How we use your personal information and our legal grounds for doing so

The primary legal basis that we intend to use for the processing of your data is for the performance of our contract with you. The information that we collect about you is essential for us to be able to carry out the services that you require from us effectively.

Without collecting your personal data we’d also be unable to fulfil our legal and regulatory obligations. Where special category data is required we’ll obtain your explicit consent in order to collect and process.

We may also use your personal information where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party). A legitimate interest is when we have a business or commercial reason to use your information. But even then, it must not unfairly go against what is right and best for you. If we rely on our legitimate interest, we will tell you what that is.

Here is a list of how we may use your personal information, and which of the reasons we rely on to do so. This is also where we tell you what our legitimate interests are.

How we use particularly sensitive personal information 

“Special categories” of particularly sensitive personal information e.g. data about your health, require higher levels of protection. We need to have further justification for collecting, storing and using this type of personal information. We may process special categories of personal information in the following circumstances: 

1. In limited circumstances where it is necessary for the provision of our services, with your explicit written consent. 

2. Where we need to carry out our legal obligations and in line with our data protection policy. 

3. Where it is needed in the public interest and in line with our data protection policy 

Less commonly, we may process this type of information where it is needed in relation to legal claims or where it is needed to protect your interests (or someone else’s interests) and you are not capable of giving your consent, or where you have already made the information public.  

Change of Purpose 

We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your personal information for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so. 

Please note that we may process your personal information without your knowledge or consent in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted in law.

Where do we get your personal information from? 

We typically collect personal information about you or your business through discussions with yourself as part of the sales and service process.  We may also collect personal information from these sources: 

Data you give us: 

• When you apply for services or products recommended by us 

• When you talk to us on the phone or in person 

• When you use our websites, mobile device apps, web chat 

• In emails and letters 

• In client surveys 

• If you take part in competitions or promotions 

Data we collect when you use our services: 

This can include the amount, frequency, type, location, origin and recipients: 

• Payment and transaction data 

• Profile and usage data. This includes the profile you create to identify yourself when you connect to our internet, mobile and telephone services. It also includes other data about how you use those services. We gather this data from devices you use to connect to those services, such as computers and mobile phones, using cookies and other internet tracking software. Please see our Cookie statement on our website for more information. 

Data from third parties we work with: 

• Companies that introduce you to us 

• Social Networks 

• Clients that introduce you to us  

Who do we share your personal information with? 

In order to deliver our services to you effectively we may send your details to third parties such as those that we engage with for professional compliance, accountancy or legal services as well as product and service providers that we use to arrange plumbing products & services for you. 

Product & Service Providers: 

If you apply for plumbing & heating services through us, we will pass your personal or business details to the product provider where necessary.  

Legitimate Business Interest: 

We may share your personal information with other third parties where we have a legitimate interest in doing so or if the make-up of MIKE RUTH HEATING & PLUMBING SERVICES LTD changes in the future: 

Where third parties are involved in processing your data we’ll have a contract in place with them to ensure that the nature and purpose of the processing is clear, that they are subject to a duty of confidence in processing your data and that they’ll only act in accordance with our written instructions.    

Where it’s necessary for your personal data to be forwarded to a third party we’ll use appropriate security measures to protect your personal data in transit.  

Do we make solely Automated Decision Making about you or profile you? 

Automated decision-making takes place when an electronic system uses personal information to make a decision without human intervention.  

If an automated decision is taken on the basis of any particularly sensitive personal information, we must have either your explicit written consent or it must be justified in the public interest, and we must also put in place appropriate measures to safeguard your rights. 

We do not take any decisions about you using automated means, however we will notify you in writing if this position changes.  

Overseas Transfers 

We will only send your data outside of the EU to: 

• Follow your instructions and to perform our contract with you 

• Comply with a legal duty 

• Work with third parties who we use to help run your accounts and services 

If we do transfer information to third parties outside of the EU, we will make sure that it is protected in the same way as if it were being used in the EU. We’ll use one of these safeguards: 

• Transfer it to a non-EU country with privacy laws that give the same protection as the EU. Learn more on the European Commission Justice Website.  

• Put in place a contract with the recipient that means they must protect it to the same standards as the EU. Read more about this here on the European Commission Justice Website 

• Transfer it to organisations that are part of Privacy Shield. This is a framework that sets privacy standards for data sent between US and EU countries. It makes sure those standards are similar to what is used within the EU. Read more about this here on the European Commission Justice Website 

Security 

We have put in place measures to protect the security of your information. Third parties will only process your personal information on our instructions and where they have agreed to treat the information confidentially and to keep it secure. 

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal information to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal information on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.  

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so. 

How long we keep your personal information for 

In principle, your personal data shouldn’t be held for longer than is required under the terms of our contract for services with you. However, we’re subject to regulatory requirements to retain data for specified minimum periods. We also reserve the right to retain data for longer than this due to the possibility that it may be required to defend a future claim against us.  

In the absence of specific legal, regulatory or contractual requirements, any other personal information is kept for our baseline retention period – this is seven years.   

Details of retention periods for different aspects of your personal information are available in our retention policy. 

You have the right to request deletion of your personal data. We’ll comply with this request, subject to the restrictions of our regulatory obligations and legitimate interests as noted above.   

What are my rights?   

Your rights are outlined below.  

Accessing your personal information  

Under certain circumstances, by law you have the right to: 

• Request access to your personal information (commonly known as a "data subject access request"). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it. Please see our Subject Access Request Information Pack for more information on how to request this. 

• Request correction of the personal information that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate information we hold about you corrected. 

• Request erasure of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal information where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal information where you have exercised your right to object to processing (see below). 

• Object to processing of your personal information where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal information for direct marketing purposes. 

• Request the restriction of processing of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of personal information about you, for example if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it. 

• Request the transfer of your personal information to another party. You have the right to get your personal information from us in a format that can be easily re-used. You can also ask us to pass on your personal information in this format to other organisations. 

If you want to review, verify, correct or request erasure of your personal information, object to the processing of your personal data, or request that we transfer a copy of your personal information to another party, please contact Mike Ruth at mike@mikeruthplumbing.co.uk . Alternatively, you can write to us using the contact details below: 

Mike Ruth 

MIKE RUTH HEATING & PLUMBING SERVICES LTD 

6 Stonepark,  

Ashburton,  

Devon  

TQ13 7RF

No fee usually required 

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal information (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request for access is clearly unfounded or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with the request in such circumstances. 

What we may need from you 

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access the information (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is another appropriate security measure to ensure that personal information is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. 

How to withdraw consent 

In the limited circumstances where you may have provided your consent to the collection, processing and transfer of your personal information for a specific purpose, you have the right to withdraw your consent for that specific processing at any time. To withdraw your consent, please contact Mike Ruth at  mike@mikeruthplumbing.co.uk Once we have received notification that you have withdrawn your consent, we will no longer process your information for the purpose or purposes you originally agreed to, unless we have another legitimate basis for doing so in law. 

If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you. If this is so we will tell you. 

If you chose not to give personal Information 

We may need to collect personal information by law, or under the terms of the contract we have with you. 

If you choose not to provide certain personal information when requested, it may delay or we may not be able to perform the contract we have entered into with. you, or we may be prevented from complying with our legal obligations. It could mean that we need to cancel the service you have with us. 

Marketing 

We’d like to send you information about our products, services and information which may be of interest to you.   

We can only use your personal information to send you marketing messages if we have either your consent or a ‘legitimate interest’. That is when we have a business or commercial reason to use your information. It must not unfairly go against what is right and best for you. 

You can ask us to stop sending you marketing messages by contacting us at any time.   

We may ask you to confirm or update your choice, if you take out any new products or services with us in the future. We will ask you to do this if there are changes in the law, regulation or the structure of our business. 

Right to complain to the supervisory authority 

Please let us know if you are unhappy with how we have used your personal information. You can contact us by emailing mike@mikeruthplumbing.co.uk   

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority for data protection. In the UK this is: 

Information Commissioner’s Office 

Wycliffe House 

Water Lane 

Wilmslow 

Cheshire 

SK9 5AF 

0303 123 1113 (local rate) 

Changes to this privacy notice 

We reserve the right to update this privacy notice at any time, and we will provide you with a new privacy notice when we make any substantial updates. We may also notify you in other ways from time to time about the processing of your personal information. This privacy policy was last updated 3rd January 2025.

How to contact us  

We have appointed a data protection officer (DPO) to oversee compliance with this privacy notice. If you have any questions about this privacy notice or how we handle your personal information, please contact the DPO at mike@mikeruthplumbing.co.uk  You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues. 

Or write to us at: 

MIKE RUTH HEATING & PLUMBING SERVICES LTD 

6 Stonepark,  

Ashburton,  

Devon,  

TQ13 7RF