Privacy Policy for A B Locksmith Ltd
Effective Date: 22nd May 2025
A B Locksmith Ltd ("we", "our", or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our services, visit our website, or otherwise interact with us.
As a UK-based company, we are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
1. Who We Are
A B Locksmith Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. Our registered address is 71 York Road, Aldershot, GU11 3JQ. For any privacy-related queries, you can contact us at: info@ab-locksmithltd.co.uk
2. Information We Collect
We may collect and process the following types of personal information about you:
- Contact Information: Name, address, email address, phone number.
- Service Information: Details about the locksmith services you require or have received, property details, access details (if relevant and provided by you).
- Payment Information: If you make a payment directly to us, we may process payment details (though we typically use third-party payment processors who handle this securely). We do not store full credit card details.
- Communication Information: Records of your correspondence with us, including emails, phone calls, and messages.
- Website Usage Data: Information about how you use our website, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, referral sources, pages visited, and duration of visit. This is typically collected using cookies and similar technologies (see Section 6).
- CCTV Footage: If our premises or vehicles are equipped with CCTV for security purposes, your image may be captured.
3. How We Collect Your Information
We collect information from you in various ways:
- Directly from you: When you contact us by phone, email, or via our website to enquire about or book our services.
- Through our website: When you fill out forms, subscribe to newsletters, or interact with our site.
- From third parties: In some cases, we may receive information from third-party booking platforms or introducers, where you have consented for them to share your details with us.
- Automatically: Through the use of cookies and similar technologies on our website.
- Through CCTV: If you visit our premises or are in the vicinity of our vehicles equipped with CCTV.
4. How We Use Your Information (Legal Basis for Processing)
We use your personal information for the following purposes, based on the specified legal grounds under GDPR:
- To provide our services (Contractual Necessity):
- To respond to your enquiries and provide quotations.
- To schedule and carry out locksmith services at your property.
- To communicate with you regarding your booking and service.
- To process payments for services rendered.
- For legitimate business interests (Legitimate Interests):
- To manage our customer relationships and provide customer support.
- To improve our services and understand customer needs.
- To maintain our business records.
- To prevent fraud and ensure the security of our services and premises.
- To send you marketing communications about our services, where we have a legitimate interest and you have not opted out (you can opt-out at any time).
- To comply with internal policies and procedures.
- To comply with legal obligations (Legal Obligation):
- To meet our legal, regulatory, and compliance requirements, including health and safety, tax, and accounting obligations.
- To respond to lawful requests from public authorities.
- With your consent (Consent):
- Where we require your explicit consent for specific processing activities, such as certain marketing communications or the use of non-essential cookies. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
5. Disclosure of Your Information
We may share your information with the following categories of recipients:
- Our Employees and Contractors: Members of our team who need the information to perform their duties (e.g., locksmiths attending your property, administrative staff).
- Service Providers: Third-party companies that provide services to us, such as IT support, payment processors, website hosting, and professional advisors (e.g., accountants, lawyers). These providers are contractually bound to protect your information and only use it for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.
- Legal and Regulatory Authorities: When required by law or to respond to valid legal processes (e.g., court orders, subpoenas).
- Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity.
- With Your Consent: We may disclose your information to other third parties with your explicit consent.
We will not sell, rent, or lease your personal information to third parties.
6. Cookies and Similar Technologies
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your Browse experience, analyse website traffic, and for marketing purposes. Cookies are small text files placed on your device.
- Essential Cookies: These are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems.
- Analytical/Performance Cookies: These allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site.
- Functionality Cookies: These enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation.
- Targeting/Marketing Cookies: These may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites.
You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings or, where available, through our website's cookie consent tool.
7. Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. These measures include:
- Encryption: Using SSL/TLS encryption for data transmitted via our website.
- Access Controls: Restricting access to personal data to only those employees and contractors who need it for their legitimate work.
- Data Minimisation: Only collecting the personal data that is necessary for the stated purposes.
- Regular Security Reviews: Periodically reviewing our security practices.
While we strive to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for keeping any passwords or access details secure.
8. Data Retention
We will retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.
For example, we typically retain customer service records for [X] years to handle any follow-up queries or warranty claims, and financial records for [Y] years to comply with tax regulations.
9. International Data Transfers
As a UK-based company, your data will primarily be processed within the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area (EEA).
In some instances, our service providers may be located outside the UK or EEA. Where we transfer your personal data to countries outside the UK or EEA, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses approved by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) or the European Commission, or by ensuring the recipient is certified under an approved data transfer framework.
10. Your Rights (Data Subject Rights)
Under GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:
- The Right to Be Informed: You have the right to know how we collect and use your personal data. This Privacy Policy serves to fulfil this right.
- The Right of Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- The Right to Rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.
- The Right to Erasure (Right to be Forgotten): You have the right to request that we delete your personal information, in certain circumstances (e.g., if the data is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected).
- The Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information, in certain circumstances (e.g., if you dispute the accuracy of the data).
- The Right to Data Portability: You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transmit that data to another controller, where technically feasible.
- The Right to Object: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances, particularly where we are relying on legitimate interests as our legal basis for processing.
- Rights in Relation to Automated Decision Making and Profiling: You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you, unless certain exceptions apply.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in Section 1. We may require proof of identity to verify your request.
11. Marketing Communications
Where we have a legitimate interest or your consent, we may send you marketing communications about our services that we believe may be of interest to you.
You can opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us at any time by:
- Clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing email you receive from us.
- Contacting us directly using the details in Section 1.
Please note that even if you opt-out of marketing communications, we may still send you non-promotional messages related to your service requests or business transactions.
12. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal or regulatory reasons. We will post the updated Privacy Policy on our website and update the "Effective Date" at the top of this policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.
13. How to Complain
If you have concerns about our handling of your personal information, please contact us first using the details in Section 1 so we can try to resolve the issue.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent authority for upholding information rights.
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)Wycliffe House Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF Telephone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545745 Website: www.ico.org.uk