Privacy Policy

SM Electrical Services (“we”, “us”, “our”) Privacy Policy

Effective date: 29 July 2025

1. Introduction

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share personal information when you interact with our website, and your rights under UK data protection law (UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018).

2. Data Controller Contact Details

SM Electrical Services Ltd
Registered in England & Wales, company number SC533206
Trading address: 27A Montrose Avenue, Hillington, Glasgow, G52 4LA
Email: info@smelectricalservices.co.uk
You can contact us via email at any time to exercise your rights.

3. Personal Data We Collect

a. Information You Provide

  • Name, email address, telephone number, postal address, message content – via contact forms or email.

b. Automatically Collected Information

  • Technical data such as IP address, browser type/version, time zone, device model, pages viewed, referral source, operating system, screen resolution. Captured via cookies, server logs, or analytics tools.

c. Marketing and Advertising Data

  • Data used in advertising systems including interaction and preference data, especially for personalised advertising via Meta.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

  • Contractual necessity: to respond to and perform work you request.
  • Consent: to set non‑essential cookies or receive marketing messages.
  • Legitimate interests: for website operation, security, analytics, and personalised advertising (subject to your right to object).

5. How We Use Your Data

We use your data to:

  • Respond to enquiries or provide services you request.
  • Manage and optimise website performance, prevent fraud and assign internal processes.
  • Send marketing communications (if you’ve given consent).
  • We may use Meta’s ad tools to deliver personalised advertising based on your behaviour and preferences. This may involve automated decision-making, such as assigning your data to interest categories. You can opt out of this at any time.

    6. Sharing Your Data

    We may share your data with:

    • Trusted service providers under contract (e.g. web hosting, email marketing).
    • Legal or regulatory authorities, when required by law.
    • We may share your data (e.g. email address) with Meta Platforms to create custom or lookalike audiences. This allows us to show you more relevant content or offers. Meta does not use this data for other advertisers.

    7. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

    • We use essential cookies for website function.
    • Non‑essential cookies (analytics, advertising) are only used with your consent.
    • You can manage or withdraw consent at any time by adjusting your cookie settings or browser settings.

    8. Automated Decision‑Making & Profiling

    We use automated systems to analyse behavioural data and categorise users for personalised advertising. This may involve profiling based on browsing patterns and interest categories.
    You have the right to request human review, express your views, or opt out at any time.

    9. Data Retention

    • Contact form or support enquiry data: retained up to 6 weeks after resolution, unless legal retention is otherwise required.
    • Advertising audience data (e.g. hashed emails shared with Meta): retained only as needed to support current campaigns, then deleted.
    • Log data and technical identifiers: retained for up to 12 months for analytics and security.
    • Records required for contractual, warranty or compliance reasons: retained in accordance with applicable statutory retention periods (e.g. HMRC obligations).

    10. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

    You may, free of charge, request to:

    • Access your personal data or receive a copy.
    • Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data.
    • Erase data when no longer needed or if your consent is withdrawn.
    • Restrict or object to processing, particularly if based on legitimate interests.
    • Withdraw consent at any time (without affecting processing done before withdrawal).
    • Port data in a commonly used, machine‑readable format.
    • Lodge a complaint with the ICO (https://ico.org.uk) if you believe your rights have been infringed.

    11. Security Measures

    We apply appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard your data, including SSL encryption, access controls, regular backups, and secure hosting solutions.

    12. Transfers Outside the UK

    If we transfer personal data to countries outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, e.g. UK adequacy decision or standard contractual clauses.

    13. Children and Minors

    Our website is not intended for users under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If we discover we have done so without consent, we will erase that data promptly.

    14. Third‑Party Links

    We may link to third‑party websites. We are not responsible for their privacy policies – please review them separately.

    15. Changes to This Privacy Policy

    We may update this Privacy Policy at any time. The “Effective date” at the top reflects the current version. We encourage you to review it periodically.