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

Payments

Payments made through our website are processed securely using trusted third-party payment providers, including Stripe, PayPal and Apple Pay.

We do not store your payment card details.

Website Analytics and Cookies

Our website is hosted by Squarespace and uses cookies to help operate the website and improve your browsing experience.

We also use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website. This information is collected in an aggregated form and helps us improve our website and services.

You can control cookies through your web browser settings. If our website displays a cookie banner, you can also manage your cookie preferences there.

Marketing

At present we only use your contact information to administer your booking and respond to enquiries.

If we introduce marketing emails or newsletters in the future, these will only be sent where permitted by law. Every marketing email will include an option to unsubscribe.

Who we share your information with

We do not sell, rent or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.

Information will only be shared where necessary:

To process payments
To comply with legal obligations
To protect our legal rights
To respond to court orders or requests from law enforcement agencies

International Bookings

Customers from outside the United Kingdom may make bookings through our website.

Your personal information is processed in accordance with UK data protection legislation regardless of where your booking is made.

How long we keep your information

We only retain personal information for as long as necessary.

Typical retention periods are:

Information Retention Period

Customer enquiries As required for customer service

Booking records Up to 6 years

Signed Hire Agreements Up to 6 years

Safety briefing recordings 90 days (unless required for ongoing legal or insurance matters)

Incident and accident records As long as necessary to meet legal or insurance requirements

Your Rights

Under UK data protection legislation you have the right to:

Request access to your personal information
Request correction of inaccurate information
Request deletion of information where appropriate
Restrict certain processing
Object to certain processing
Request information about how your personal data is used

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the email address below.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your personal information, please contact us first so that we have the opportunity to resolve the matter.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact:

Canal Boat Day Hire

Email: contact@canalboatdayhire.co.uk

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legislation, our services or our business practices.

The latest version will always be published on this website.