Privacy policy

Who we are

This website is run by Plumbusters Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 14134336. Our registered office is 380a New Hythe Lane, Larkfield, Aylesford, Kent, ME20 6RZ. We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy, which means we decide how and why it is used.

You can contact us about anything in this policy by email at hello@plumbusters.co.uk, by phone on 01622 474008, or by post at the address above.

The information we collect

We collect information in the following ways.

When you contact us

If you fill in a form on this website, or contact us by phone, email, WhatsApp or live chat, we collect the details you give us. This is usually your name, phone number, email address, the service you are interested in and anything you tell us in your message. When you use a website form we also record the page you sent it from, the date and time, and the internet (IP) address of the device you used. We use the IP address to protect the form from misuse.

When we carry out work for you

If you become a customer we will also hold the address where the work is carried out, details of the work, quotes and invoices, payment records and, where relevant, safety records such as gas safety certificates and service history.

When you browse the website

We keep simple statistics about how the website is used, such as which pages are visited, which website (if any) you came from, any campaign tags in the link you clicked to get here (for example, which advert it was), the country you are in and whether you are using a phone, tablet or computer. This is done without cookies and without storing anything on your device, and the information cannot be used to identify you. Details are in our cookie policy.

Like almost every website, our web server also keeps standard logs of the requests it receives, which include IP addresses. These are used to keep the website running and secure.

Information we do not collect

We do not ask for or knowingly collect any sensitive information (such as health, religion or financial details) through the website, and we do not collect information from children.

How we use your information

Data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for each use of your personal information. These are the uses and the basis we rely on.

• To reply to your enquiry, give you a quote and arrange appointments. This is necessary to take steps towards a contract with you, or where you are enquiring on behalf of a business, in our legitimate interest in responding to enquiries.

• To carry out the work you have asked for, invoice you and keep records of the work. This is necessary to perform our contract with you and to meet our legal obligations, including gas safety and accounting rules.

• To protect our website and forms from spam and misuse. This is in our legitimate interest in keeping the website secure.

• To understand how the website is used so that we can improve it. This is in our legitimate interest in running an effective website. Our own statistics do not identify you.

• To use Google Analytics, if we have switched it on and you have agreed to it. This is based on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time on our cookie policy page.

We do not send marketing emails or text messages. If that ever changes we will only do so where the law allows, and you will always be able to opt out.

We do not sell your personal information to anyone.

Who we share it with

We share personal information only where we need to in order to run the business, and only with organisations that handle it under contract or under their own data protection obligations:

• Our IT and hosting providers, who store our website, email and business records.

• Cloudflare, which provides the security check on our website forms. When you complete the check, Cloudflare processes limited technical information about your device and connection.

• 3CX, which provides our phone system and the live chat on this website. If you use the chat, your conversation passes through that system.

• Google, only if you have accepted Google Analytics cookies. Google uses this information in line with its own privacy policy.

• Our accountants, insurers, solicitors and other professional advisers where necessary.

• Suppliers and sub-contractors who help us carry out work for you, where they need your details to do so.

• Regulators, the police or other authorities where we are required to by law.

Where your information is kept

Our website and business records are held in the United Kingdom. Some of the providers named above, such as Cloudflare and Google, may process information outside the UK. Where that happens we rely on the safeguards recognised under UK data protection law, such as adequacy regulations or the UK International Data Transfer Agreement.

How long we keep it

We keep personal information only for as long as we need it:

• Enquiries that do not lead to any work: up to 12 months from your last contact with us, so that we can deal with follow-up questions.

• Customer records, including quotes, invoices and safety records: for 6 years after the work is completed. This is how long we are required to keep financial records and how long legal claims can normally be brought.

• The copy of a website form submission held on our web server: 90 days. It is deleted automatically after that. The email it generates is kept under the rules above.

• Website statistics: around 13 months, after which they are deleted automatically. They never identify you in any case.

• Web server logs: up to 12 months.

Keeping your information secure

The website is served over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection, access to our systems is limited to the people who need it, and forms are protected against automated misuse. No system is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information and we will tell you and the regulator if a breach affects you in a way the law requires us to report.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

• Ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

• Ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete.

• Ask us to delete your information, where we no longer have a good reason to keep it.

• Ask us to limit how we use your information in certain circumstances.

• Object to our use of your information where we rely on our legitimate interests.

• Receive the information you gave us in a usable electronic format, where we process it by automated means on the basis of your consent or a contract.

• Withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on it. This does not affect anything done before you withdrew it.

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@plumbusters.co.uk or write to us at the address above. We do not charge for this and we will normally respond within one month. We may need to check your identity before we act on a request.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please contact us first and we will do our best to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection. You can contact the ICO at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113. If you live in the European Union you may also complain to the data protection authority in your own country.

Links to other websites

Our website contains links to other websites, such as the Gas Safe Register and our social media pages. This policy does not cover those websites, which have their own privacy policies.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example if we change the way the website works. The date at the top shows when it was last updated. Any changes will be posted on this page.