Privacy policy

Who is responsible

FCV Tobacco Limited operates fcvtobacco.com and decides how the information described on this page is used.

For any question about this policy, or to use the rights listed below, write to sales@fcvtobacco.com. Please say which enquiry or message your request is about, so that we can find your record.

Information you send us

When you send the quotation form we receive what you type into it: your name, company, email address, phone number if you give one, the product, grade and quantity you need, the destination, and any specification or note you add.

When you apply for a role through the careers page we receive your name, phone number, email address, city, the role and shift you chose, your experience and English level, a link to your CV if you give one, and your message.

With each form we also record the date and time, the internet address the form was sent from, the type of browser used and the page you came from. We use these to stop automated and repeated submissions.

When you write to us by email or on WhatsApp we receive your message, your email address or phone number, and whatever you choose to tell us.

Please do not send card numbers, passwords or copies of identity documents through the website forms. We do not need them to prepare a quotation.

Information recorded when you use the website

When you press a WhatsApp button we record the page and the button you used, and any grade or product shown on that button. We also record the pages you viewed during that visit and the time spent on them, the website or campaign that brought you to us, your browser language, time zone, screen size and device type, and an approximate country and city worked out from your internet address. The internet address itself is not stored with the click.

The message that opens in WhatsApp ends with a short reference code. The code lets us match the message you send to the visit described above, so that we know which page and product you were looking at.

The first time you press a WhatsApp button, a small box offers you the choice to leave your name and WhatsApp number before the chat opens. This is optional. If you leave them, we keep them with your enquiry so that we can contact you about it.

We use Google Analytics 4 to count visits and to see which pages are read. It is set to shorten internet addresses before they are stored. It records the pages viewed, the approximate location, the device and browser, and actions such as sending a form or pressing a WhatsApp button.

What is stored in your browser

• A visitor identifier, kept so that several WhatsApp clicks by the same visitor are counted as one visitor and share one reference code.
• The list of pages viewed during the current visit. It is removed when the browser tab is closed.
• A note that the name and number box has already been shown, so that it is not shown again.
• Your choice of light or dark display, if you change it.
• The cookies set by Google Analytics.

You can delete all of these at any time by clearing the site data for fcvtobacco.com in your browser, and you can block them in your browser settings. The website and its forms still work without them.

Why we use this information

• To reply to you and prepare a quotation. This is taking steps at your request before a contract.
• To carry out an order and keep the trade, customs and tax records the law requires. This is performance of a contract and compliance with legal duties.
• To check that we are dealing with a commercial buyer who may lawfully import tobacco leaf. This is our legitimate interest and, where rules require it, a legal duty.
• To consider a job application. This is taking steps at your request before an employment contract.
• To understand which pages and products bring enquiries, to follow up enquiries, and to protect the website from misuse. This is our legitimate interest in running a business-to-business supply company.
• To measure how the website is used. Where the law of your country requires consent for this, you can refuse it by blocking analytics and storage in your browser.

We do not sell your information. We do not use it for consumer marketing, and we do not make decisions about you by automated means.

Who receives it

• Our own staff who handle enquiries, orders and recruitment.
• The companies that host our website, our enquiry records and our email, acting on our instructions.
• Google, for the analytics described above.
• WhatsApp, operated by Meta, when you choose to message us there. WhatsApp handles your messages under its own privacy policy.
• Banks, freight forwarders, inspection companies and customs or other authorities, only when this is needed to carry out an order or the law requires it.

Transfers to other countries

We trade internationally. Our staff and the service providers named above may be located outside your country, including outside the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom, so your information may be handled in countries whose data protection rules differ from yours. Where the law requires safeguards for such a transfer, we rely on the safeguards the law provides for it.

How long we keep it

Enquiries and the correspondence that follows are kept for as long as we are dealing with your request and any business that results from it, and afterwards for the period that trade, customs, tax and accounting rules require us to keep records.

WhatsApp click records that were never followed by a message are used for statistics and are not linked to a name.

Job applications are kept while the role is being filled and for a reasonable period afterwards in case a similar role opens. You can ask us to delete yours sooner.

Your rights

Depending on the law of your country, you can ask us to tell you what information we hold about you and give you a copy, to correct it, to delete it, to restrict or stop our use of it, and to pass it to you in a portable form. Where we rely on consent you can withdraw it at any time.

To use any of these rights, write to sales@fcvtobacco.com. We may need to confirm your identity before acting. If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the data protection authority of the country where you live or work.

Commercial buyers only

This website is for businesses that buy unmanufactured tobacco leaf. It is not intended for consumers or for anyone under the legal age in their country, and we do not knowingly collect information from them.

Changes to this policy

When we change how we handle information we update this page and the review date shown on it. This policy is written in English. Translations are provided for convenience, and the English version applies if a translation differs from it.