Pierce & Groves Limited – Privacy Policy

1.       Introduction and general notices

1.1   The privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) provided in this notification applies to the website www.pierceandgroves.com (“Website”) of Pierce & Groves Limited. Furthermore, when you contact and/or engage the services of Pierce & Groves Limited, the Privacy Policy will apply also to the agreement (“Agreement”) that you, the client (“Client”) enter into with Pierce & Groves Limited for the supply of Pierce & Groves Limited services (“Services”) and the Privacy Policy will form part of this agreement.

1.2      In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" refer to Pierce & Groves Limited.

1.3      We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our website visitors and our clients.

1.4     This policy applies where we are acting as a data controller with respect to the personal data of our website visitors and clients; in other words, where we determine the purposes and means of the processing of that personal data.

1.5     Please note that whilst Pierce & Groves Limited shall endeavour to use proper care as regards to the transmission of data, it must be understood and accepted by all parties using Pierce & Groves Limited’s Services that the internet is inherently unstable and such instability includes its security; consequently, Pierce & Groves Limited cannot guarantee the security of any data transmitted via the internet (by way of example, but not necessarily exclusively, email) and shall have no liability for any disclosure resulting from the instability of the internet.

1.6     As detailed further below at paragraph 9, we use cookies on our website. Insofar as those cookies are not strictly necessary for the provision of our website and services, we will ask you to consent to our use of cookies when you first visit our website.

1.7     Where our website contains links to third-party websites, please note that this Privacy Policy does not apply to such websites.

2.       Credit

2.1    This document was created using a template from Docular (https://seqlegal.com/free-legal-documents/privacy-policy).

3.       The personal data that we collect

3.1      In this Section 3 we have set out:

(i) the general categories of personal data that we process; and

(ii) in the case of personal data that we did not obtain directly from you, information about the source and specific categories of that data.

3.2     We may process data enabling us to get in touch with you ("contact data"). The contact data may include your name, email address, and telephone number. The source of the contact data is you.

3.3    We may process information contained in or relating to any communication that you send to us or that we send to you ("communication data"). The communication data may include the communication content and metadata associated with the communication. Our website will generate the metadata associated with communications made using the website contact forms.

3.4    We may process data about your use of our website and services ("usage data"). The usage data may include your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths, as well as information about the timing, frequency and pattern of your service use. The source of the usage data is our analytics tracking system.

3.5    This usage data may be processed for the purposes of analysing the use of the website and services. The legal basis for this processing is consent and our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business.

4.       Purposes of processing and legal bases

4.1  In this Section 4, we have set out the purposes for which we may process personal data and the legal bases of the processing.

4.2      Operations - We may process your personal data for the purposes of operating our website, providing our services, generating invoices, bills and other payment-related documentation, and credit control. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website, services and business and the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract.

4.3      Relationships and communications - We may process contact data and/or communication data for the purposes of managing our relationships, communicating with you (excluding communicating for the purposes of direct marketing) by email, SMS, post, fax and/or telephone, providing support services and complaint handling. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely communications with our website visitors, and clients, and the proper administration of our website, services and business.

4.4      Direct marketing - We may process contact data, and/or communication data for the purposes of creating, targeting and sending direct marketing communications by email, SMS, post and/or fax and making contact by telephone for marketing-related purposes. The legal basis for this processing is consent.

4.5      Research and analysis - We may process usage data and/or transaction data for the purposes of researching and analysing the use of our website and services, as well as researching and analysing other interactions with our business. The legal basis for this processing is consent.

4.6     Record keeping - We may process your personal data for the purposes of creating and maintaining our databases, back-up copies of our databases and our business records generally. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely ensuring that we have access to all the information we need properly and efficiently to run our business in accordance with this policy.

4.7     Insurance and risk management - We may process your personal data where necessary for the purposes of obtaining or maintaining insurance coverage, managing risks and/or obtaining professional advice. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper protection of our business against risks.

4.8      Legal compliance and vital interests - We may also process your personal data where such processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.

5.      Providing your personal data to others

5.1     We may disclose your personal data to our insurers and/or professional advisers insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes of obtaining or maintaining insurance coverage, managing risks, obtaining professional advice.

5.2    In addition to the specific disclosures of personal data set out in this Section 5, we may disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person. We may also disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.

6.        Retaining and deleting personal data

6.1    This Section 6 sets out our data retention policies and procedures, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal data.

6.2     Personal data that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.

6.3     We will retain your personal data as follows:

(a)    contact data will be retained for a minimum period of 1 year following the date of the most recent contact between you and us, and for a maximum period of 3 years following that date;

(d)    communication data will be retained for a maximum period of 10 years following the date of the communication in question; and

(e)    usage data will be retained for 1 year following the date of collection and for a maximum period of 3 years following that date.

6.4    Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 6, we may retain your personal data where such retention is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.

7.       Your rights

7.1     In this Section 7, we have listed the rights that you have under data protection law.

Please note that in the event that Client wishes access to their personal information, Client will require to verify their identity to Pierce & Groves Limited. For providing such access, Pierce & Groves Limited will not make a charge to Client. It is understood and accepted that the processing of such an application for access may take up to 30 days.

7.2    Your principal rights under data protection law are:

(a)  the right to access - you can ask for copies of your personal data;

(b)  the right to rectification - you can ask us to rectify inaccurate personal data and to complete incomplete personal data;

(c)  the right to erasure - you can ask us to erase your personal data;

(d)  the right to restrict processing - you can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data;

(e)  the right to object to processing - you can object to the processing of your personal data;

(f)  the right to data portability - you can ask that we transfer your personal data to another organisation or to you;

(g)  the right to complain to a supervisory authority - you can complain about our processing of your personal data; and

(h)  the right to withdraw consent - to the extent that the legal basis of our processing of your personal data is consent, you can withdraw that consent.

7.3   These rights are subject to certain limitations and exceptions. You can learn more about the rights of data subjects by visiting: https://edpb.europa.eu/our-work-tools/general-guidance/gdpr-guidelines-recommendations-best-practices_en and https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/.

7.4      You may exercise any of your rights in relation to your personal data by written notice to us, using the contact details set out below.

8.       About cookies

8.1    A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.

8.2    Cookies may be either "persistent" cookies or "session" cookies: a persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date; a session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.

8.3    Cookies may not contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal data that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.

9.      Cookies that we use

9.1     We use cookies to provide you with a great browsing experience and to help our website run effectively. We also use cookies to analyse usage and website traffic.

10.     Cookies used by our service providers

10.1    Our service providers use cookies and those cookies may be stored on your computer when you visit our website (i.e. Squarespace).

10.2   We use Google Analytics. Google Analytics gathers information about the use of our website by means of cookies. The information gathered is used to create reports about the use of our website. You can find out more about Google's use of information by visiting: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/ and you can review Google's privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy.

11.     Managing cookies

11.1     Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies and to delete cookies. The methods for doing so vary from browser to browser, and from version to version. You can however obtain up-to-date information about blocking and deleting cookies via these links:

(a)       https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647 (Chrome);

(b)       https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enhanced-tracking-protection-firefox-desktop (Firefox);

(c)       https://help.opera.com/en/latest/security-and-privacy/ (Opera);

(d)       https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/17442/windows-internet-explorer-delete-manage-cookies (Internet Explorer);

(e)       https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/safari/manage-cookies-and-website-data-sfri11471/mac (Safari); and

(f)      https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/4468242/microsoft-edge-browsing-data-and-privacy (Edge).

11.2     Blocking all cookies will have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites.

11.3      If you block cookies, you will not be able to use all the features on our website.

12.     Amendments

12.1     We may update this policy from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.

12.2     You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes to this policy.

13.     Our details

13.1     This website is owned and operated by Pierce & Groves Limited.

13.2     We are registered in England and Wales under company number 14657300, and our registered office is at 3 East Point, High Street, Seal, Sevenoaks, TN15 0EG.

13.3     You can contact us:

(a)   using our website contact form; or

(b)   by email, using the email address published on our website.