1. Who we are
Osborne Home Services is the trading name of Ben Osborne, a sole trader, of [HOUSE NUMBER AND STREET], Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4UF.
We are the controller of the personal information described in this policy. Contact us about privacy at osbornehomeservicesuk@gmail.com or the postal address above.
2. Information we collect
Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:
- your name, email address and telephone number;
- service, billing and correspondence addresses;
- requested services, booking history and preferences;
- access instructions, parking information and property details;
- messages, call notes and complaint records;
- photographs or videos supplied for quotations, completion records, complaints or damage reports;
- invoices, payment status and transaction references;
- marketing preferences;
- website usage information, such as pages visited, approximate location, browser and device type;
- information required to prevent fraud, protect people or resolve disputes.
Please do not provide unnecessary sensitive information. If information about health, disability or another sensitive matter is necessary to provide a safe and accessible service, we will use it only where we have a lawful basis and appropriate condition to do so.
3. How we use information and our lawful bases
| Purpose | Typical lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Provide quotations, confirm bookings, take payment and deliver services | Steps before entering and performance of a contract |
| Share job details with an assigned contractor | Performance of a contract; legitimate interests in fulfilling the booking |
| Send service messages by email or SMS | Performance of a contract; legitimate interests |
| Handle complaints, guarantees, damage and disputes | Performance of a contract; legal obligations; legitimate interests |
| Maintain financial and tax records | Legal obligation |
| Protect customers, contractors and our business | Legitimate interests; legal obligations where applicable |
| Understand aggregate website usage | Legitimate interests in improving our website and services |
| Send electronic marketing | Consent, or another basis permitted by electronic-marketing law |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider whether our need is necessary and balanced against your rights and expectations.
4. Contractors and other recipients
Once a contractor accepts a job, we may share the minimum information reasonably required to perform it, such as your name, service address, telephone number, access instructions and booked work.
Contractors must use customer information only to perform Osborne bookings, communicate about those bookings, meet legal obligations and resolve authorised issues. They must not use it for their own marketing or retain it longer than necessary.
We may also share information with:
- Stripe or another payment provider;
- Google services used for email, records or business administration;
- Vercel, which hosts the website and provides privacy-focused web analytics;
- Neon, which provides our managed PostgreSQL database;
- professional advisers, insurers and accountants;
- law-enforcement, courts, regulators or public authorities where required; and
- a purchaser or adviser involved in a genuine sale or restructuring of the business.
We do not sell personal information.
5. Payments
Card payments are processed by Stripe using a secure invoice or payment link sent after a booking is confirmed. Stripe receives information under its own privacy terms. Osborne generally receives transaction identifiers, payment status and limited card information rather than the full card number.
6. Website analytics and cookies
We use Vercel Web Analytics to understand aggregate website traffic. Vercel states that its Web Analytics product does not use third-party cookies, does not associate page views with an identifiable individual or IP address, and discards its visitor-session identifier after 24 hours.
Analytics may include the page path, referrer, approximate location, device type, operating system and browser. We will not intentionally place names, email addresses, precise addresses, access tokens or other customer identifiers in tracked URLs or custom analytics events.
If we later introduce non-essential cookies, advertising pixels or other tracking technologies, we will update this policy and request consent where required.
7. Marketing and service communications
Messages needed to quote, confirm, remind, reschedule or complete a booking are service communications and are not marketing.
We will send promotional emails or SMS messages only where permitted by law. You can opt out at any time using the method in the message or by contacting us. Opting out of marketing will not stop necessary booking communications.
8. International transfers
Some suppliers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where required, we use providers or safeguards intended to protect transferred information, such as UK adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections.
9. How long we retain information
We keep information only as long as reasonably necessary. Our intended starting periods are:
| Record | Intended retention |
|---|---|
| Unsuccessful quotation or general enquiry | Up to 12 months after the last contact |
| Customer bookings and ordinary correspondence | Up to 6 years after the last transaction |
| Financial and tax records | As required by applicable tax and accounting law, commonly at least 5 years after the relevant filing deadline |
| Complaints, incidents and insurance matters | Up to 6 years after closure, or longer where a live claim requires it |
| Contractor agreement and payment records | Up to 6 years after the relationship ends |
| Marketing preferences and suppression records | For as long as needed to respect the preference |
We may retain information longer where required for a live dispute, legal obligation, safeguarding matter or law-enforcement request. We may delete it sooner where it is no longer needed.
10. Security
We use reasonable organisational and technical measures to protect information. Access is limited to people and contractors who need it. No internet or storage system is completely secure, so we cannot promise absolute security.
If you send access instructions by ordinary SMS or email, remember that those channels may not be fully secure. Avoid sending alarm codes or key details unless necessary, and tell us when access information changes.
11. Your rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may have rights to:
- receive a copy of your personal information;
- correct inaccurate information;
- request deletion;
- restrict or object to certain use;
- receive certain information in a portable format;
- withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and
- complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
To exercise a right, contact osbornehomeservicesuk@gmail.com. We may need to verify your identity. Rights can be subject to legal exceptions.
The ICO can be contacted through ico.org.uk, although we would appreciate the opportunity to address your concern first.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as our services and suppliers change. The current version will be published on our website with its effective date.