1. Who we are
Uptime York is a trading name of Alistair MacLeod, a sole trader.
For data-protection purposes, Alistair MacLeod is the controller responsible for the personal information described in this notice.
3 St Pauls CourtHolgate
York
YO26 4TP
United Kingdom
contact@uptimeyork.co.uk
The address is a correspondence and legal contact address. Uptime York is appointment-only and is not a walk-in shop.
2. What this notice covers
This notice explains how Uptime York uses personal information when you:
- visit the website;
- send an enquiry by form, email or WhatsApp;
- ask for an assessment, quote or technology service;
- provide equipment, accounts, storage or files for agreed work;
- make a payment;
- contact us about a complaint, legal right or previous job.
3. Information we may collect
Depending on the enquiry or service, this may include:
- your name and contact details;
- your address and service location where relevant;
- the content of messages and job instructions;
- details of devices, equipment, faults, damage and previous work;
- quotes, approvals, appointments, job notes and correspondence;
- invoice, payment and transaction records;
- information needed to confirm lawful ownership or authority;
- technical information needed to diagnose or complete agreed work;
- files, folder names, account details or other information encountered while carrying out authorised work;
- website security, anti-spam and limited analytics information, such as request details, approximate location, browser or device type and pages visited;
- complaint, rights-request and dispute records.
Do not send passwords, payment-card details or highly sensitive personal information in the initial enquiry form. Where credentials are genuinely needed, they will be requested separately and only for the agreed work.
4. Information on customer equipment
Computers, storage devices and accounts can contain personal information about you and other people.
Uptime York will:
- limit access to what is reasonably needed for the agreed work;
- avoid deliberately inspecting unrelated files or communications;
- use credentials only where necessary and authorised;
- discuss especially sensitive, confidential or regulated information before handover where possible;
- not bypass encryption, account-security controls or provider identity checks;
- use temporary working or recovery copies only where needed for the service;
- delete temporary copies under the retention schedule below unless a different period is required or agreed.
Uptime York does not seek special-category or criminal-offence information through the website. If work is likely to involve this kind of information, tell us before handover so that appropriate handling and any additional legal condition can be considered.
5. How we obtain information
Most information comes directly from you.
We may also receive information from:
- a person acting with your authority;
- another owner or user of equipment involved in the job;
- payment and accounting providers;
- parts suppliers or specialist laboratories;
- email, hosting, security and analytics providers;
- publicly available sources where reasonably necessary to verify business details or investigate abuse.
6. Why we use information and our lawful bases
| Purpose | Main lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Responding to an individual enquiry and taking steps towards a service contract | Steps at your request before entering a contract |
| Responding to a business contact or keeping a proportionate record of an enquiry | Legitimate interests in operating and protecting the business and responding effectively |
| Assessing, quoting for and providing an agreed service | Performance of a contract |
| Accessing customer equipment, files or accounts where necessary for authorised work | Performance of a contract and legitimate interests in delivering the service safely and accurately |
| Ordering parts, arranging specialist work and managing appointments | Performance of a contract |
| Invoicing, payment, accounting and tax records | Performance of a contract and legal obligation |
| Preventing spam, abuse, fraud and security incidents | Legitimate interests in protecting customers, the website and the business |
| Limited privacy-focused website analytics | Legitimate interests in understanding and improving the website |
| Handling complaints, legal claims and data-protection rights | Legal obligation and legitimate interests in resolving disputes and establishing, exercising or defending legal claims |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider whether the use is necessary and proportionate and whether your rights override those interests.
If we need to use information for a materially different purpose, we will explain that purpose and the relevant lawful basis where required.
8. International transfers
Some providers may process or make information available outside the United Kingdom.
Where a restricted international transfer occurs, Uptime York will use a lawful transfer mechanism, such as UK adequacy regulations or approved contractual safeguards, and will take reasonable steps to use providers with appropriate protections.
9. How long we keep information
| Information | Normal retention |
|---|---|
| Enquiries that do not become jobs | 12 months |
| Customer, job, invoice and payment records | 6 years |
| Temporary working copies or recovered customer files | Normally deleted within 30 days after completed handover |
| Website security and anti-spam logs | Normally 30 days |
| Complaint, rights-request or dispute records | As long as reasonably needed to handle the matter and meet legal obligations |
Information may be kept longer where legally required, needed for an active dispute or claim, necessary to investigate abuse, or explicitly agreed with you. It may be deleted sooner where it is no longer needed.
Deletion from active systems may not immediately remove information from short-lived security backups, which are protected and expire under the relevant provider's normal cycle.
10. Security
Reasonable technical and organisational measures are used to protect personal information, including access controls, secure provider accounts, limited access to customer data and deletion of temporary working copies when no longer required.
No online, storage or transmission method is completely risk-free. Customers should keep their own suitable backups where reasonably possible and should not send credentials or highly sensitive information through the initial enquiry form.
12. Direct marketing
Enquiry and customer details are not used for promotional email marketing at launch.
Uptime York may contact you where necessary to respond to your enquiry, provide the agreed service, discuss a previous job, issue a legal or operational notice, or meet a legal obligation. These are service communications rather than marketing.
13. Automated decision-making
Uptime York does not use personal information to make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.
14. Your data-protection rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may have rights to:
- receive information about how your data is used;
- request access to your personal information;
- ask for inaccurate or incomplete information to be corrected;
- ask for information to be erased;
- ask for processing to be restricted;
- object to processing based on legitimate interests;
- receive certain information in a portable format;
- withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis;
- complain about how your information has been handled.
These rights are not absolute and legal exemptions may apply. We may need to confirm your identity and authority before acting on a request.
Send requests to contact@uptimeyork.co.uk.
15. Data-protection complaints
You can make a data-protection complaint by emailing contact@uptimeyork.co.uk or writing to the address above.
Uptime York will:
- acknowledge receipt within 30 days;
- take appropriate steps to investigate and respond without undue delay;
- keep you informed where appropriate;
- explain the outcome without undue delay.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office. Its current contact and complaint information is available on the ICO website.
16. Changes to this notice
This notice may be updated when the website, providers, services or legal requirements change. The latest version will be published on this page with its review date.
Material changes affecting an active customer relationship may also be communicated directly where appropriate.