Hampshire Architect Privacy Policy (updated 18/11/2020)

This privacy policy sets out how Hampshire Architect uses and protects any information that you give us when you use this website. Hampshire Architect is owned and run by Carolyn Lowe and provides architectural services to property owners in Hampshire and the surrounding area.

Hampshire Architect complies with the General Data Protection Regulations 2018 and is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office. Carolyn Lowe is the Data Manager for Hampshire Architect. We are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using our website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement. Personal Data you give us about you and your project via our website contact form, by email, during telephone conversations and face to face, is kept securely and used only to help us answer your enquiry, provide relevant information about our service and carry out the service. We will only contact you in response to your enquiry and do not send marketing emails or newsletters beyond this initial response.

Hampshire Architect may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from 01/01/2013 and was updated on 18/07/2018 (Revision A), 30/09/2019 (RevB), 23/10/2019 (RevC) and 18/11/2020 (RevD).

Information you may voluntarily give us via our online contact form or by emailing or telephoning us:

  • your name,
  • your email address,
  • your contact telephone number(s),
  • your address and postcode,
  • the address and postcode of the project property,
  • other information relevant to your project requirements and your budget.

Other information we may collect:

If you telephone us, our system may automatically collect your telephone number, which we may use to return your call.

What we do with the information you give us:

We have a legitimate interest in helping you with your project and will use this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:

  • to provide information relevant to your project and our service in relation to it,
  • to improve our products and services,
  • for internal record keeping.

We may also use the information to customise our website according to your comments.

If we go on to enter into a contractual relationship with you, we may also:

  • use your information to carry out a basic online search on the property prior to a consultation visit,
  • contact you for market research purposes by email, phone, or mail,
  • share your name, address and invoice details with our bookkeeper Paper Trail Bookkeeping Ltd in Southampton, our accountancy software provider Intuit Inc. in London and Royal Mail Group Ltd (to deliver correspondence and drawings to you if required),
  • in certain circumstances, share any sketches, plans and information about your property with our technical contacts AC Design (Southampton) and RJ Watkinson Consulting Engineers (Lyndhurst).
  • in certain circumstances, share your name, address and correspondence with our professional indemnity insurance company (Bluefin Insurance Services Ltd in Bristol and Epic Financial Risks in London),
  • store our email conversations, invoices, drawings and other project information on our in-house and online computer systems using Microsoft OneDrive, Apple iCloud and cPanel Webmail, which are all password protected,
  • provide unique password-protected access for you to your sketches and project information using Microsoft OneDrive.

How long we will retain the information we hold about you:

We will retain your enquiry information for two years after any enquiry that does not result in a contractual relationship. If we have entered into a contractual relationship with you, we will retain the project information for the life of the project plus seven years.

Security:

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures and passwords to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

How we use cookies:

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Links to other websites:

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

Controlling your personal information:

You may refuse or withdraw consent for us to store the information you have given us at any time without detriment simply by emailing or telephoning us. You have the right to request a copy of the information we hold about you without charge, or for your information to be erased at any time. If you would like a copy of the information held on you please write to us at 96 New Road, Netley Abbey, Southampton, SO31 5BS.

If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email us as soon as possible, at the above address. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.

Other than as stated above, we will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission, or are required to do so by law.