Privacy Policy

1. About this privacy policy

The Ayur Chikitsa respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and share personal information when you:

• Visit our website at theayurchikitsa.com
• Contact us by telephone, email, social media or through our website
• Request or attend an appointment
• Complete a consultation, health or treatment form
• Purchase or enquire about our consultations, treatments or gift vouchers
• Subscribe to receive news or wellbeing updates

We process personal information in accordance with applicable UK data-protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. Who we are

The organisation responsible for your personal information is:

The Ayur Chikitsa Ltd, trading as The Ayur Chikitsa

Registered office and studio address:
3 Wain Close
York
United Kingdom
YO32 9YQ

Email: contactus@theayurchikitsa.com
Telephone: +44 (0)7377 732335
Website: theayurchikitsa.com

For data-protection purposes, The Ayur Chikitsa Ltd is the data controller.

3. Information we may collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with us.

Contact and identity information

This may include your:

• Name
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Postal address
• Date of birth, where relevant
• Emergency-contact details
• Preferred method of communication

Appointment and service information

This may include:

• The service or therapy you are interested in
• Your preferred appointment date and time
• Appointment history
• Attendance, cancellation or rescheduling information
• Notes relating to your enquiry
• Consultation and treatment preferences
• Aftercare and follow-up information

Health and wellbeing information

To provide an appropriate and safe consultation or therapy, we may ask you to provide information about your:

• General health and wellbeing
• Medical history
• Current symptoms or concerns
• Medication and supplements
• Allergies and sensitivities
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding status
• Previous injuries, surgery or treatments
• Diet, digestion, sleep and lifestyle
• Mental and emotional wellbeing
• Ayurvedic constitution and assessment
• Treatment contraindications

Information relating to physical or mental health is treated as special-category personal information and receives additional protection under data-protection law. Health information may include consultation details, appointment records and other information that reveals something about a person's health.

Payment and financial information

Where payments are accepted, we may collect:

• The amount paid
• Payment date
• Transaction or invoice reference
• Deposit, refund or outstanding-balance information
• Limited payment confirmation information supplied by the payment provider

Card payments are securely processed by Stripe. We receive limited payment confirmation and transaction information but do not store complete payment-card details.

Website and technical information

When you use our website, we or our service providers may collect:

• Internet Protocol address
• Browser and device type
• Operating system
• Pages visited
• Time and date of visits
• Referring website
• Cookie preferences
• Website-security and error information

Communications

We may retain communications exchanged with you by:

• Email
• Telephone
• Website forms
• Text or messaging services
• Social media
• Written correspondence

Photographs, reviews and testimonials

We will only publish identifiable photographs, case experiences, reviews or testimonials where we have an appropriate lawful basis and, where required, your separate permission.

Health details will not be included in publicity without your explicit agreement.

4. How we obtain your information

We normally receive information:

• Directly from you
• Through our contact or booking forms
• During consultations and therapies
• Through telephone, email or social-media communications
• From booking and payment service providers
• Through website cookies and related technologies
• From a parent, guardian or authorised representative, where appropriate

We will not knowingly collect more information than is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it is requested.

5. How we use your information

We may use your information to:

• Respond to enquiries
• Assess whether a consultation or therapy is appropriate
• Arrange and confirm appointments
• Provide consultations, therapies and personalised wellbeing guidance
• Maintain consultation and treatment records
• Prepare diet, lifestyle, nutrition or aftercare recommendations
• Communicate before and after an appointment
• Send administrative appointment reminders
• Process payments, deposits, invoices and refunds
• Manage cancellations and rescheduling
• Address feedback, concerns or complaints
• Protect clients, practitioners and the business
• Meet tax, accounting, insurance and legal requirements
• Maintain and improve our website and services
• Send marketing communications where permitted
• Establish, exercise or defend legal claims

6. Our lawful bases

We must have a lawful basis whenever we use personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on the following bases.

Contract and steps before a contract

We use information where it is necessary to:

• Respond to a request for an appointment
• Arrange or provide a service you have requested
• Manage payment and appointment administration
• Fulfil our agreement with you

The contract basis may apply when information is necessary to deliver a requested service or take steps at your request before entering into an agreement.

Legal obligation

We may use information to meet legal responsibilities relating to:

• Tax and accounting
• Consumer rights
• Health and safety
• Insurance
• Regulatory enquiries
• Court orders or other lawful requests

Legitimate interests

We may use information where it is reasonably necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided that those interests do not override your rights.

These interests may include:

• Responding to enquiries
• Maintaining accurate business records
• Improving our services
• Securing our website and systems
• Preventing misuse or fraud
• Managing complaints
• Defending legal claims

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the purpose, necessity and likely effect on the person concerned.

Consent

We may rely on your consent for:

• Optional marketing communications
• Certain non-essential cookies
• Publishing photographs or testimonials
• Processing health information where explicit consent is the appropriate special-category condition

You may withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect processing that was lawful before consent was withdrawn.

7. Information you need to provide

You are not generally required by law to provide personal information to us.

However, we may be unable to provide a consultation or therapy safely where you do not provide information that is reasonably required to:

• Arrange the appointment
• Identify contraindications
• Understand relevant allergies or health conditions
• Communicate important preparation or aftercare information
• Process payment

Please ensure that information you provide is accurate and tell us about relevant changes before receiving further services.

8. Appointment and service communications

We may contact you with non-marketing messages relating to:

• Appointment confirmations
• Appointment reminders
• Changes to an appointment
• Preparation instructions
• Consultation documents
• Aftercare guidance
• Payment or invoice information
• Responses to questions you have asked

These are service messages and are not treated as optional marketing communications.

9. Marketing communications

We may send wellbeing updates, offers or information about our services where:

• You have actively agreed to receive them; or
• Another lawful marketing provision applies to an existing customer.

Marketing permission will be kept separate from treatment consent and from acceptance of booking terms.

Every marketing email will provide a clear way to unsubscribe. You can also ask us to stop at any time by contacting contactus@theayurchikitsa.com.

UK electronic-marketing rules normally require specific consent before marketing emails or texts are sent to individuals, subject to a limited existing-customer exception and an appropriate opportunity to opt out.

We will not use health information to target marketing communications.

10. Sharing your information

We do not sell or rent personal information.

Where necessary, we may share limited information with trusted organisations that help us operate, including providers of:

• Website hosting and maintenance
• Contact and booking forms
• Appointment-management systems
• Email and communication services
• Secure document or cloud storage
• Payment processing
• Accounting and bookkeeping
• IT security and technical support
• Professional insurance
• Legal, accounting or data-protection advice

We may also disclose information:

• Where required by law
• In response to a valid legal or regulatory request
• To protect someone's vital interests in a genuine emergency
• To investigate fraud, misuse or a serious safety concern
• To establish, exercise or defend legal claims

Service providers are expected to process information only as instructed, maintain appropriate security and comply with applicable data-protection requirements.

11. International transfers

Some technology, hosting, email, payment or cloud-service providers may process information outside the United Kingdom.

Where a restricted international transfer occurs, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that an approved transfer mechanism is used. This may include:

• UK adequacy regulations
• The UK International Data Transfer Agreement
• The UK Addendum to approved contractual clauses
• Another safeguard permitted by UK data-protection law

UK GDPR contains specific requirements intended to protect personal information transferred to organisations outside the UK.

You may contact us for more information about the safeguards relevant to your information.

12. How long we retain information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably required for the purpose for which it was collected.

Our intended retention periods are:

Limited companies are normally required to keep relevant accounting records for six years from the end of the financial year to which they relate.

We may retain information longer where this is reasonably necessary because of:

• A legal obligation
• A complaint or dispute
• An insurance requirement
• An ongoing legal claim
• Safeguarding or safety concerns

Information that is no longer required will be securely deleted, destroyed or anonymised.

13. Cookies and website analytics

Cookies are small files stored on a device when a website is used.

Our website may use:

Essential cookies

These are necessary for functions such as:

• Website security
• Form operation
• Session management
• Remembering privacy preferences

Essential cookies do not normally require optional consent.

Analytics and other optional cookies

With your permission, we may use analytics cookies to understand:

• How many people visit the website
• Which pages are viewed
• How visitors reach the website
• Whether the website is working effectively

For details of the individual cookies used on this website and how to change your preferences, see our Cookie Policy.

14. Security

We use proportionate technical and organisational safeguards intended to protect information against:

• Unauthorised access
• Accidental loss
• Inappropriate disclosure
• Alteration
• Destruction
• Misuse

These measures may include secure accounts, access controls, passwords, protected devices, reputable technology providers, software updates and secure disposal procedures.

Access to consultation and health information is restricted to people who reasonably need it for their role.

Although we take reasonable precautions, no online system or transmission method can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

15. Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

• Be informed about how your information is used
• Request access to your personal information
• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
• Ask us to erase information in certain circumstances
• Ask us to restrict processing
• Object to certain uses of your information
• Receive certain information in a portable format
• Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent
• Complain to the Information Commissioner's Office

Some rights are subject to legal limitations and may not apply in every situation. For example, we may need to retain certain information to comply with the law or address a legal claim.

To exercise a right, email:

contactus@theayurchikitsa.com

We may need to confirm your identity before responding. We will normally respond within the legally required timeframe.

16. Automated decision-making

We do not currently use personal information to make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

17. Children and young people

Our website and general services are primarily intended for adults.

Where a service is provided to someone under 18, we may require the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian. We will take additional care when collecting and using a child's information.

18. Third-party websites

Our website may link to external websites or social-media services.

We do not control how third-party websites collect or use personal information. You should read the privacy information provided by those organisations before submitting information to them.

19. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy where:

• Our services change
• We adopt new technology or providers
• Our legal responsibilities change
• We identify a need for greater clarity

The latest version will be published on this page with an updated date.

Where a change materially affects how existing information is used, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of affected individuals before the new use begins.

20. Questions and complaints

Questions about this policy or the way we use personal information should be sent to:

The Ayur Chikitsa
3 Wain Close
York
United Kingdom
YO32 9YQ

Email: contactus@theayurchikitsa.com
Telephone: +44 (0)7377 732335

You also have the right to complain to the UK supervisory authority:

Information Commissioner's Office

The ICO's website is ico.org.uk.

We would appreciate the opportunity to address your concern first, but you do not have to contact us before approaching the ICO.