This Privacy Policy sets out what we will do with your information and the arrangements in place to keep that information private and safe. It also explains your rights, for example, how you can obtain a copy of the information we hold about you.
This website is not intended for children, and we do not knowingly collect data directly from or about children. Where information about a child is provided to us as part of arranging or administering a product or service, we will only use that information where it is necessary and lawful to do so.
This Privacy Policy supplements any other privacy or fair processing notice that we may provide when collecting or processing data in support of your use of this website.
When we use ‘we’, ‘our’, or ‘us’ in this policy, we mean one or more of the Distinct Cremations Group companies, trading as Distinct Cremations, as listed below:
Each of these companies act as Data Controllers. We are part of the Westerleigh Group who provide high quality crematorium and cemetery services throughout the United Kingdom.
If you have any questions or comments regarding this privacy notice, or if you’re not happy with the way we use your information, please contact us using the following details:
We are committed to respecting and protecting your data, here is our promise to you:
We collect information about you when you enquire about or make an application for a product or service promoted by Distinct Cremations. We also collect information if you make changes to your product or service, make a claim on a product, or update your personal information.
We collect information about you if you are named by the product owner during an application for a product or service. We collect information when you complete customer surveys, provide feedback, subscribe to newsletters, or participate in our competitions and promotions.
When you visit us online, we collect information about you using ‘Cookies’. A Cookie is a small text file that is stored on your computer or device when you visit a website. For more information view our Cookie Policy.
Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).
The information we collect about you varies depending on the reason for the interaction but may include:
We do not collect data about your political opinions, trade union membership, sexual orientation, criminal convictions, or offences.
We may collect, use, and share aggregated data or anonymised information (such as statistical, demographic or website usage data) within and outside of the Distinct Cremations Group with relevant partners e.g. research groups and advertisers. You won’t be able to be identified from this information.
We may supplement the data we collect about you with information we obtain from carefully selected third parties where they are lawfully permitted to share that information with us. Where we use third-party data for marketing purposes, we will ensure that this is permitted under applicable data protection and marketing laws and that you are given appropriate information and choices about how your data is used.
We will use the information we collect about you in the following ways:
We are required by law to have a specific reason for collecting and using your personal data:
The table below explains the main lawful bases we rely on when using your personal data. We may rely on more than one lawful basis depending on the product, service, or interaction involved. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we will only do so where we have considered your rights and freedoms and determined that they do not override our interests.
| Purpose | Types of data used | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Responding to enquiries and providing product or service information | Identity, contact, communications, usage and marketing information | Legitimate interests, consent where required for marketing communications, and steps taken before entering into a contract |
| Providing, administering and fulfilling products and services | Identity, contact, financial, transactional, communications, special category data where relevant, and images or videos where applicable | Performance of a contract, compliance with legal obligations, legitimate interests, and explicit consent where special category data is processed |
| Managing payments, applications, claims, records and customer communications | Identity, contact, financial, transactional and communications information | Performance of a contract, compliance with legal obligations and legitimate interests |
| Carrying out identity, fraud prevention, credit reference, affordability and regulatory checks | Identity, contact, financial, transactional, credit reference and public record information | Compliance with legal obligations and legitimate interests |
| Conducting market research, analysis, profiling, product development and service improvement | Identity, contact, profile, usage, marketing, communications and aggregated or anonymised information | Legitimate interests and consent where required |
| Sending marketing communications and managing marketing preferences | Identity, contact, profile, usage, marketing and communications information | Consent, legitimate interests where permitted, and compliance with legal obligations relating to marketing preferences and suppression lists |
| Maintaining website, IT systems, security and business records | Technical, usage, identity, contact, communications and transactional information | Legitimate interests and compliance with legal obligations |
| Handling complaints, exercising rights, regulatory interactions and legal matters | Identity, contact, communications, transactional, financial and other information relevant to the matter | Compliance with legal obligations, legitimate interests and, where applicable, establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims |
We might share your information with third parties in certain circumstances including those listed below:
To help us assess applications, prevent fraud, verify identity, assess affordability and creditworthiness, and meet our legal and regulatory obligations, we may obtain information about you from credit reference agencies. Where a check is carried out, we will use the type of search that is appropriate for the purpose of the check and will explain where the check may leave a record on your credit file or may be visible to other lenders.
We obtain this information via Creditsafe, which uses its data partner TransUnion to supply consumer credit and identity data.
The information we receive may include data relating to your identity, credit commitments, payment history, and public record information. This data is used solely for legitimate business purposes, including creditworthiness assessment, identity verification, and fraud prevention, in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
Further information about how Creditsafe and TransUnion process your personal data can be found in their respective privacy notices:
We may use automated systems and tools to support certain business processes, such as risk assessment, fraud prevention, affordability checks, identity verification, or record management.
These tools may analyse personal data using predefined criteria or rules to generate indicators, scores, or recommendations for further review. However, we do not make decisions that have a legal or similarly significant effect on individuals based solely on automated processing. Any such decisions are subject to meaningful human review before any decision is made that could materially affect an application, request, product, or service.
The use of these tools may influence the speed or level of review applied to an application or request, but individuals will not be subject to automatic rejection or adverse decisions without human involvement.
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to prevent the loss, misuse, or alteration of your personal information.
If personal information is processed outside of the UK, we will ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to protect data. These may include adequacy regulations, recognised transfer mechanisms, appropriate contractual arrangements, or assurances such as participation in recognised certification schemes including the UK-US Data Bridge where applicable.
In the event of a personal data breach, we will notify you and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if we are legally required to do so, or there is a risk to your rights and freedoms because of the breach.
We will retain a record of your personal information for as long as you hold a product or use a service provided by us. We will also retain that information for a period of time after you cease holding a product or using a service to ensure we are able to comply with applicable regulatory and legal requirements.
Due to the nature of our products and services, this typically means that we will retain records of your personal information for six years, following fulfilment of the contract between us.
If you have made an enquiry, but not taken out a product or used one of our services or responded to any direct marketing activity we will retain a record of your personal information for up to two years.
If you provide information to us about someone else, you must have their permission to do so, and have told them about how we will use their personal information.
Where you have given consent to use your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time by emailing DPO@westerleighgroup.co.uk or by calling 01543 211997. Without your consent, the service we provide may be limited.
You have a right to request a copy of the information we hold about you.
In some specific circumstances, you may have the right to request that we provide you with the information we hold about you in an electronic format so that you can transfer it to another provider.
We want to make sure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. You can ask us to correct information that you think is inaccurate.
In certain circumstances, you may have the right to object to us using your personal information, to restrict processing of your information, or to have your information deleted. You also have the right to object to your personal information being used for direct marketing purposes.
For more details or to exercise any of these rights, please contact us:
We will provide a response within 30 days, if not sooner. There is normally no charge for exercising any of your rights.
If you have any concerns about the way we use your information, you can raise these with us by following our complaints procedure. To find out more click here or call 01543 211997. You also have the right to refer your complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113 or writing to the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Our website may contain links to third parties. This privacy policy only applies to the companies trading as Distinct Cremations, listed in the ‘Who we are’ section of this Privacy Policy.
We keep our Privacy Policy under regular review. The most recent update was made in August 2026 and the key changes were as follows: To add additional elements about lawful bases we rely on when using your personal data, credit reference and affordability checks and the use of automated tools, profiling and human review.
We’re Distinct Cremations and we’re part of the Westerleigh Group. Every year Westerleigh provides more than 76,000 families with high quality cremations, care and support.
If you need to organise a funeral today please call us 24/7 and we can make all the arrangements. If you have a question about a funeral plan call or message us we will guide you through the best options.
Read or request your copy of Our Guide to Direct Cremations. The guide will give you step by step details of why a pre-paid direct cremation plan is increasing in popularity and why you should take one out.
Part of
Over 76,000 cremations a year
Westerleigh Group including Distinct Cremations carried out over 76,000 cremations in 2025.
