Privacy Policy

Barton IT Solutions LTD ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it and what rights you have over it.

We are the data controller for the personal data described in this policy.

Who We Are

Barton IT Solutions LTD
Company Number: 17441600 (registered in England and Wales)
ICO registration number: ZC272879 (Information Commissioner's Office)
Registered office: 29 Winifred Road, Maidstone, ME15 8NR
Email: support@bartonitsolutions.co.uk
Phone: +44 7538 490599

What Information We Collect

Most of the personal data we hold is what you give us when you contact us by phone, email, in person or through the contact form on our website. Through the form we collect:

• Your name
• Your email address
• Your phone number and postcode (both optional)
• The service you're enquiring about (optional)
• The message you send us

When you email us, we keep your email, any files you attach, and the email addresses of anyone you copy in, so that we can reply to everyone involved. If you give us someone else's details (for example, a colleague or family member we should contact), please make sure they are happy for you to do so.

You don't have to give us any personal data, but we need your name, an email address and a description of what you need in order to reply to an enquiry, and your contact details and address in order to carry out work for you.

We do not use analytics, advertising cookies or any third-party tracking scripts on this website. Our contact form includes a hidden field (a "honeypot") used only to detect automated spam submissions; the field itself collects nothing about genuine visitors.

To protect the form from spam and abuse, when you submit it we also store a scrambled (hashed) version of your IP address and email address for around 48 hours. We use them only to limit repeated submissions and confirmation emails, and we do not use them to identify you.

Enquiries are also checked automatically for signs of spam: for example, whether the email address belongs to a throwaway-mailbox service, whether its domain can receive email, and whether the message contains real words. An enquiry that looks like spam is set aside rather than deleted, and is reviewed by a person; no decision that affects you is made by these checks alone. We may not send our automatic confirmation email to an enquiry that looks suspicious.

Like most websites, our web servers automatically log each visit, including your IP address, the page requested, the date and time, and your browser type. We use these logs only to keep the website secure and working properly, and they are deleted after around 14 days.

If you use the dark/light mode toggle on our site, your preference is saved in your browser's local storage. This stays on your device, is never sent to us, and is used purely to remember your display preference between visits.

Information We May See When We Support Your Devices

When we carry out repairs, builds or remote support, we may see personal data stored on your device or network. We access it only as far as needed to do the work, we do not copy or keep it unless you ask us to, and we keep it confidential. Remote sessions use a secure third-party remote-access tool, which processes connection data such as your IP address in order to make the connection.

How We Use Your Information

When you submit our contact form, your details are stored in our database and forwarded to our email inbox so we can respond to your enquiry, and we send an automatic confirmation to the email address you entered. We use this information only to:

• Respond to your enquiry or request for a quote
• Arrange and carry out any IT support work you ask us to do
• Keep a record of past enquiries and correspondence

We do not use your information for marketing, and we do not sell or share it with third parties for their own purposes.

Our Legal Basis for Processing

We only use your personal data where the law allows us to. The legal bases we rely on are:

• Legitimate interests: to respond to your enquiry or request for a quote, to run and protect our business, and to keep our website secure. We have considered your rights and expectations, and you can object at any time.
• Contract: where we carry out work for you, or take steps at your request before entering into a contract.
• Legal obligation: to keep accounting and tax records.

Payments

We do not process card payments through this website. Payment for our services is made directly to our business bank account by bank transfer, so we do not collect or store any card details. When you pay by bank transfer, our bank and our accounting records will show your name, payment reference and the amount.

Who We Share Your Information With

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with people and organisations who help us run our business, and only as far as needed:

• our bank, which processes the payments you make to us;
• our accountant, and any accounting software or bookkeeping service we use, for our financial records;
• our email delivery service (SMTP2GO), which passes on the emails we send, including replies to your enquiry and the confirmation email from our contact form;
• Cloudflare, which provides Turnstile, the check on our contact form that makes sure it is being used by a person rather than an automated program. Turnstile runs when the page with the form loads, and involves Cloudflare processing your IP address and technical details about your browser and device. Cloudflare uses this only to provide and improve the check, not for advertising;
• the provider of the remote-access tool we use for remote support sessions;
• suppliers and couriers, where an order needs your details (for example, for delivery);
• professional advisers and insurers, where we need their advice or cover; and
• the authorities, where the law requires us to.

Some of these providers may process data outside the UK. Where they do, we make sure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the UK's approved international data transfer arrangements.

Where Your Information Is Stored

Enquiry data, invoices and job records are stored on our own self-hosted systems and email system, rather than being passed to third-party marketing, CRM or invoicing platforms. Emails we send pass through our email delivery service on their way to you, which keeps delivery records for a limited time. Payment records are held by our bank, and financial records may also be held by our accountant or accounting software provider (see "Who we share your information with" above).

How Long We Keep Your Information

Enquiries that do not lead to any work are deleted after 12 months, and enquiries set aside as spam after 30 days. Records of work we carry out for you, including correspondence and invoices, are kept for 6 years to meet our legal and accounting obligations. After that they are securely deleted. The scrambled IP and email values used to limit spam are deleted after around 48 hours, and web server logs after around 14 days. If we take a temporary backup of your files before working on a device, with your consent, it is encrypted and deleted within 14 days of finishing the work (or sooner if you ask). We do not otherwise keep copies of the contents of your devices, and we do not record remote support sessions.

Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:

• Ask us what personal data we hold about you
• Ask us to correct inaccurate data
• Ask us to delete your data
• Ask us to restrict how we use your data
• Object to how we use your data where we rely on our legitimate interests
• Request a copy of your data in a portable format

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@bartonitsolutions.co.uk. There is normally no charge, and we will respond within one month. We may need to confirm your identity first. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, you also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect the personal data we hold from loss, misuse or unauthorised access. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Children's Privacy

Our website and services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "last updated" date.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us at support@bartonitsolutions.co.uk or +44 7538 490599.