Privacy Policy

Last updated

10/02/2025

Who we are

Our website address is: https://www.bluecirclesurveyors.co.uk.

Blue Circle Surveyors Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring compliance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal data when you engage with our services.
For any questions or concerns about this policy, you can contact us at:

Company Address: 105 London Road, Benfleet, Essex, SS7 5TG
Email: info@bluecirclesurveyors.co.uk
Phone Number: 01268 207374

By using our Website, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

1. What Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following types of personal data:

Client Information – Name, email address, phone number, postal address.
Property Details – Surveyed property address, size, boundary details, land data, planning details.
Billing & Payment Information – Invoices, bank details (for payments).
Survey Data – Measurements, digital reports, photographs, drone imagery (if applicable).
Project Management Data – Project schedules, progress reports, risk assessments, contractor details.
Health & Safety Compliance Data – Site inspection records, compliance documentation, and risk management reports.

2. How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data through:

Direct interactions – When you contact us via phone, email, website, or sign up for our services.
Third parties – We may receive information from estate agents, solicitors, mortgage lenders, property developers, and contractors.
Public sources – HM Land Registry, planning authorities, construction compliance records, and other publicly available property records.
Automated means – Cookies and website analytics (see further down in policy for cookies).

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service Privacy Policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Media

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site you may opt in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing Personal Data

Under the GDPR, we rely on the following lawful bases for processing your personal data:

Contractual Obligation – To provide surveying and project management services and fulfil agreements with clients.
Legal Compliance – To meet regulatory and legal requirements, including health and safety compliance for construction projects.
Legitimate Interests – For business administration, project coordination, contractor management, and customer service improvements.
Consent – When required for marketing communications (you have the right to withdraw consent at any time).

4. How We Use Your Personal Data

Your data is used for:

Conducting property surveys and preparing reports.
Managing project timelines, contractor communication, and site progress.
Conducting health and safety assessments and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Communicating with clients, stakeholders, and regulatory bodies.
Managing invoicing, payments, and budget tracking for project management.
Improving our services and customer experience.
Complying with legal and regulatory obligations.

5. Data Retention – How Long We Keep Your Data

We will retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, or as required by law. When your data is no longer needed, we will securely delete or anonymise it.

Survey reports and client records – Up to 7 years for legal and record-keeping purposes.
Financial transactions and invoices – Retained for 6+ years as required by UK tax laws.
Project management records – Retained for up to 10 years to comply with construction and regulatory requirements.
General enquiries – Deleted after 12 months if no service is provided.

6. Data Sharing – Who We Share Your Data With

We only share your personal data when necessary, and in compliance with UK GDPR. This includes:

Subcontractors, survey specialists, and project managers – For technical surveying and project coordination services.
Regulatory authorities – If legally required (e.g., HMRC, planning authorities, health and safety compliance bodies).
Payment processors – To facilitate transactions.
We do not sell or share your personal data for marketing purposes.

7. How We Protect Your Data

We implement strong security measures to protect personal data, including:

Encryption – Secure storage of digital files.
Access Controls – Restricted access to personal data.
Secure Disposal – Safe deletion of outdated records.

We are committed to the security of personal data. We take appropriate security measures to limit abuse of and unauthorized access to personal data. This ensures that only the necessary persons have access to your data, that access to the data is protected, and that our security measures are regularly reviewed.

The security measures we use consist of, but are not limited to:

Recommended site hardening features

Vulnerability Detection

HTTP Strict Transport Security and related security headers

TLS / SSL

Our systems are secured in line with the Cyber Security Agency – Cyber Essentials accreditation guidelines.

8. International Data Transfers

If we transfer your personal data outside the UK or the European Economic Area (EEA), we ensure that adequate protections are in place to safeguard your data in accordance with applicable laws, such as using standard contractual clauses or relying on adequacy decisions.

9. Third-Party Links

Our Website may contain links to third-party websites that are not operated or controlled by us. This Privacy Policy only applies to our Website, and we are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of external websites. We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

10. Your rights under UK GDPR

You have the right to:

Access your data – Request a copy of the personal data we hold.
Correct inaccurate data – Ask us to update incorrect information.
Request erasure – Ask us to delete your data where legally permitted.
Restrict processing – Limit how we use your data.
Object to processing – Opt out of direct marketing.
Data portability – Request a transfer of your data to another service.

To exercise these rights, contact us at info@bluecirclesurveyors.co.uk. If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) (www.ico.org.uk).

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last updated” date. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your data.