Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Handsome Trade Ltd (trading as "handsome"), company number [company number], registered office [registered address], is the "data controller" for the personal data described in this policy, meaning we decide how and why it's used. Any questions about your data can be sent to hello@handsometrade.co.uk.

2. What we collect, and why

When you contact us or request a quote

• Your name, phone number and/or email address, so we can reply to you
• Your address, to know where the job is and to travel there
• Photos you send of the property, to give an accurate fixed price

We use this data to give you a quote and, if you book, to deliver the work. The legal basis is that it's necessary to take steps toward a contract with you, and then to perform that contract.

When you book a job

• Payment details, handled directly by our payment provider (SumUp / Square); we do not store your card details ourselves
• Before-and-after photos of the completed work
• Notes on the job (materials used, timing, any issues), kept for our own records and to answer any query about the work later

Legal basis: performing our contract with you, and our legitimate interest in keeping accurate business and accounting records.

Website visitors

Our website uses two analytics tools, and they work differently from each other.

The first is Databuddy, a privacy-focused tool. It doesn't use cookies, doesn't track you across other websites, and doesn't store your IP address in a readable form (it's anonymised the moment it arrives). It tells us things like how many people visited, which pages they read and whether anything on the site is broken or slow, all in aggregate.

The second is Google Analytics, and unlike Databuddy it does set cookies on your device. These are small files that let Google tell a returning browser from a new one, so we can see how many separate people the numbers represent rather than just how many visits. They last up to two years unless you clear them. Google Analytics tells us which pages get read, how people arrive at the site, what kind of device they're on, and roughly which part of the country they're in, worked out from the network you're connected to rather than anything precise.

You can refuse or delete these cookies in your browser settings whenever you like, and the site works exactly the same without them. Google also publishes a browser add-on that turns Google Analytics off across every site you visit.

Both tools record that events happened, such as a page loading or the booking form being submitted. They record the event, not what you typed into the form. Neither one receives your name, your contact details, or anything you enter in the booking form. Those details come to us as described below.

When you use the booking form

The form on our booking page collects your name, phone number, town and a description of the work, plus your email and preferred times if you choose to give them. We use it for one thing: to get in touch and arrange your walkthrough. The legal basis is taking steps toward a contract at your request.

3. Photos, specifically

• Before-and-after photos of a job may be used in our marketing (website, social media, printed materials) to show the standard of our work. We choose photos that focus on the work itself rather than identifiable features of your home or personal belongings wherever possible.
• If you would prefer your job's photos are not used publicly, just tell us. We're always happy to keep them for our records only.
• Photos taken for our own quality and dispute-protection records (arrival condition, completion state) are kept whether or not they're used in marketing.

4. Who we share your data with

We don't sell your data. We share it only where necessary to deliver the service:

• Our payment provider (SumUp / Square), to process payment
• Our accountant, for bookkeeping and tax purposes
• Subcontractors or trade partners working on your job (for example, a partnered cleaner on an end-of-tenancy job), limited to what they need to do their part of the work
• HMRC, where required, for example under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) for subcontractor payments
• Netlify, who host this website. If you use our booking form, your enquiry is stored on Netlify's servers so we can read and reply to it. Netlify is based in the United States and handles this data under standard contractual clauses
• Databuddy, our analytics provider, which receives anonymous, aggregated information about website visits. It does not receive your name, contact details or anything you type into the booking form
• Google, who provide Google Analytics. Google receives information about your visit — the pages you read, how you arrived, your approximate location and the type of device you're using — along with a cookie identifier that distinguishes one browser from another. Google is based in the United States and handles this data under the UK extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework. It does not receive your name, contact details or anything you type into the booking form

We do not share your data with marketing companies or other third parties for their own use.

5. How long we keep it

• Invoices and payment records: 6 years, as required by HMRC for accounting and tax purposes.
• Quotes that don't lead to a booking: up to 12 months, then deleted, unless you ask us to keep in touch.
• Booking-form enquiries that don't lead to work: up to 12 months, then deleted from our records and from Netlify.
• Job photos: kept indefinitely for our portfolio and records unless you ask us to remove them.
• Marketing contact (if you've opted in): until you unsubscribe or ask us to stop.

6. Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Ask what personal data we hold about you, and get a copy of it (right of access)
• Ask us to correct inaccurate data (right to rectification)
• Ask us to delete your data, where we're not required to keep it for legal reasons like tax records (right to erasure)
• Object to your data being used for marketing at any time (right to object)
• Ask us to restrict how we use your data in certain circumstances

To use any of these rights, contact us at hello@handsometrade.co.uk. We'll respond within one month.

7. Complaints

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, please tell us first at hello@handsometrade.co.uk so we can try to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

8. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. For example, if we start using a new tool that handles your data. The current version will always be available at handsometrade.co.uk/privacy, with the effective date shown at the top.