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Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Hastings Virtual Address is a trading name of Cleared Wright Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 14930578). We provide virtual address and mail handling services.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Cleared Wright Ltd is the data controller for the personal data we collect and process.

Registered address: 5 Claremont, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 1HA

Contact email: office@hastingsvirtualaddress.co.uk

We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a data controller.

2. What Personal Data We Collect

We collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity and Contact Information

  • Full name
  • Residential or business address
  • Email address
  • Phone number

Identity Verification Documents (AML/KYC)

  • Photo identification (e.g. passport, driving licence)
  • Proof of address (e.g. utility bill, bank statement dated within 3 months)

Payment Information

  • Payment is processed by Stripe. We do not store your full card details. Stripe’s privacy policy applies to payment data: stripe.com/gb/privacy

Service Usage Data

  • Mail received on your behalf
  • Forwarding address(es)
  • Account preferences and service history

Website Data

  • IP address and browser information (via standard web server logs)
  • Cookies — please see our Cookie Policy below

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

  • To provide and manage your virtual address and mail handling service
  • To verify your identity in compliance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations
  • To process payments via Stripe
  • To communicate with you about your account, mail, and service updates
  • To comply with our legal obligations, including reporting to regulatory bodies or law enforcement where required
  • Where you have consented, to send you marketing communications about our services

4. Our Legal Basis for Processing

We rely on the following legal bases under UK GDPR:

  • Contract: processing necessary to provide the service you have signed up for
  • Legal obligation: identity verification under Money Laundering Regulations, and compliance with other applicable UK law
  • Legitimate interests: fraud prevention, account security, and improving our service
  • Consent: for marketing communications (you can withdraw consent at any time)

5. Third Parties

We share your data with third parties only where necessary:

  • Stripe — payment processing. Stripe is certified to PCI DSS standards and processes payment data under their own privacy policy.
  • Royal Mail and courier services — where mail is forwarded, your forwarding address is used by the carrier.
  • Regulatory bodies and law enforcement — where we are legally required to disclose information, for example under the Proceeds of Crime Act or Money Laundering Regulations.

We do not sell your personal data. We do not share it with any third parties for their own marketing purposes.

6. How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain personal data for the following periods:

  • Identity verification documents (AML/KYC): 6 years after the end of your contract, as required by the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.
  • Account and service data: 6 years after the end of your contract, in line with standard legal limitation periods.
  • Payment records: retained as required by HMRC and financial regulations.
  • Marketing consent records: until you withdraw consent, plus a reasonable period thereafter.

After the applicable retention period, data is securely and permanently deleted.

7. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

  • Right of access — you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you (a Subject Access Request).
  • Right to rectification — you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
  • Right to erasure — you can ask us to delete your data, where we are not required by law to retain it.
  • Right to restrict processing — you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
  • Right to data portability — you can request your data in a structured, commonly used format.
  • Right to object — you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
  • Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at:

office@hastingsvirtualaddress.co.uk

We will respond within one calendar month. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

8. Data Security

We store identity documents and personal data digitally. We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data from unauthorised access, loss, or disclosure.

Access to personal data is restricted to authorised staff who need it to carry out their duties.

9. International Transfers

We do not routinely transfer your personal data outside the UK. Stripe may transfer payment data internationally in accordance with their own privacy policy and applicable data transfer mechanisms.

10. Cookies

Our website uses cookies. A cookie is a small text file stored on your device when you visit a website.

We use the following types of cookies:

  • Essential cookies: necessary for the website to function (e.g. login sessions).
  • Analytics cookies: to understand how visitors use our site, so we can improve it. These are anonymised where possible.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

11. Marketing Communications

If you have opted in to receive marketing communications from us, we may contact you by email about our services and offers.

You can opt out at any time by contacting us at office@hastingsvirtualaddress.co.uk or by clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email.

We will not send you marketing communications without your consent.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Where changes are material, we will notify you by email. The current version will always be published on our website with the date it was last updated.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact us:

Cleared Wright Ltd (trading as Hastings Virtual Address)

5 Claremont, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 1HA

Email: office@hastingsvirtualaddress.co.uk