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Privacy policy

How information is used when you contact Colin or book an inspection.

Who is responsible for your information

Colin Cole is responsible for personal information collected through this website and in connection with enquiries, site visits, reports and work. Contact colincole73@gmail.com or call 07955 240629 with a privacy question.

Last updated: 3 October 2026.

Information collected

This may include your name, contact details, property address, booking date and time, correspondence, information or photographs you supply about the roof, inspection findings, reports and records of work or payments. Website providers may also process technical information such as IP addresses and security logs.

Please provide only information relevant to your enquiry. Contact and property details marked as required on the booking form are needed to arrange the visit.

Why information is used

  • Enquiries, visits, reports and agreed work: to take steps at your request before a contract and to carry out the service you book.
  • Invoices, payments and tax records: to meet legal record-keeping obligations.
  • General correspondence, security and complaints: our legitimate interests in responding to people, protecting the service and keeping proportionate evidence of work or a dispute.
  • Optional analytics: consent where required. You can withdraw consent without affecting the lawfulness of earlier use.

Payments and service providers

The £70 inspection includes the site visit and report. Stripe processes card payments through the booking form. See Stripe’s privacy policy.

Information may be shared where needed with hosting, website support and email providers, payment providers, and professional advisers such as an accountant or insurer. Relevant records may also be provided to HMRC, regulators or legal advisers where required. Access should be limited to what is needed for the service or legal purpose.

How long records are kept

Our retention schedule is based on the purpose of each record. UK data protection law does not set one retention period for every type of information.

  • Enquiries that do not lead to a booking or work: normally up to 12 months after the last meaningful contact, to deal with follow-up questions. Unnecessary information may be removed sooner.
  • Inspection bookings, reports and completed-work records: normally six years after the service or work is completed, retaining only what is reasonably needed to document the service and deal with a complaint or claim.
  • Invoices, payment and tax records: normally six years after the end of the relevant tax or financial year, and at least the applicable HMRC minimum. For Self Assessment, the minimum is five years after the 31 January filing deadline for the relevant tax year. Company accounting records, where applicable, are kept for six years after the relevant company financial year.

Longer retention may be necessary for an HMRC enquiry, a late return, an active dispute, a legal obligation, or a documented building-safety or insurance requirement. Any extension must have a recorded reason and be reviewed. The six-year service-record period is our normal policy, not a claim that every building-related legal obligation ends after six years.

Records are to be reviewed at least annually and securely deleted or anonymised when no longer needed. Deletion must cover relevant website entries, email copies, files and provider-held copies. Information in backups must be put beyond routine use and removed through the backup retention cycle; deletion decisions must be reapplied if a backup is restored.

Cookies and website analytics

The website uses Google Analytics to understand website traffic. Optional analytics cookies require consent where applicable. You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings, although blocking necessary cookies can affect website functions. Contact Colin if you want to withdraw an analytics consent or ask about information already collected.

Read Google’s information about Analytics data. Provider-held analytics and technical records are subject to the relevant service settings and provider policies; they are not automatically covered by the six-year customer-record period.

Information handled outside the UK

Some service providers, including payment and analytics providers, may process information outside the UK. Where a transfer is restricted under UK data protection law, an appropriate safeguard is required, such as a UK adequacy regulation or approved contractual safeguards. Contact Colin for details of the arrangements relevant to your information. Stripe and Google also explain their international processing in their linked privacy information.

Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, you can ask to access, correct or delete your personal information, restrict its use, or receive a portable copy. Where processing relies on consent, you can withdraw it. A deletion request may not remove records that must be kept for a legal obligation or a justified legal claim.

Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests, including retention for a complaint or claim. Explain your circumstances so the request can be considered.

Contact Colin using the details above. Requests will be handled within the applicable legal time limit, usually one month; identity checks or a permitted extension may be needed.

Concerns and complaints

Please contact Colin if you have a concern about how your information is used. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK data protection regulator.