Privacy Policy
Last updated: 12 September 2026
Oxford Historical Tours respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how it is used and the rights you have in relation to it.
1. Who we are
Oxford Historical Tours is operated by Michael T. Davis trading as Oxford Historical Tours
For the purposes of UK data protection law, we are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy.
If you have any questions about this policy or how your information is handled, please contact:
Email: michaeldavis@oxfordhistoricaltours.com
2. Information we collect
Depending on how you contact us or use our services, we may collect:
Your name, email address, telephone number and billing address.
Details of your booking, including the date, time, tour selected, group size and meeting arrangements.
Information about your interests or preferences, where this helps us tailor a tour.
Accessibility, mobility or health information that you choose to provide where it is relevant to the safe delivery of a tour.
Correspondence, enquiries, feedback, complaints and review responses.
Payment information, including the amount paid, payment status and transaction reference.
Photographs or testimonials, where you have agreed that we may use them.
Technical information about visits to our website, such as IP address, browser type, device information and website activity.
Marketing preferences, including whether you have agreed to receive news or offers from us.
If someone makes a booking on behalf of a group, we may receive limited information about other participants. The person making the booking should only provide information that is necessary and that they are entitled to share.
We do not normally need the names or contact details of children participating in a family or group tour.
3. How we use your information
We may use personal information to:
Answer enquiries and provide quotations.
Arrange, confirm and deliver tours.
Tailor a tour to a group’s stated interests or requirements.
Process payments, deposits, refunds and cancellations.
Send booking confirmations, meeting instructions and service messages.
Deal with customer-service matters, complaints or insurance claims.
Maintain financial and tax records.
Protect the security of our website and booking systems.
Improve our tours and customer experience.
Request feedback or a review after a tour.
Send marketing communications where you have consented, or where otherwise permitted by law.
Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.
We will not sell your personal information.
4. Our lawful bases
UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful reason for using personal information. We rely on the following bases:
Contract: Where information is needed to arrange and provide a tour, take payment, issue a refund or respond to a booking request.
Legal obligation: Where we must retain or disclose information for tax, accounting, regulatory or legal purposes.
Legitimate interests: Where it is reasonably necessary to operate and protect the business, provide customer service, prevent fraud, improve our services or request feedback. We consider the effect on your privacy before relying on this basis.
Consent: Where you have agreed to receive marketing, allowed non-essential cookies, provided sensitive information for a particular purpose, or agreed to the use of a photograph or testimonial. You may withdraw consent at any time.
Vital interests: In exceptional circumstances, information may be used or shared where this is necessary to protect someone’s life or safety.
Accessibility or health information may amount to special-category personal data. We will only collect it when genuinely necessary and will normally rely on your explicit consent. In an emergency, it may be used where necessary to protect someone’s vital interests.
5. Payments and booking services
Our website is hosted by Squarespace, and bookings are managed through Acuity Scheduling.
Payments are processed securely by Square. Payment-card details are entered directly into the payment provider’s secure system. Oxford Historical Tours does not normally receive or store your complete card number or security code.
These providers may collect and process personal information under their own privacy notices:
6. Who we share information with
Where necessary, information may be shared with:
Squarespace and Acuity Scheduling.
Our payment processor.
Email, calendar, accounting and website-service providers.
A guide or authorised contractor delivering your tour.
Colleges, museums, attractions or other venues where an advance group booking is required.
Professional advisers, insurers or emergency services.
HM Revenue & Customs, regulators, courts or law-enforcement authorities where disclosure is legally required.
We only share information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose. Service providers acting on our behalf are expected to protect it appropriately.
7. International transfers
Some of our technology and payment providers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where personal information is transferred internationally, we rely on safeguards recognised under UK data protection law, such as adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections.
Further information about a provider’s international transfers can be found in its privacy notice.
8. How long we retain information
We retain personal information only for as long as it is reasonably required:
Booking, payment and accounting records will normally be retained for up to six years for tax, contractual and legal purposes.
Unsuccessful enquiries will normally be deleted after 12 months.
Routine accessibility or health information will normally be deleted shortly after the tour, unless it is connected with an incident, complaint or legal claim.
Incident and complaint records may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
Marketing information will be retained until you unsubscribe or withdraw consent, or until we determine that it is no longer required.
Photographs and testimonials may be retained while they remain in use, unless consent is withdrawn.
Information may be anonymised rather than deleted where it is useful for statistical or business-planning purposes and can no longer identify anyone.
9. Marketing
We will not automatically add every customer to a marketing list.
Where consent is required, marketing emails will only be sent if you have actively chosen to receive them. You may unsubscribe at any time by using the link in an email or contacting us directly.
Booking confirmations, reminders, meeting instructions and important changes to a tour are service communications rather than marketing and may still be sent where necessary to fulfil your booking.
10. Reviews, testimonials and photographs
We may invite customers to leave feedback after a tour. Providing feedback is optional.
We will ask permission before publishing a testimonial with your name or using an identifiable photograph for marketing. Where publication is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent, although we may not be able to withdraw material that has already been printed or independently shared by others.
11. Cookies
Our website and booking system use cookies and similar technologies. Some are strictly necessary for the website, security and booking process to function.
Analytics, advertising or other non-essential cookies will only be used where the appropriate consent has been obtained. You can use the website’s cookie controls to accept, reject or change your preferences.
Changing your cookie settings will not remove information collected before the change, but it will affect future collection.
12. Security
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access or disclosure. These include secure third-party payment processing, password protection, access controls and appropriate account-security measures.
No online system is entirely risk-free, but we will investigate suspected data breaches and notify affected individuals or the Information Commissioner’s Office where legally required.
13. Your rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:
Ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Ask us to delete information.
Ask us to restrict how information is used.
Object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Receive certain information in a portable format.
Withdraw consent at any time.
These rights are not absolute and legal exceptions may apply. We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request.
Oxford Historical Tours does not use personal information to make solely automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects.
14. Complaints
Please contact us first if you have concerns about how your information has been handled, so that we have an opportunity to resolve the matter.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/
15. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when our services, suppliers or legal obligations change. The latest version will be published on our website with its revision date.