Privacy Notice

1. What Data We Collect

When you use our website contact form, call our telephone line, or communicate with us by email, we may collect the following personal information:

• Your name and contact details (telephone number, email address, and postcode or address)
• Information about the plumbing or heating work you require
• Records of any correspondence or communications between you and Plumbers Newcastle
• Payment information (processed securely; we do not store card details)

We also collect non-personal technical data through our website, including pages visited, browser type, and general geographic location (via IP address). This information is used in aggregate form to improve our website and is not linked to your personal identity.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use the personal data you provide for the following purposes:

• To respond to your enquiry and provide the plumbing or heating services you have requested
• To contact you regarding appointments, quotations, and follow-up after work is completed
• To issue invoices and process payments
• To maintain records as required for tax, regulatory, and insurance purposes
• To send you service reminders (e.g. annual boiler service) where you have consented to receive these

We will never sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.

3. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data on the following legal bases under UK GDPR:

• Contract performance — processing necessary to fulfil a contract with you or to take steps at your request prior to entering a contract
• Legitimate interests — for example, to respond to your enquiry and maintain appropriate business records
• Consent — where you have given explicit consent, such as to receive service reminders
• Legal obligation — where processing is necessary to comply with a legal requirement (e.g. Gas Safety records, tax records)

4. Data Retention

We retain personal data for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law. Customer and job records are retained for a minimum of six years in accordance with HMRC requirements. Gas Safety Certificates and related records are retained for a minimum of two years. Marketing consent records are retained for the duration of the consent plus one year. Where data is no longer required, it is securely deleted or anonymised.

5. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access — to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to rectification — to ask us to correct inaccurate data
• Right to erasure — to ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances
• Right to restrict processing — to ask us to limit how we use your data
• Right to object — to object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Right to withdraw consent — at any time, where processing is based on consent

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@plumbers-newcastle.co.uk or by calling 07960 485 880. We will respond within one calendar month. If you are dissatisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

6. Cookies

Our website uses only technically necessary cookies required for the site to function correctly. We do not use analytics, advertising, or tracking cookies. No consent banner is therefore required under the current UK ICO guidance for strictly necessary cookies.

7. Third-Party Services

Our website is hosted on a UK-based Linux server. We do not currently use third-party analytics platforms such as Google Analytics. Google Fonts are loaded from Google's CDN, which may result in your IP address being transmitted to Google's servers. If you wish to prevent this, you may use a privacy-focused browser extension to block external font requests.

8. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Our website uses HTTPS encryption. Access to personal data within our business is restricted to those who require it to perform their role, and all staff are trained in data protection obligations.

9. Changes to This Notice

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time. The current version will always be published at this URL. If changes are material, we will notify affected individuals directly where we hold contact details.

10. Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or about how we handle your personal data, please contact us:

Plumbers Newcastle
Email: info@plumbers-newcastle.co.uk
Tel: 07960 485 880