Privacy notice

Last updated: [date of publication]

This notice explains how Elevate Structural Engineers ("we", "us", "our") collects and uses personal information when you visit our website, contact us or work with us. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your information openly and lawfully, in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Who we are

Elevate Structural Engineers Ltd is the controller of your personal information.

  • Registered office: The Long Barn, Downside Farm, Cobham Park Road, Cobham, KT11 3NE
  • Company number: 17556488
  • ICO registration number: [ZA000000]
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Telephone: 07469 061352

The information we collect

We only collect the information we need. This may include:

  • Contact details such as your name, email address, telephone number and postal address.
  • Project information such as the project address, drawings, photographs, survey information and details of the work you are planning.
  • Correspondence, including emails, letters, meeting notes and records of telephone calls.
  • Financial information needed to issue fee proposals and invoices and to receive payment.
  • Technical information such as your IP address and browser type, which is processed automatically by our website host when you visit the website.

We do not ask for or knowingly collect special category information, such as information about health, and we ask you not to send it to us.

How we collect your information

  • When you contact us by email or telephone, or use the enquiry form on our website.
  • When you appoint us and during the course of a project.
  • From other people involved in your project, such as your Architect, Contractor, Party Wall Surveyor or Building Control body, where this is needed to carry out our work.

How we use your information and our lawful basis

  • To respond to enquiries and prepare fee proposals: to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, or our legitimate interest in responding to people who contact us.
  • To carry out our services, including structural design, calculations, drawings, site visits and liaison with others involved in your project: to perform our contract with you.
  • To invoice and keep financial records: to perform our contract and to meet our legal obligations, for example under tax law.
  • To keep project records and to deal with any queries or claims: our legal obligations and our legitimate interest in maintaining proper professional records and meeting the requirements of our Professional Indemnity Insurance.
  • To run and improve our website: our legitimate interest in providing a secure, working website.

We will not use your information for marketing without your consent, and we never sell it.

Our website

Enquiry form. When you press "Send enquiry" on our Contact page, the details you enter are passed to our form provider, FormSubmit (formsubmit.co), which forwards them to our email inbox. We use them only to respond to your enquiry. If the form cannot be sent, it opens your own email program with your message ready to send to us instead.

Cookies and storage. Our website does not use advertising, analytics or tracking cookies. It uses your browser's temporary session storage to make the page transition work smoothly between pages; this is deleted when you close the browser tab and is not used to identify you.

Links to other websites. Our website links to other sites, such as Instagram. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites and recommend you read their privacy notices.

Who we share your information with

We only share your information where necessary, with:

  • other professionals involved in your project, such as your Architect, Contractor, Building Control body and Party Wall Surveyor;
  • our professional advisers, accountants and insurers;
  • trusted service providers who support our business, such as email, IT, file storage, website hosting and website form providers, who act on our instructions;
  • authorities where we are required to by law.

Some of our service providers may store information outside the UK. Where this happens, we make sure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as UK adequacy regulations or approved contract terms.

How long we keep your information

We keep enquiries that do not lead to an appointment for up to 2 years. We keep project records, including drawings, calculations and correspondence, for up to 15 years after a project is completed, reflecting the periods in which professional liability claims can be made. We keep financial records for at least 6 years, as required by law. After this, information is securely deleted or destroyed.

Keeping your information secure

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information against loss, misuse and unauthorised access, and we limit access to those who need it.

Your rights

You have the right to:

  • ask for a copy of the information we hold about you;
  • ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete;
  • ask us to delete your information;
  • ask us to restrict how we use your information;
  • object to us using your information where we rely on our legitimate interests;
  • ask us to transfer information you have given us to another organisation;
  • withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on consent.

Some of these rights only apply in certain circumstances. To exercise any of them, contact us using the details above. We will respond within one month and there is normally no charge.

Complaints

If you have any concerns about how we use your information, please contact us first so we can try to resolve them. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

Changes to this notice

We may update this notice from time to time. The latest version will always be available on this page.