Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

This Privacy Policy explains how DM Developments (Inskip) Ltd, trading as Renewable Helpline (“we”, “us”, “our”), collects and uses your personal data when you use our website, enquire about our services, or take out a service and maintenance plan with us.

We are the data controller for the personal data we collect about you.

2. What Personal Data We Collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of personal data:

2.1 Contact and identity data

• Full name
• Home address (including postcode)
• Email address
• Telephone number

2.2 Property and system data

• Details about your property (type, age, access arrangements)
• Information about your air source heat pump (manufacturer, model, installation date, MCS certificate)
• Service history, fault reports, and engineer notes
• Photographs taken during surveys or service visits

2.3 Payment and transaction data

• Plan selection and renewal status
• Payment method (we do not store full card numbers — these are processed securely by our payment provider)
• Invoice and payment history

2.4 Communication data

• Records of your enquiries, calls, emails and live chats with our team
• Marketing preferences and consent records

2.5 Website usage data

• IP address, browser type and device information
• Pages viewed and time spent on the site
• How you arrived at our site (referring website or search term)

3. How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data:

• Directly from you when you fill in a form on our website, call our helpline, request a quote, sign up for a plan, or correspond with us;
• Automatically when you visit our website (via cookies and similar technologies — see section 10);
• From engineers and surveyors who visit your property to carry out work under your plan;
• From third parties in limited circumstances — for example, your installer may provide us with your MCS certificate, or our payment provider may notify us of a failed payment.

4. Why We Process Your Data and the Legal Basis

4.1 To provide our services

To set up your plan, schedule service visits, attend your property, carry out maintenance, manage repairs, send service reminders, and handle renewals.

Legal basis: Performance of a contract (Article 6(1)(b) UK GDPR).

4.2 To respond to enquiries and quotes

When you ask for information or a quote, we use your contact details to reply and follow up.

Legal basis: Pre-contractual steps at your request (Article 6(1)(b) UK GDPR).

4.3 To take payments and manage your account

To collect direct debits or other payments, issue invoices, and recover unpaid balances.

Legal basis: Performance of a contract (Article 6(1)(b) UK GDPR) and our legitimate interests in recovering debts (Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR).

4.4 To meet legal and regulatory obligations

To keep accounting records, respond to lawful requests from authorities, comply with health and safety law, and meet consumer protection requirements.

Legal basis: Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) UK GDPR).

4.5 To improve our services and website

To understand how customers use our website, identify common issues, train our staff, and improve the quality of what we do.

Legal basis: Our legitimate interests in running an efficient business (Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR).

4.6 To send marketing communications

If you've opted in, we may contact you by email, SMS or phone with information about our products, services, promotions and prize draws.

Legal basis: Your consent (Article 6(1)(a) UK GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003). For existing customers, we may rely on the “soft opt-in” for marketing about similar services, where you can opt out at any time.

5. Who We Share Your Data With

We only share your data where necessary and never sell it. The categories of recipients are:

Recipient	Purpose
Engineers and approved subcontractors	To attend your property and carry out service or repair work
Zoho CRM	Secure customer and case management
Payment providers (e.g. GoCardless, Stripe)	To process subscription payments securely
Email and SMS providers	To send service reminders, confirmations and (where consented) marketing
Stannp	Postal mail fulfilment (where you've consented to postal contact)
Accountants and auditors	For statutory accounts and tax
Legal and debt-recovery agencies	Where necessary to recover unpaid balances or defend legal claims
Regulators and authorities	Where required by law (e.g. HMRC, ICO, courts)

All our processors are bound by contractual obligations to keep your data secure and to use it only on our instructions.

6. How Long We Keep Your Data

Type of data	Retention period
Enquiry data (no plan taken out)	2 years from last contact, then deleted
Customer records (active plan)	Duration of the plan plus 6 years (for accounting and limitation periods)
Service and engineer records	7 years from the date of the visit (health and safety / warranty purposes)
Marketing data (opted in)	Until you withdraw consent or are inactive for 2 years
Website cookies and analytics	Up to 13 months
Call recordings (where made)	6 months unless flagged for training or dispute purposes

When data is no longer needed, it is securely deleted or anonymised.

7. International Transfers

Most of our processors are based in the UK or EEA. Where data is transferred outside the UK (for example, to a cloud provider with US-based infrastructure), we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place — typically the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, alongside additional technical and organisational measures.

8. How We Protect Your Data

We take the security of your data seriously and apply appropriate technical and organisational measures, including:

• Encrypted transmission of data (HTTPS / TLS) across our website and systems;
• Restricted access to customer data on a need-to-know basis;
• Strong authentication for staff accessing our CRM;
• Regular reviews of our systems and processes;
• Confidentiality obligations on all staff and contractors.

If a data breach occurs that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the Information Commissioner's Office within 72 hours and inform you directly where required.

9. Marketing & Your Choices

We will only send you marketing communications where you have opted in, or where you are an existing customer and we are contacting you about similar services (in which case you can opt out at any time).

You can change your marketing preferences at any time by:

• Clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email;
• Replying STOP to any marketing SMS;
• Emailing hello@renewablehelpline.co.uk;
• Calling 0800 135 7663.

Opting out of marketing does not affect service communications (such as appointment reminders or renewal notices), which we send as part of providing your plan.

10. Cookies

Our website uses essential cookies to make the site work, and (with your consent) analytics cookies to help us understand how visitors use the site. We don't use advertising or tracking cookies that share your data with third-party advertisers.

You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Blocking essential cookies may affect site functionality.

11. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the right to:

• Be informed about how we use your data (this policy);
• Access the personal data we hold about you;
• Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data;
• Erase your data (the “right to be forgotten”), subject to overriding legal obligations;
• Restrict our processing of your data;
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time;
• Data portability — receive your data in a structured, commonly used format;
• Withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent to process your data.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@renewablehelpline.co.uk or write to the address in section 1. We will respond within one calendar month and may ask you to verify your identity.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113. We would, however, appreciate the chance to put things right first.

12. Children's Data

Our services are not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under the age of 18. If you believe we have collected data from a child, please contact us and we will delete it.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. The “Last updated” date at the top will be revised accordingly. Where changes are material, we will notify customers directly by email.

14. Contact Us

For any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data:

Email: hello@renewablehelpline.co.uk
Phone: 0800 135 7663
Post: DM Developments (Inskip) Ltd, Unit 2B Edward Quay VII, Riversway, Preston, PR2 2YF