Privacy statement
Last updated:
Who is responsible
The Dutch Merchant B.V., established in Amsterdam, registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under number 95880844, is the data controller for information processed through this website and by email.
Contact: arwin@thedutchmerchant.nl
What data I process
Data you provide. If you email, call or contact me by WhatsApp, I process your name, company name, email address, telephone number and the content of your message. If you send a purchasing list or price information, I process that too.
Business contact data I collect myself. To approach potential customers and suppliers I collect business contact data from public sources: company websites, commercial registers, trade associations, trade fairs and professional networks. This covers name, job title, business email address and business telephone number. I do not collect private data.
Website data. This site uses no tracking cookies and sets no advertising cookies. Anonymised visitor statistics are kept, from which individual visitors cannot be identified.
Why I process it
| Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Answering your question or request | Performance of a contract or steps prior to it |
| Preparing a price comparison or quotation | Performance of a contract or steps prior to it |
| Approaching potential business customers and suppliers | Legitimate interest (building a trading relationship) |
| Carrying out an assignment and related correspondence | Performance of a contract |
| Meeting administrative and tax obligations | Legal obligation |
Where I approach you on the basis of legitimate interest, I weigh your interests. You may object at any time, and contact then stops immediately and permanently.
How long I keep data
Correspondence with no follow-up: two years maximum, then deleted.
Purchasing lists and price data you send: twelve months maximum after last contact, unless an assignment is running. This information is commercially sensitive. I do not share it with other customers and do not use it for anything other than your own enquiry.
Business contact data for outreach: two years maximum after last contact. Deleted immediately on objection, except for a minimal record of the objection itself so that you are not approached again.
Records of completed assignments: seven years, under Dutch tax retention requirements.
Who I share data with
I do not sell your data and do not share it for third-party commercial purposes. To do my work I use the following providers:
- Website hosting
- Vercel Inc.
- TransIP B.V.
- Customer records
- Notion Labs Inc.
- Accounting
- my accountant and, where legally required, the Dutch tax authority
On a live assignment I share the necessary details with the manufacturer, freight forwarder or inspection company involved. This happens only as far as needed to execute your order and always with your knowledge.
Transfers outside the EEA. Some of these providers are established outside the European Economic Area, including in the United States. On an assignment I share data with parties in Taiwan. Transfers are made under the European Commission's standard contractual clauses or an equivalent safeguard.
Your rights
You have the right to:
- access your data
- have inaccurate data corrected
- have your data erased
- have processing restricted
- object to processing based on legitimate interest
- receive your data in a common format
Email arwin@thedutchmerchant.nl. I respond within four weeks. An objection to being contacted is actioned immediately, with no reason required.
If you are unhappy with how I handle your data, you may lodge a complaint with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens).
Security
Data is stored with the providers named above, behind access controls and over encrypted connections. Only I have access to customer records. Where I use automated tools to prepare correspondence, they are limited to my own records, and nothing is sent without my having read and approved it.
Changes
I update this statement when my working methods change. The date at the top indicates the current version.