Privacy Policy Effective Date 24th May 2018

This Privacy Policy sets out how we, Regalcomm Limited T/A The Communications Group, collect, store and use information about you when you use or interact with our website, www.thecommunicationsgroup.com (our website) and where we otherwise obtain or collect information about you. This Privacy Policy is effective from 25/05/2018

Contents

  • Summary
  • Our details
  • Information we collect when you visit our website
  • Information we collect when you contact us
  • Information we collect when you interact with our website
  • Our use of automated decision-making and profiling
  • How we collect or obtain information about you from third parties
  • Disclosure and additional uses of your information
  • How long we retain your information
  • How we secure your information
  • Transfers of your information outside the European Economic Area
  • Your rights in relation to your information
  • Your right to object to the processing of your information for certain purposes
  • Sensitive Personal Information
  • Changes to our Privacy Policy
  • Children’s Privacy
  • California Do Not Track Disclosures
  • Copyright, credit and logo

Summary

This section summarises how we obtain, store and use information about you. It is intended to provide a very general overview only. It is not complete in and of itself and it must be read in conjunction with the corresponding full sections of this Privacy Policy.

  • Data Processor: Regalcomm Limited T/A The Communications Group
  • How we collect or obtain information about you:
    • when you provide it to us (e.g. by contacting us or by signing up to our e-newsletter),
    • from your use of our website, using cookies and similar technologies, and
    • occasionally, from third parties.
  • Information we collect: name, contact details, IP address, information from cookies i.e. information about your computer or device (e.g. device and browser type), information about how you use our website (e.g. which pages you have viewed, the time when you view them and what you clicked on, the geographical location from which you accessed our website (based on your IP address) and company name or business name (if applicable)
  • How we use your information: for administrative and business purposes (particularly to contact you), to improve our business and website,  to advertise our goods and services and to analyse your use of our website
  • Disclosure of your information to third parties: only to the extent necessary to run our business, to our service providers, to fulfil any contracts we enter into with you, and where required by law or to enforce our legal rights.
  • Do we sell your information to third parties (other than in the course of a business sale or purchase or similar event): No
  • How long we retain your information: for no longer than necessary, taking into account any legal obligations we have (e.g. to maintain records for tax purposes), any other legal basis we have for using your information (e.g. your consent, performance of a contract with you or our legitimate interests as a business). For specific retention periods in relation to certain information which we collect from you, please see the main section below entitled “How long we retain your information”.
  • How we secure your information: using appropriate technical and organisational measures such as storing your information on secure servers, encrypting transfers of data to or from our servers using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology and only granting access to your information where necessary.
  • Use of cookies: we use cookies on our website including essential, functional, analytical and targeting cookies. For more information, please visit our cookies policy here: Cookies policy
  • Transfers of your information outside the European Economic Area: we will only transfer your information outside the European Economic Area if we are required to do so by law OR in certain circumstances we transfer your information outside of the European Economic Area, including to the following countries: USA. Where we do so, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including having self-certified themselves as compliant with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield.
  • Use of automated decision making and profiling: we do not use automated decision making and/or profiling.
  • Your rights in relation to your information
    • to access your information and to receive information about its use
    • to have your information corrected and/or completed
    • to have your information deleted
    • to restrict the use of your information
    • to receive your information in a portable format
    • to object to the use of your information
    • to withdraw your consent to the use of your information
    • not to have significant decisions made about you based solely on automated processing of your information, including profiling
    • to complain to a supervisory authority
  • Sensitive personal information: we do not knowingly or intentionally collect what is commonly referred to as ‘sensitive personal information’. Please do not submit sensitive personal information about you to us. For more information, please see the main section below entitled Sensitive Personal Information.

Our details

The data controller in respect of our website is Regalcomm Ltd T/A The Communications Group company Registered in England and Wales, registration number: 7908363  of 119 The Hub, 300 Kensal Rise, London W10 5BE. You can contact the data controller in writing to the data controller’s correspondence address The Communications Group, The Hub, Station Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 1AY or sending an email to enquiries@thecommunicationsgroup.com.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact the data controller.

Information we collect when you visit our website

We collect and use information from website visitors in accordance with this section and the section entitled “Disclosure and additional uses of your information”.

Web server log information

Our website server automatically logs the IP address you use to access our website as well as other information about your visit such as the pages accessed, information requested, the date and time of the request, the source of your access to our website (e.g. the website or URL (link) which referred you to our website), and your browser version and operating system.

Use of website server log information for IT security purposes

Our hosting partner collect(s) and store(s) server logs to ensure network and IT security and so that the server and website remain uncompromised. This includes analysing log files to help identify and prevent unauthorised access to our network, the distribution of malicious code, denial of services attacks and other cyber attacks, by detecting unusual or suspicious activity.
Unless we are investigating suspicious or potential criminal activity, we do not make, nor do we allow our hosting provider to make, any attempt to identify you from the information collected via server logs.

Legal basis for processing: compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject (Article 6(1)(c) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legal obligation: we have a legal obligation to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk of our processing of information about individuals. Recording access to our website using server log files is such a measure.
Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legitimate interests: we have a legitimate interest in using your information for the purposes of ensuring network and information security and improving our website for our website users and getting to know our website users’ preferences so our website can better meet their needs and desires.

Use of website server log information to analyse website use and improve our website.
We use the information collected by our website server logs to analyse how our website users interact with our website and its features. For example, we analyse the number of visits and unique visitors we receive, the time and date of the visit, the location of the visit and the operating system and browser used.

We use the information gathered from the analysis of this information to improve our website. For example, we use the information gathered to change the information, content and structure of our website and individual pages based according to what users are engaging most with and the duration of time spent on particular pages on our website.

Cookies

Cookies are data files which are sent from a website to a browser to record information about users for various purposes.
We use cookies on our website, including analytical cookies. For further information on how we use cookies, please see our cookies policy which is available here: Our cookies policy.

You can reject some or all of the cookies we use on or via our website by changing your browser settings or non-essential cookies by using our cookie control tool, but doing so can impair your ability to use our website or some or all of its features. For further information about cookies, including how to change your browser settings, please visit www.allaboutcookies.org or see our cookies policy.

Information we collect when you contact us

We collect and use information from individuals who contact us in accordance with this section and the section entitled “Disclosure and additional uses of your information”.

Email
When you send an email to the email address displayed on our website we collect your email address and any other information you provide in that email (such as your name, telephone number and the information contained in any signature block in your email).

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legitimate interest(s): responding to enquiries and messages we receive and keeping records of correspondence.
Legal basis for processing: necessary to perform a contract or to take steps at your request to enter into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Reason why necessary to perform a contract: where your message relates to us providing you with goods or services or taking steps at your request prior to providing you with our goods and services (for example, providing you with information about such goods and services), we will process your information in order to do so).

Transfer and storage of your information

We use a third party email provider to store emails you send us. Our third party email provider is Google.  Their privacy policy is available here. Emails you send us will be stored within or outside the European Economic Area on our third party email provider’s servers. For further information please see the section of this privacy policy entitled Transfers of your information outside the European Economic Area.

Contact form

When you contact us using our contact form, we collect e.g. name, email address and the details supplied in the form. We also collect any other information you provide to us when you complete the contact form, including any optional information, such as: company name, telephone, project details.  If you do not provide the mandatory information required by our contact form, you will not be able to submit the contact form and we will not receive your enquiry.  If you do not supply the optional information required by our contact form, such as phone number e.g. we will not be able to respond to your enquiry by phone.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legitimate interest(s): responding to enquiries and messages we receive and keeping records of correspondence.
Legal basis for processing: necessary to perform a contract or to take steps at your request to enter into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Reason why necessary to perform a contract: where your message relates to us providing you with goods or services or taking steps at your request prior to providing you with our goods and services (for example, providing you with information about such goods and services), we will process your information in order to do so).

Transfer and storage of your information
Messages you send us via our contact form will be stored on our third party hosting or email provider’s servers in the UK and Google Servers.

Phone
When you contact us by phone, we collect your phone number and any information provide to us during your conversation with us safely, securely and governed by internal security and data protection policies.
We do not record phone calls.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation)
Legitimate interest(s): responding to enquiries and messages we receive and keeping records of correspondence.
Legal basis for processing: necessary to perform a contract or to take steps at your request to enter into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Reason why necessary to perform a contract: where your message relates to us providing you with goods or services or taking steps at your request prior to providing you with our goods and services (for example, providing you with information about such goods and services), we will process your information in order to do so).

Post
If you contact us by post, we will collect any information you provide to us in any postal communications you send us.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation)
Legitimate interest(s): responding to enquiries and messages we receive and keeping records of correspondence.
Legal basis for processing: necessary to perform a contract or to take steps at your request to enter into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Reason why necessary to perform a contract: where your message relates to us providing you with goods or services or taking steps at your request prior to providing you with our goods and services (for example, providing you with information about such goods and services), we will process your information in order to do so).

Information we collect when you interact with our website

We collect and use information from individuals who interact with particular features of our website in accordance with this section and the section entitled “Disclosure and additional uses of your information”.

E-Newsletter
When you sign up for our e-newsletter on our website or opt to receive news from us by entering your name and email address and clicking subscribe indicating that you would like to receive your e-newsletter, we collect your information disclosed for our e-newsletter.

Legal basis for processing: your consent (Article 6(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Consent: you give your consent to us sending you our e-newsletter by signing up to receive it using the steps described above.

Transfer and storage of your information
We use MailChimp to send out our e-newsletter and administer our mailing list. Their privacy policy is available here.
Information you submit to subscribe for our e-newsletter will be stored within or outside the European Economic Area on our third party mailing list provider’s servers.  For further information about the safeguards used when your information is transferred outside the European Economic Area, see the section of this privacy policy below entitled Transfers of your information outside the European Economic Area.
We use technologies such as web beacons in the emails we send to allow us to assess the level of engagement our emails receive by measuring information such as the delivery rates, open rates and click through rates and insert any additional information you measure about user interaction with your emails which our emails achieve. We will only use web beacons and insert any other tracking technologies you use in our emails if you have consented to us doing so.
For more information about our third party mailing list provider and they use web beacons, please see their privacy policy which is available here.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legitimate interest: registering and administering accounts on our website to facilitate the running and operation of our business.

Transfer and storage of your information
Information you submit to us via the registration form on our website will be stored within or outside the European Economic Area on our third party MailChimp hosting provider’s servers.

For further information about the safeguards used when your information is transferred outside the European Economic Area, see the section of this privacy policy below entitled Transfers of your information outside the European Economic Area.

Information collected or obtained from third parties

This section sets out how we obtain or collect information about you from third parties.

Information received from third parties
Generally, we do not receive information about you from third parties, unless from Lead Generating partner. The third parties from which we receive information about you will generally include names of businesses and contact details.

Legal basis for processing: necessary to perform a contract or to take steps at your request to enter into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Reason why necessary to perform a contract: where a third party has passed on information about you to us (such as your name and email address) in order for us to provide services to you, we will process your information in order to take steps at your request to enter into a contract with you and perform a contract with you (as the case may be).
Legal basis for processing: consent (Article 6(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Consent: where you have asked that a third party to share information about you with us and the purpose of sharing that information is not related to the performance of a contract or services by us to you, we will process your information on the basis of your consent, which you give by asking the third party in question to pass on your information to us.
Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legitimate interests: where a third party has shared information about you with us and you have not consented to the sharing of that information, we will have a legitimate interest in processing that information in certain circumstances.  For example, we would have a legitimate interest in processing your information to perform our obligations under a sub-contract with the third party, where the third party has the main contract with you. Our legitimate interest is the performance of our obligations under our sub-contract.  Similarly, third parties may pass on information about you to us if you have infringed or potentially infringed any of our legal rights. In this case, we will have a legitimate interest in processing that information to investigate and pursue any such potential infringement.

Where we receive information about you in error
If we receive information about you from a third party in error and/or we do not have a legal basis for processing that information, we will delete your information.

Information obtained by us from third parties
In certain circumstances (for example, to verify the information we hold about you or obtain missing information we require to provide you with a service) we will obtain information about you from certain publicly accessible sources, both EU and non-EU, such as online customer databases, business directories, media publications, social media, and websites (including your own website if you have one).

In certain circumstances will also obtain information about you from private sources, both EU and non-EU, such as a lead generation organisation.

Legal basis for processing: necessary to perform a contract or to take steps at your request to enter into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Reason why necessary to perform a contract: where you have entered into a contract or requested that we enter into a contract with you, in certain circumstances, we will obtain information about you from public sources in order to enable us to understand your business and provide services to you or services to a sufficient standard.
For example, we would obtain and/or verify your email address from your website or from a directory where you ask us to send you information by email but we do not possess the information or we need to confirm that we have recorded your email address correctly.
Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legitimate interests: in certain circumstances, we will have a legitimate interest in obtaining information about you from public and private sources. For example, if you have infringed or we suspect that you have infringed any of our legal rights, we will have a legitimate interest in obtaining and processing information about you from such sources in order to investigate and pursue any suspected or potential infringement.
Legal basis for processing: consent (Article 6(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Consent: we may obtain information from third parties, such as data brokers, where you have consented to them sharing information with us by method by which individual consent e.g. ticking a box stating that you would like your information to be share with us.

Our use of automated decision-making and profiling

We use automated decision making on our website. We do not consider that this has any legal effect on you or similarly significantly affects you.

You have the right to object to our use of automated decision making and profiling described in this section. You can do that by opting-out of cookies and similar technologies in accordance with the method described in the relevant section below. If you do not want us to process your actual IP address (usually the IP address assigned to you by your Internet Service Provider) when you visit our website, you can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or a free service such as Tor.

You can find out more about our use of cookies and similar technologies (including the legal basis on which we use them) and how to opt out from them in our cookies policy, which is available here: Cookies Policy

Use of profiling for web analytics
Our web analytics service, Google Analytics uses collects information such as your location (based on your IP address) and your behaviour (based on cookies) when you access our website (such as the pages you visit and what you click on) [and] [insert any other behaviours which are analysed when a user visits your website. We will only process information from cookies if you have consented to us setting cookies on your computer in accordance with our cookies policy. Information collected about you, once collected is anonymised and stored on an aggregate basis.

Logic involved: by automatically analysing and categorising information such as the location (based on IP address) as well as the behaviour and devices of visitors to our website (using cookies), we are able to gain a better understanding of what our website visitors want (in terms of the content of our website and our products), how to improve our website and how to advertise and market our services to them.
Significance and envisaged consequences: cookies will be used to track and store information about your behaviour and device on our website (unless you have opted out from receiving such cookies) and your location will be analysed based on your IP address.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legitimate interest: to facilitate the running and operation of our business.

Disclosure and additional uses of your information

This section sets out the circumstances in which will disclose information about you to third parties and any additional purposes for which we use your information.

Disclosure of your information to service providers
We use a number of third parties to provide us with services which are necessary to run our business or to assist us with running our business. These include the following: Telephone partner(s), Email partner(s), IT service partner(s), Web developer partner(s), Hosting partner(s),

Our third party service providers are located in Europe and/or USA .

Your information will be shared with these service providers where necessary to provide you with the service you have requested, whether that is accessing our website or ordering goods and services from us.

We do not display the identities of our service providers publicly by name for security and competitive reasons. If you would like further information about the identities of our service providers, however, please contact us directly on +44 1491 578 392 or by email enquiries@thecommunicationsgroup.com and we will provide you with such information where you have a legitimate reason for requesting it (where we have shared your information with such service providers, for example).

Legal basis for processing: legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legitimate interest relied on: where we share your information with these third parties in a context other than where is necessary to perform a contract (or take steps at your request to do so), we will share your information with such third parties in order to allow us to run and manage our business efficiently.
Legal basis for processing: necessary to perform a contract and/or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Reason why necessary to perform a contract: we may need to share information with our service providers to enable us to perform our obligations under that contract or to take the steps you have requested before we enter into a contract with you.

Disclosure of your information to other third parties
We disclose your information to other third parties in specific circumstances, as set out below.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legitimate interest(s): meeting our contractual obligations to Google under our Google Analytics Terms of Service (https://www.google.com/analytics/terms/us.html)
You can opt out by installing the browser plugin here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

Transfer and storage of your information
Information collected by Google Analytics is stored outside the European Economic Area on Google’s servers in the United States of America.
For further information about the safeguards used when your information is transferred outside the European Economic Area, see the section of this privacy policy below entitled Transfers of your information outside the European Economic Area.

Sharing your information with third parties, which are either related to or associated with the running of our business, where it is necessary for us to do so. These third parties include our accountants, advisors, affiliates, business partners, independent contractors, and insurers.  Further information on each of these third parties is set out below.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legitimate interest: running and managing our business efficiently.

Accountants

We share information with our accountants for tax purposes. For example, we share invoices we issue and receive with our accountants for the purpose of completing  VAT returns and our end of year accounts.
Our accountants are Hilton Consulting Ltd.  Our accountants are located 119 The Hub, 300 Kensal Rise, London W10 5BE.

Affiliates

Affiliates are individuals or entities we work with to promote our business by various means, including by advertising our services on their websites, for example. Our affiliates can be by industry, sector and sub-sector. Affiliates will share information with us and we will share information with them where you have expressed an interest in our products or services.

We do not display the identities of our Affliates publicly by name for security and competitive reasons. If you would like further information about the identities of our service providers, however, please contact us directly on +44 1491 578 392 or by email enquiries@thecommunicationsgroup.com and we will provide you with such information where you have a legitimate reason for requesting it (where we have shared your information with such service providers, for example).

Business partners

Business partners are businesses we work with which provide goods and services which are complementary to our own or which allow us to provide goods or services which we could not provide on our own. We share information with our business partners where you have requested services which they provide whether independently from, or in connection with or own services.

We do not display the identities of our Business Partners publicly by name for security and competitive reasons. If you would like further information about the identities of our service providers, however, please contact us directly on +44 1491 578 392 or by email enquiries@thecommunicationsgroup.com and we will provide you with such information where you have a legitimate reason for requesting it (where we have shared your information with such service providers, for example).

Independent contractors

Occasionally, we use independent contractors in our business. Your information will be shared with independent contractors only where it is necessary for them to perform the function we have hired them perform in relation to our business.

We do not display the identities of our Independent Contractors publicly by name for security and competitive reasons. If you would like further information about the identities of our service providers, however, please contact us directly on +44 1491 578 392 or by email enquiries@thecommunicationsgroup.com and we will provide you with such information where you have a legitimate reason for requesting it (where we have shared your information with such service providers, for example).

Insurers

We will share your information with our insurers where it is necessary to do so, for example in relation to a claim or potential claim we receive or make or under our general disclosure obligations under our insurance contract with them.

We do not display the identities of our Insurers publicly by name for security and competitive reasons. If you would like further information about the identities of our service providers, however, please contact us directly on +44 1491 578 392 or by email enquiries@thecommunicationsgroup.com and we will provide you with such information where you have a legitimate reason for requesting it (where we have shared your information with such service providers, for example).

Third party recipient of information

We do not display the identities of our service providers publicly by name for security and competitive reasons. If you would like further information about the identities of our service providers, however, please contact us directly on +44 1491 578 392 or by email enquiries@thecommunicationsgroup.com and we will provide you with such information where you have a legitimate reason for requesting it (where we have shared your information with such service providers, for example).

Sharing your information within our business’ group of companies, for internal administrative purposes, including client, customer and employee information.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legitimate interest: running and managing our business effectively.
Legal basis for processing: necessary to perform a contract or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Reason why necessary to perform a contract: we need to share your information with other companies in order to be able to meet our contractual obligations to you or to take steps at your request prior to entering a contract., for example because of the services or information you have requested.

We do not display the identities of our third party providers publicly by name for security and competitive reasons. If you would like further information about the identities of our service providers, however, please contact us directly on +44 1491 578 392 or by email enquiries@thecommunicationsgroup.com and we will provide you with such information where you have a legitimate reason for requesting it (where we have shared your information with such service providers, for example).

Sharing your information with a prospective or actual purchaser or seller in the context of a business or asset sale or acquisition by us, a merger or similar business combination event, whether actual or potential.

Legal basis for processing: legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legitimate interest(s): sharing your information with a prospective purchaser, seller or similar person in order to allow such a transaction to take place.

Disclosure and use of your information for legal reasons

Indicating possible criminal acts or threats to public security to a competent authority.  If we suspect that criminal or potential criminal conduct has been occurred, we will in certain circumstances need to contact an appropriate authority, such as the police. This could be the case, for instance, if we suspect that a fraud or a cyber crime has been committed or if we receive threats or malicious communications towards us or third parties.

We will generally only need to process your information for this purpose if you were involved or affected by such an incident in some way.
Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).

Legitimate interests: preventing crime or suspected criminal activity (such as fraud).

In connection with the enforcement or potential enforcement our legal rights. We will use your information in connection with the enforcement or potential enforcement of our legal rights, including, for example, sharing information with debt collection agencies if you do not pay amounts owed to us when you are contractually obliged to do so. Our legal rights may be contractual (where we have entered into a contract with you) or non-contractual (such as legal rights that we have under copyright law or tort law).

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legitimate interest: enforcing our legal rights and taking steps to enforce our legal rights.

In connection with a legal or potential legal dispute or proceedings. We may need to use your information if we are involved in a dispute with you or a third party for example, either to resolve the dispute or as part of any mediation, arbitration or court resolution or similar process.

Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legitimate interest(s): resolving disputes and potential disputes.

For ongoing compliance with laws, regulations and other legal requirements.  We will use and process your information in order to comply with legal obligations to which we are subject. For example, we may need to disclose your information pursuant to a court order or subpoena if we receive one or to the National Crime Agency in connection with suspected or potential money laundering matters.

Legal basis for processing: compliance with a legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legal obligation(s): legal obligations to disclose information which are part of the laws of [England and Wales] or if they have been integrated into the United Kingdom’s legal framework (for example in the form of an international agreement which the United Kingdom has signed).
Legal basis for processing: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the General Data Protection Regulation).
Legitimate interest: where the legal obligations are part of the laws of another country and have not been integrated into the United Kingdom’s legal framework, we have a legitimate interest in complying

How long we retain your information

This section sets out how long we retain your information. We have set out specific retention periods where possible. Where that has not been possible, we have set out the criteria we use to determine the retention period.

Retention periods

Server log information: we retain information on our server logs for 3 months.
Order information: when you place an order for goods and services, we retain that information for six years following the end of the financial year in which you placed your order, in accordance with our legal obligation to keep records for tax purposes.
Business Networking: meetings and correspondence with us for any reason, whether by email or via our contact form or by phone, we will retain your information for a further 12 month(s), after which point we will delete your information.
Correspondence and enquiries: when you make an enquiry or correspond with us for any reason, whether by email or via our contact form  or by phone, we will retain your information for as long as it takes to respond to and resolve your enquiry, and for a further 12 month(s), after which point we will delete your information.
E-Newsletter: we retain the information you used to sign up for our e-newsletter for as long as you remain subscribed (i.e. you do not unsubscribe) or if we decide to cancel our e-newsletter service, whichever comes earlier.

Criteria for determining retention periods
In any other circumstances, we will retain your information for no longer than necessary, taking into account the following:
The purpose(s) and use of your information both now and in the future (such as whether it is necessary to continue to store that information in order to continue to perform our obligations under a contract with you or to contact you in the future);
whether we have any legal obligation to continue to process your information (such as any record-keeping obligations imposed by relevant law or regulation);
whether we have any legal basis to continue to process your information (such as your consent);
how valuable your information is (both now and in the future);
any relevant agreed industry practices on how long information should be retained;
the levels of risk, cost and liability involved with us continuing to hold the information;
how hard it is to ensure that the information can be kept up to date and accurate; and
any relevant surrounding circumstances (such as the nature and status of our relationship with you).

How we secure your information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to secure your information and to protect it against unauthorised or unlawful use and accidental loss or destruction, including:
only sharing and providing access to your information to the minimum extent necessary, subject to confidentiality restrictions where appropriate, and on an anonymised basis wherever possible;
using secure servers to store your information;
verifying the identity of any individual who requests access to information prior to granting them access to information;
using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software to encrypt any information you submit to us via any forms on our website and any payment transactions you make;
[nly transferring your information via closed system or encrypted data transfers; and
ensure the security of personal information such as pseudonymisation, where applicable.

Transmission of information to us by email
Transmission of information over the internet is not entirely secure, and if you submit any information to us over the internet (whether by email, via our website or any other means), you do so entirely at your own risk.
We cannot be responsible for any costs, expenses, loss of profits, harm to reputation, damages, liabilities or any other form of loss or damage suffered by you as a result of your decision to transmit information to us by such means.

Transfers of your information outside the United Kingdom

All of your information is stored both in the United Kingdom and outside the European Economic Area (EEA) depending on service providers as outlined above.

To comply with any legal obligations to which we are subject (compliance with a court order, for example), at all times we will ensure appropriate safeguards and protections are in place.

Server log information
Information collected when you visit our website is not transferred outside of the United Kingdom and stored on secure servers. We do not display the identities of our service providers publicly by name for security reasons. If you would like further information about the identities of our hosting providers, please contact us directly by email at enquiries@thecommunicationsgroup.com and we will provide you with such information where you have a legitimate reason for requesting it (where we have shared your information with such service providers, for example).
Safeguard(s) used: our third party hosting provider has self-certified its compliance with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield.

Contact form
Information you submit to us via our contact form is not transferred outside the United Kingdom and is stored on our third-party hosting partner. Our marketing suite’s provider’s servers are outside the United Kingdom. We do not display the identities of our service providers publicly by name for security and competitive reasons. If you would like further information about the identities of our hosting providers, please contact us directly by email at enquiries@thecommunicationsgroup.com and we will provide you with such information where you have a legitimate reason for requesting it (where we have shared your information with such service providers, for example).
Safeguard(s) used: our third-party hosting provider and email marketing suite has self-certified its compliance with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield.

Email
Information you submit to us by email is stored on our third-party email provider’s servers. Our third-party email provider is The Communications Group. You can access their privacy policy here.
Safeguard(s) used: our third-party hosting provider has self-certified its compliance with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield.

E-Newsletter
Information you submit to us when you sign up for our e-newsletter is stored on our third-party mailing list provider’s servers. Our third-party mailing list provider is Mailchimp. You can access their privacy policy here.
Safeguard(s) used: our third-party hosting provider has self-certified its compliance with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield.

Google Analytics
Information collected by Google Analytics (your IP address and actions you take in relation to our website) is transferred outside the United Kingdom and stored on Google’s servers. You can access Google’s privacy policy here.

Your rights in relation to your information

Subject to certain limitations on certain rights, you have the following rights in relation to your information, which you can exercise by writing to The Communications Group, The Hub, Station Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 1AY or sending an email to enquiries@thecommunicationsgroup.com or calling on +44 1491 578 392:

to request access to your information and information related to our use and processing of your information;
to request the correction or deletion of your information;
to request that we restrict our use of your information;
to receive information which you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format (e.g. a CSV file) and the right to have that information transferred to another data controller (including a third party data controller);
to object to the processing of your information for certain purposes (for further information, see the section below entitled Your right to object to the processing of your information for certain purposes); and
to withdraw your consent to our use of your information at any time where we rely on your consent to use or process that information. Please note that if you withdraw your consent, this will not affect the lawfulness of our use and processing of your information on the basis of your consent before the point in time when you withdraw your consent.
the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling which produces legal affects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you

In accordance with Article 77 of the General Data Protection Regulation, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work or of an alleged infringement of the General Data Protection Regulation.

For the purposes of the UK, the supervisory authority is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the contact details of which are available here: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/

Further information on your rights in relation to your personal data as an individual
The above rights are provided in summary form only and certain limitations apply to many of these rights. For further information about your rights in relation to your information, including any limitations which apply, please visit the following pages on the ICO’s website:

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/; and
https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/is-my-information-being-handled-correctly/

You can also find out further information about your rights, as well as information on any limitations which apply to those rights, by reading the legislation contained here: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/

Verifying your identity where you request access to your information
Where you request access to your information, we are required by law to use all reasonable measures to verify your identity before doing so.
These measures are designed to protect your information and to reduce the risk of identity fraud, identity theft or general unauthorised access to your information.

How we verify your identity
Where we possess appropriate information about you on file, we will attempt to verify your identity using that information.

If it is not possible to identity you from such information, or if we have insufficient information about you, we may require original or certified copies of certain documentation in order to be able to verify your identity before we are able to provide you with access to your information.

We will be able to confirm the precise information we require to verify your identity in your specific circumstances if and when you make such a request.

Your right to object to the processing of your information for certain purposes

You have the following rights in relation to your information, which you may exercise in the same way as you may exercise by writing to The Communications Group, The Hub, Station Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 1AY or sending an email to enquiries@thecommunicationsgroup.com or calling on +44 1491 578 392:

to object to us using or processing your information where we use or process it in order to carry out a task in the public interest or for our legitimate interests, including ‘profiling’ (i.e. analysing or predicting your behaviour based on your information) based on any of these purposes; and to object to us using or processing your information for direct marketing purposes (including any profiling we engage in that is related to such direct marketing).

You may also exercise your right to object to us using or processing your information for direct marketing purposes by:

clicking the unsubscribe link contained at the bottom of any marketing email we send to you and following the instructions which appear in your browser following your clicking on that link;
or sending an email to enquiries@thecommunicationsgroup.com, asking that we stop sending you marketing communications or by including the words “OPT OUT”.

For more information on how to object to our use of information collected from cookies and similar technologies, please see the section entitled “How to accept or reject cookies in our cookies policy”.

Sensitive Personal Information

Sensitive personal information’ is information about an individual that reveals their racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, genetic information, biometric information for the purpose of uniquely identifying an individual, information concerning health or information concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.

We do not knowingly or intentionally collect sensitive personal information from individuals, and you must not submit sensitive personal information to us.

If, however, you inadvertently or intentionally transmit sensitive personal information to us, you will be considered to have explicitly consented to us processing that sensitive personal information under Article 9(2)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation. We will use and process your sensitive personal information for the purposes of deleting it.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

We update and amend our Privacy Policy from time to time.

Minor changes to our Privacy Policy
Where we make minor changes to our Privacy Policy, we will update our Privacy Policy with a new effective date stated at the beginning of it. Our processing of your information will be governed by the practices set out in that new version of the Privacy Policy from its effective date onwards.

Major changes to our Privacy Policy or the purposes for which we process your information
Where we make major changes to our Privacy Policy or intend to use your information for a new purpose or a different purpose than the purposes for which we originally collected it, we will notify you by email (where possible) or by posting a notice on our website.

We will provide you with the information about the change in question and the purpose and any other relevant information before we use your information for that new purpose.

Wherever required, we will obtain your prior consent before using your information for a purpose that is different from the purposes for which we originally collected it.

Children’s Privacy

Because we care about the safety and privacy of children online, we comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). COPPA and its accompanying regulations protect the privacy of children using the internet. We do not knowingly contact or collect information from persons under the age of 18. The website is not intended to solicit information of any kind from persons under the age of 18.

It is possible that we could receive information pertaining to persons under the age of 18 by the fraud or deception of a third party. If we are notified of this, as soon as we verify the information, we will, where required by law to do so, immediately obtain the appropriate parental consent to use that information or, if we are unable to obtain such parental consent, we will delete the information from our servers. If you would like to notify us of our receipt of information about persons under the age of 18, please do so by sending an email to enquiries@thecommunicationsgroup.com.

California Do Not Track Disclosures

“Do Not Track” is a privacy preference that users can set in their web browsers. When a user turns on a Do Not Track signal in their browser, the browser sends a message to websites requesting that they do not track the user. For information about Do Not Track, please visit www.allaboutdnt.org

We respond to Do Not Track browser settings or signals.  In addition, we use other technology that is standard to the internet, such as pixel tags, web beacons, and other similar technologies, to track visitors to the website. Those tools may be used by us and by third parties to collect information about you and your internet activity, even if you have turned on the Do Not Track signal.  For information on how to opt out from tracking technologies used on our website, see our cookies policy which is available here. Alternatively contact us at enquiries@thecommunicationsgroup.com.

Copyright, credit and logo

This Privacy Policy is based on a General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/769) (GDPR) compliant template provided by GDPR Privacy Policy. For further information, please visit https://gdprprivacypolicy.org

The copyright in this Privacy Policy is either owned by, or licensed to, us and is protected by copyright laws around the world and copyright protection software. All intellectual property rights in this document are reserved.

Where we display the GDPR Privacy Policy logo on our website, this is used to indicate that we have adopted a privacy policy template provided by GDPR Privacy Policy as the basis for this Privacy Policy.