This Privacy Notice explains in detail the types of personal data we may collect about you when you interact with us. It also explains how we’ll store and handle that data and keep it safe.

Fortified IT Ltd, or ‘Fortified’, is a Managed Services Provider operating within the technology industry.  For simplicity throughout this notice, ‘we’ and ‘us’ means Fortified IT Ltd.

The law on data protection sets out a number of reasons for which a company may collect and process your personal data, including:

In specific situations, we can collect and process your data with your consent.

For example, when you tick a box to receive email newsletters.

In certain circumstances, we need your personal data to comply with our contractual obligations.

For example, if you become a client, we’ll collect your details to enable us to deliver your product(s) and/or service(s).  Where deliveries of goods are involved, we may also pass them to our couriers.

If the law requires us to, we may need to collect and process your data.  

For example, we can pass on details of people involved in fraud or other criminal activity affecting us to law enforcement.

In specific situations, we require your data to pursue our legitimate interests in a way which might reasonably be expected as part of running our business and which does not materially impact your rights, freedom or interests.

For example, we may use your purchase or enquiry history to send or make available to you relevant offers.

We also combine such history of many customers to identify trends and ensure we can keep up with demand, or develop new products/services.

We may also use your address details to send you direct marketing information by post, telling you about products and services that we think might interest you.

• When you create an account with us. 
• When you purchase a product or service. 
• When you engage with us on social media. 
• When you install one of our apps used to manage aspects of your technology environment.
• When you contact us by any means with queries, complaints etc.
• When you book any kind of appointment with us or book to attend an event.
• When you choose to complete any surveys we send you.
• When you comment on or review our products and services.
• When you fill in any forms we may send you to complete and return.
• When you’ve given a third party, such as the vendor of an item of technology you use, permission to share with us the information they hold about you.
• We collect data from publicly available sources (such as Companies House) when you apply for an account or for credit with us.

• If you have an account with us: your name, email address, postal address and telephone number.
• Details of your interactions with us via telephone, email, instant messaging, and our online platforms.
  
  For example, we collect notes from our conversations with you, details of any complaints or comments you make, details of purchases you make and quotes you accept or decline, and how and when you contact us.

• Payment information.

• To process any enquiries or orders that you make. If we don’t collect your personal data, we won’t be able to process your order.

For example, your details may need to be passed to a third party to supply or deliver the product or service that you ordered and we may keep your details for a reasonable period afterwards in order to fulfil any contractual obligations such as guarantees and so on.

• To respond to your queries and complaints. Handling the information you sent enables us to respond. We may also keep a record of these to inform any future communication with us and to demonstrate how we communicated with you throughout. We do this on the basis of our contractual obligations to you, our legal obligations and our legitimate interests in providing you with the best service and understanding how we can improve our service based on your experience.

• To process payments and to prevent fraudulent transactions. We do this on the basis of our legitimate business interests. This also helps to protect our customers from fraud.
• With your consent, we may use your personal data and details of your transactions to keep you informed by email, web, text, telephone and through our contact centres about relevant products and services including tailored special offers, discounts, promotions, events, and so on.
  
  Of course, you are free to opt out of hearing from us, using any channel we use to communicate with you, at any time.
• To send you communications required by law or which are necessary to inform you about our changes to the services we provide you. For example, updates to this Privacy Notice, product recall notices, and legally required information relating to your orders. These service messages will not include any promotional content and do not require prior consent when sent by email or text message. If we do not use your personal data for these purposes, we would be unable to comply with our legal obligations.

• To develop, test and improve the systems, services and products we provide to you. We’ll do this on the basis of our legitimate business interests.

• To comply with our contractual or legal obligations to share data with law enforcement.

For example, when a court order is submitted to share data with law enforcement agencies or a court of law.

• To send you survey and feedback requests to help improve our services. These messages will not include any promotional content and do not require prior consent when sent by email or text message. We have a legitimate interest to do so as this helps make our products or services more relevant to you.  Of course, you are free to opt out of receiving these requests from us at any time.

• To process your service appointments (related, but not limited to; technical support, consultancy, or implementation services).

Sometimes, we’ll need to share your details with a third party who is providing a service (such as delivery couriers). Without sharing your personal data, we’d be unable to fulfil such requests.

We know how much data security matters to all our customers. With this in mind, we will treat your data with care and take appropriate steps to protect it.

• We secure our websites using ‘https’ technology.
• Access to your personal data is password-protected, and only made available to staff for whom such access is appropriate to their role within the organisation.
• Where appropriate, we use technologies such as Encryption and 2-Factor Authentication.
• Data we hold is backed-up regularly to protect against loss.
• Sensitive data (such as payment card information) is secured by our payment processing partner (Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd – whose Privacy Policy can be found at: https://stripe.com/gb/privacy) to ensure it is protected.

We have attained whole-organisation Cyber Essentials certification to demonstrate our robust approach to information security.

Whenever we collect or process your personal data, we’ll only keep it for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.

At the end of that retention period, your data will either be deleted completely or anonymised, for example by aggregation with other data so that it can be used in a non-identifiable way for statistical analysis and business planning.

ORDERS
WHEN YOU PLACE AN ORDER, WE’LL KEEP THE PERSONAL DATA YOU GIVE US FOR 7 YEARS SO WE CAN COMPLY WITH OUR LEGAL AND STATUTORY ACCOUNTING OBLIGATIONS.

INACTIVE ACCOUNTS
IF YOU’VE NOT USED YOUR ACCOUNT FOR MORE THAN 2 YEARS, IT WILL BE FLAGGED AS INACTIVE AND WE’LL CONTACT YOU TO ASK WHETHER YOU WANT TO KEEP IT OPEN. UNLESS YOU REPLY TO SAY ‘YES’, WE’LL CLOSE THE ACCOUNT AND DELETE OR ANONYMISE THE PERSONAL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH IT. 

WARRANTIES
IF YOUR ORDER INCLUDED A WARRANTY, THE ASSOCIATED PERSONAL DATA WILL BE KEPT UNTIL THE END OF THE WARRANTY PERIOD.

We sometimes share your personal data with trusted third parties. 

For example, delivery couriers, suppliers, technicians and so on. 

• We provide only the information they need to perform their specific services.
• They may only use your data for the exact purposes we specify in our contract with them.
• We work closely with them to ensure that your privacy is respected and protected at all times.
• If we stop using their services, any of your data held by them will either be deleted or rendered anonymous.

• Companies who supply and/or support our website and other business systems.
• Operational companies such as delivery couriers, telecommunications providers, installation and support engineers.
• Direct marketing companies who help us manage our electronic communications with you.

We will only do this in very specific circumstances, for example:

• We may also be required to disclose your personal data to the police or other enforcement, regulatory or Government body, in your country of origin or elsewhere, upon a valid request to do so. These requests are assessed on a case-by-case basis and take the privacy of our customers into consideration.

Sometimes we will need to share your personal data with third parties and suppliers outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

If you are based outside the UK and place an order with us, we will transfer the personal data that we collect from you to the UK.

The EEA includes all EU Member countries as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

We may transfer personal data that we collect from you to third-party data processors in countries that are outside the EEA such as the USA.

For example, this might be required in order to fulfil our obligations under your choice of service-plan, process your payment details or provide support services.

If we do this, we have procedures in place to ensure your data receives the same protection as if it were being processed inside the EEA.

Any transfer of your personal data will follow applicable laws and we will treat the information under the guiding principles of this Privacy Notice.

AN OVERVIEW OF YOUR DIFFERENT RIGHTS

You have the right to request:

• Access to the personal data we hold about you, free of charge in most cases.
• The correction of your personal data when incorrect, out of date or incomplete.
• That we stop using your personal data for direct marketing (either through specific channels, or all channels).
• That we stop any consent-based processing of your personal data after you withdraw that consent.

You can contact us to request to exercise these rights at any time as follows: 

To ask for your information please contact The Data Controller, Fortified IT Ltd, 122 Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, SS0 7LP or email [email protected]

To ask for your information to be amended please contact us by phone at 01702 567 380. 

If we choose not to action your request, we will explain to you the reasons for our refusal. 

If you contact us in relation to your personal data, then all Data Subject Rights will be met. There are:

• Right to be informed
• Right of access
• Right to rectification
• Right to erasure
• Right to restrict processing
• Right to data portability
• Right to object
• Rights in relation to automated processing and profiling

Whenever you have given us your consent to use your personal data, you have the right to change your mind at any time and withdraw that consent.

In cases where we are processing your personal data on the basis of our legitimate interest, you can ask us to stop for reasons connected to your individual situation. 

We must then do so unless we believe we have a legitimate overriding reason to continue processing your personal data.

You have the right to stop the use of your personal data for direct marketing activity through all channels, or selected channels. We must always comply with your request.

To protect the confidentiality of your information, we will ask you to verify your identity before proceeding with any request you make under this Privacy Notice. 

If you have authorised a third party to submit a request on your behalf, we will ask them to prove they have your permission to act.

Ways you can stop direct marketing communications from us:

• Click the ‘unsubscribe’ link in any email communication that we send you. We will then stop any further emails on the connected product(s) or service(s).
• Write to The Data Controller, Fortified IT Ltd, 122 Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, SS0 7LP.

Please note that you may continue to receive communications for a short period after changing your preferences while our systems are fully updated.

If you feel that your data has not been handled correctly, or you are unhappy with our response to any requests you have made to us regarding the use of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office by calling 0303 123 1113.

Or go online to www.ico.org.uk/concerns (opens in a new window; please note we can’t be responsible for the content of external websites).

If you are based outside the UK, you have the right to lodge your complaint with the relevant data protection regulator in your country of residence.

FOR ALL NON-UK CUSTOMERS

By using our services or providing your personal data to us, you expressly consent to the processing of your personal data by us or on our behalf. Of course, you still have the right to ask us not to process your data in certain ways, and if you do so, we will respect your wishes.

Sometimes we’ll need to transfer your personal data between countries to enable us to supply the goods or services you’ve requested. In the ordinary course of business, we may transfer your personal data from your country of residence to ourselves and to third parties located in the UK.

By dealing with us, you are giving your consent to this overseas use, transfer and disclosure of your personal data outside your country of residence for our ordinary business purposes.

This may occur because our information technology storage facilities and servers are located outside your country of residence and could include storage of your personal data on servers in the USA, UK, and other parts of Europe.

We’ll ensure that reasonable steps are taken to prevent third parties outside your country of residence using your personal data in any way that’s not set out in this Privacy Notice. We’ll also make sure we adequately protect the confidentiality and privacy of your personal data.

We’ll ensure that any third parties process your personal data only in accordance with their legitimate interests. These third parties may be subject to different laws from those which apply in your country of residence.  Please note that we do not take active steps to ensure that any overseas recipient of your personal data complies with the laws which apply in your country.

We hope this Privacy Notice has been helpful in setting out the way we handle your personal data and your rights to control it.

If you have any questions that haven’t been covered, please contact our Data Controller who will be pleased to help you:

• Email us on [email protected]
• Or write to us at:

The Data Controller, Fortified IT Ltd, 122 Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, SS0 7LP