Last updated: June 2026

Whitfield & Sons Funeral Directors Ltd, part of Beverley Funerals Limited (Company No. 08292082), is committed to protecting your personal data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Data controller

The data controller for personal information collected through this website and during our funeral services is Whitfield & Sons Funeral Directors Ltd, 12 High Street, Aston, Birmingham, B6 4AA. You can contact our team on 0121 555 0178 or by email at info@whitfieldandsons.co.uk.

What we collect and why

We collect only the information we need to deliver our services and respond to enquiries. This typically includes the names and contact details of the person arranging the funeral, details of the deceased, and information needed for registration, certification, venues, and suppliers. For families using our online Family Portal, we also process messages, uploaded documents, photographs, and digital signatures you choose to share with us.

Lawful bases

We rely on the following lawful bases under Article 6 of the UK GDPR: contract (to arrange and deliver the funeral you have instructed), legal obligation (records we must keep under funeral, registration, health and accounting law), legitimate interests (responding to enquiries, keeping basic business records, and securing our website), and consent (for optional things such as marketing communications, non-essential cookies, or publishing a tribute). Where we process special category data (for example, religious or cultural wishes), we rely on your explicit consent or on the substantial public interest basis under Article 9.

How long we keep it

Funeral arrangement files are retained for a minimum of 6 years after the funeral for legal, regulatory and accounting reasons, and typically longer where there is a continuing family relationship (for example, anniversary contact or memorial services). Website enquiry records are kept only as long as needed to respond and fulfil the service, and then deleted.

Who we share it with

We share personal data only with those who need it to deliver your arrangements — for example, the relevant registrar, crematorium or cemetery, officiants, florists, printers, caterers, our regulated funeral plan provider, and our IT and email service providers acting as processors on our behalf. We do not sell personal data, and we do not share it for third-party marketing.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to: be informed about how we use your data; request a copy of the data we hold about you; have inaccurate data corrected; request erasure where there is no ongoing lawful reason to keep it; restrict or object to certain processing; data portability where applicable; and to withdraw consent at any time where consent is the lawful basis.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@whitfieldandsons.co.uk or call 0121 555 0178. We will respond within one calendar month. We may need to verify your identity before releasing personal information.

Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to keep your data safe, including access controls, encryption in transit (HTTPS), encrypted storage for portal uploads, and staff training. Family Portal access is protected by single-use access codes and email verification.

International transfers

Where any of our service providers process data outside the UK or EEA, we rely on UK-approved safeguards such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

Complaints

If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your personal data, please contact us first so we can try to put things right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.

Related policies

See also our Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Terms of Service.