Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

This website is run by Odell & Son, a family-run plumbing, heating and air conditioning business based in Kempston, Bedford. In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" mean Odell & Son.

We are the data controller for the personal information we collect about you. This means we decide how and why it is used, and we are responsible for looking after it in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. Information we collect

Information you give us

When you fill in our contact form, call, email or message us, we may collect:

• your name, phone number and email address
• your home or property address and postcode
• details about the work you need, including any photos you send us
• if you are a landlord or letting agent, the details of the property and, where needed to arrange access, your tenant's name and contact details

Information we create when we work for you

• quotes, estimates, invoices and payment records
• job notes and records of the work we carry out
• legal and safety records, such as Gas Safety Records, boiler installation notifications and F-Gas records for air conditioning systems

Information collected when you use our website

Like most websites, our web hosting automatically records technical information such as your IP address, browser type and the pages you visit. This is used to keep the website running securely.

We do not knowingly collect information from children, and we do not collect any special category data (such as health information) through our website.

3. How we use your information

We use your personal information to:

• reply to your enquiry and give you a quote or estimate
• arrange visits, surveys and appointments
• carry out the work you have asked us to do
• invoice you and keep accounting records
• meet our legal duties, including gas safety, building regulations and F-Gas record-keeping
• contact you about your job, any follow-up work or, where you have asked us to, reminders about servicing
• keep our website secure and working properly

We do not sell your information, and we do not send marketing emails or texts unless you have asked us to.

4. Our lawful basis for using your information

Data protection law says we must have a lawful reason for using your personal information. We rely on the following:

5. Who we share your information with

We only share your information when we need to, and only with:

• Building control and the Gas Safe Register: new boiler installations must be notified to local authority building control. As a Gas Safe registered business, we do this through the Gas Safe Register's notification service.
• Manufacturers: to register a product warranty, where you ask us to.
• Suppliers who help us run our business, such as our email provider (Google), our accountant, and our website host and developer, Full Circle Website Design Ltd. They can only use your information to provide their services to us.
• HMRC and other authorities, where we are required to by law.

We will never sell or rent your personal information to anyone.

6. Transfers outside the UK

Some of our service providers, such as Google, may store or process information outside the UK, including in the United States. When this happens, the transfer is protected by safeguards recognised under UK data protection law, such as the UK–US data bridge or UK-approved contract terms.

7. How long we keep your information

We only keep your information for as long as we need it:

• Enquiries that don't go ahead: up to 12 months, then deleted.
• Customer and job records, quotes and invoices: six years after the work is completed, to meet tax and accounting rules and in case of any claims.
• Gas Safety Records: at least two years, in line with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, and up to six years as part of our job records.
• F-Gas records for air conditioning systems: at least five years, as required by F-Gas regulations.

When we no longer need your information, we delete it securely.

8. Keeping your information secure

We take sensible steps to protect your personal information from being lost, misused or accessed without permission. Our website uses a secure (HTTPS) connection, and only the people who need your information to do their job can access it.

9. Cookies

Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit a website. We use:

• Essential cookies that our website needs to work securely, including protecting our contact form from spam. These do not need your consent.
• Google Maps on our contact page. When the map loads, Google may set cookies and collect information about your visit. Google's use of this information is covered by the Google Privacy Policy.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may stop parts of the website, such as the map, from working.

10. Your rights

Under data protection law, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Correct any information that is wrong or incomplete
• Ask us to delete your information, where we don't need to keep it by law
• Restrict how we use your information
• Object to us using your information on the basis of legitimate interests
• Ask for a copy of your information in a format you can take elsewhere
• Withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on it

To use any of these rights, contact us using the details in section 1. There is usually no charge, and we will reply within one month.

11. Complaints

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your personal information, please contact us first and we'll do our best to put things right.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator:

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example if we change how we use personal information or the law changes. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated at the top.