Privacy policy

This privacy policy explains how Vowles Carpentry & Building looks after your personal information and respects your privacy. We are a carpentry and building business run by Paul Vowles, based in Bishopsteignton, Devon.

Paul is the person responsible for your information (the data controller). For anything to do with your privacy, you can reach us by email at paulvowlescarpentry@gmail.com or by phone on 07866 599 043.

We only collect the details you choose to give us. When you fill in our contact form or ask for a quote, we ask for:

• Your name
• Your email address and/or phone number
• Your postcode, on the quote form
• A few details about the project or enquiry

We never ask for sensitive information, and we would never need your bank or card details through this website. When you visit the site, our hosting provider may automatically handle basic technical information, such as your device type and IP address, purely so the site loads correctly and stays secure.

We use the details you send us for one simple reason: to reply to your enquiry, arrange a visit where it helps, and put together your quote. We may keep a record of our conversation so we can pick up where we left off. We will never sell your information, and we will not send you marketing you have not asked for.

Under UK data protection law, we rely on:

• Your consent, given when you choose to send us an enquiry through the website.
• Our legitimate interest in responding to you and running the business properly.

If we go on to carry out work for you, we also use your details to fulfil our agreement with you.

We keep your information to ourselves as much as we possibly can. We only use a small number of trusted providers to run the website, receive your messages and understand how the site is doing:

• Formspree, which delivers the messages you send through our forms straight to Paul's inbox.
• Vercel, which hosts the website.
• Google, whose Analytics and Search Console tools help us see how people find and use the site. There is more on this in the cookies and analytics section below.

These providers process information on our behalf, each under their own privacy terms, and we would only ever share your information further if the law required us to.

We keep your enquiry details only for as long as we genuinely need them, to answer your question, carry out any work, and meet our legal and tax obligations. Once we no longer need your information, we delete it.

We use a little analytics to understand how people find and use the site, so we can keep making it better. We do not use advertising cookies, we do not sell your data, and we do not track you around the web for marketing.

Google Analytics. We use Google Analytics to see things like which pages are visited, how people arrive at the site, and roughly which town or region they are in, never a precise location. To do this, Google sets cookies on your device and processes some technical information such as your device type, browser and IP address. You can read how Google handles this in Google's privacy policy, and you can opt out on every website using Google's opt-out browser add-on.

Google Search Console. We also use Search Console, which shows us how the site appears in Google searches, for example the search terms that bring people to us. This works from Google's own search data and does not place any extra cookies on your device.

Managing cookies. You are always in control. You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings at any time, though a few parts of the site may not work quite as smoothly if you do.

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

• Ask for a copy of the information we hold about you
• Ask us to correct anything that is wrong
• Ask us to delete your information
• Object to, or ask us to limit, how we use it

To do any of these, just get in touch by email or phone and we will sort it out. There is no charge, and we will always respond as quickly as we can.

We take sensible steps to protect the information you share with us, and we only work with reputable providers who do the same.

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the date shown at the top of this page.

If you have any questions about your privacy, or you are not happy with how we have handled your information, please contact Paul first on paulvowlescarpentry@gmail.com or 07866 599 043, and we will do our best to put things right.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK regulator for data protection, at ico.org.uk.