PRIVACY POLICY
1. About this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how First-Rate Surveys collects, uses, stores and protects personal information when you use our website, contact us, book a survey, purchase a survey service, attend a survey appointment or otherwise communicate with us.
We aim to handle personal information fairly, lawfully and transparently and only use it for appropriate business purposes.
2. Who is responsible for your information?
The organisation responsible for your personal information is the First-Rate Surveys business identified in the Business Details section of this Privacy Policy.
If you have any questions about how we use your information, or wish to exercise your data protection rights, contact us using the details provided below.
Email: info@firstratesurveys.co.uk
3. Information we collect
Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:
• Name and contact details, including email address and telephone number
• Property address and other address information
• Booking and appointment information
• Information provided through our website contact forms
• Information provided in pre-survey forms
• Information about existing or proposed renewable-energy equipment
• Survey photographs, measurements, notes and observations
• Information contained in documents or photographs you choose to provide to us
• Payment and transaction information
• Communications between you and First-Rate Surveys
• Information required for accounting, tax, legal or regulatory purposes
• Technical information about your use of our website, where applicable, such as IP address, browser and device information, and cookie information
We only seek information that is reasonably relevant to the purpose for which it is collected.
4. How we collect your information
We may collect personal information:
• Directly from you when you contact us
• When you complete a website or booking form
• When you book and pay for a survey
• During or following a survey appointment
• When you send us photographs, documents or other information
• When you communicate with us by email, telephone or other communication methods
• Automatically through our website, where applicable, including through cookies and similar technologies
• From third parties where this is necessary to provide a service or manage our business, were lawful
Where we receive personal information from another source, we will provide the applicable privacy information required by law.
5. How we use your information
We may use your personal information to:
• Process and manage survey bookings
• Arrange and carry out surveys
• Contact you about your appointment
• Prepare and deliver survey reports
• Respond to enquiries and requests
• Take payments and manage refunds where applicable
• Issue invoices, receipts and other financial records
• Maintain business and accounting records
• Manage customer complaints and queries
• Provide customer support
• Maintain records of surveys and communications
• Meet legal, tax, accounting and regulatory obligations
• Protect our business, website, systems and customers against fraud, misuse or security incidents
• Improve our services and website
• Send marketing communications where we are legally permitted to do so and, where required, have obtained your consent
• Establish, exercise or defend legal claims where necessary
6. Our lawful bases for using personal information
We will only process personal information where we have a lawful basis to do so.
Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on the following lawful bases:
• Contract — where processing is necessary to provide a service you have booked or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.
• Legal obligation — where we need to process information to comply with a legal or regulatory requirement, such as accounting or tax obligations.
• Legitimate interests — where processing is reasonably necessary for our business interests and those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests. This may include administering our business, responding to enquiries, maintaining records, preventing fraud and protecting our systems.
• Consent — where we ask for your consent for a particular use of your information, such as certain marketing or non-essential cookies.
Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing that took place before consent was withdrawn.
7. Survey photographs and property information
During a survey we may take photographs and record measurements, notes and observations relating to the property and proposed installation.
This information is used to carry out the survey, prepare the survey report, answer reasonable queries about the report, maintain appropriate business records and deal with complaints or legal matters where necessary.
Survey photographs and property information may contain personal information, for example where people, vehicles, house numbers or other identifying features are visible. We will handle this information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Customers should only provide photographs or documents that are reasonably relevant to the survey or enquiry.
8. Who we may share your information with
We may share personal information with service providers and other organisations where this is necessary to operate our business or provide the service.
Depending on the circumstances, these may include:
• Booking and scheduling providers
• Payment service providers
• Accounting and invoicing software providers
• Email, communications and cloud-storage providers
• Website and website-hosting providers
• IT and security service providers
• Professional advisers, such as accountants, insurers or legal advisers
• Regulators, government bodies, law-enforcement authorities or other organisations where we are legally required or permitted to do so
• A customer's chosen installer or other professional where the customer asks us to provide the survey report or relevant information to them
We do not sell customers' personal information.
9. Payments
Online payments may be processed by third-party payment providers. Payment card details are generally processed directly by the payment provider rather than stored by First Rate Surveys.
We may receive limited transaction information, such as payment status, amount, date and transaction reference, for the purposes of administering your booking and maintaining our financial records.
The payment provider's own privacy terms may also apply to information processed by that provider.
10. Accounting, tax and business records
We may retain personal information contained in invoices, payment records, survey records and other business documents for as long as reasonably necessary to meet our legal, tax, accounting, insurance, contractual and legitimate business requirements.
Some records may need to be retained for a minimum period required by law.
11. How long we keep your information
We do not keep personal information indefinitely.
We retain information for only as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, considering factors such as:
• The nature of the information
• The reason it was collected
• Whether we have an ongoing relationship with you
• Legal, tax, accounting or regulatory requirements
• Insurance and record-keeping requirements
• The establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims
• Our legitimate business needs
When information is no longer required, we will securely delete it or otherwise dispose of it appropriately, subject to any legal requirement to retain it.
12. How we protect your information
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.
Access to information is limited to people and service providers who need it for legitimate business purposes.
No method of transmitting or storing information is completely secure. Where a security incident occurs that creates a legal obligation to notify affected individuals or the Information Commissioner's Office, we will take the required steps.
13. Your data protection rights
Depending on the circumstances and the applicable legal requirements, you may have rights including:
• The right to be informed about how your personal information is used
• The right to request access to your personal information
• The right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
• The right to request deletion of your personal information in certain circumstances
• The right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances
• The right to object to certain processing, including direct marketing
• The right to data portability in certain circumstances
• The right to withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis for processing
These rights are subject to legal conditions and exceptions, so they may not apply in every situation.
To exercise a right, contact us using the details in this Privacy Policy. We may need to verify your identity before responding.
14. Direct marketing
Where we send marketing communications, we will do so in accordance with applicable data protection and electronic marketing laws.
You can ask us to stop sending marketing communications at any time.
You can also use any unsubscribe option included in a marketing email where available.
15. Cookies and similar technologies
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies.
Some cookies may be necessary for the website to operate. Other cookies, such as analytics or advertising-related cookies, may require your consent depending on how they are used.
Further information about cookies and how they are used is provided in our separate Cookie Policy.
16. International transfers
Some service providers we use may process personal information outside the United Kingdom.
Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take the steps required by applicable data protection law to ensure an appropriate level of protection, including using an adequacy decision or appropriate safeguards where required.
Further information about relevant international transfers may be provided on request.
17. Automated decision-making and profiling
We do not currently use personal information to make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects on customers.
If this changes, we will update this Privacy Policy and provide the information required by applicable law before introducing the relevant processing.
18. Children
Our services are intended for adults, and we do not knowingly seek to collect children's personal information.
If you believe that a child has provided us with personal information without appropriate consent or lawful basis, please contact us so that we can review the situation.
19. Complaints
If you have concerns about how we use your personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to investigate and resolve your concern.
Email: complaints@firstratesurveys.co.uk
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection regulator.
ICO website: https://ico.org.uk/
ICO helpline: 0303 123 1113
20. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our services, systems, legal requirements or how we process personal information.
The latest version will be made available on our website. Where required, we will provide additional notice of significant changes.
21. Contact us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how First-Rate Surveys handles your personal information, please contact:
First Rate Surveys
Email: info@firstratesurveys.co.uk
Website: www.firstratesurveys.co.uk