Privacy Policy.

1. Who we are

For the purposes of UK data protection law, iCost is responsible for deciding how personal information collected through this website and our direct business communications is used.

You can contact us about privacy or data protection matters at kevin@i-cost.co.uk.

Our contact address shown on the website is Enterprise Hub, De Havilland Campus, Hatfield, United Kingdom.

2. Information we collect

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

• Your name and business contact details, including your email address.
• Your company or organisation name.
• Information about the type of support you are interested in.
• Project details that you choose to include in an enquiry, such as project stage, contract type, timeline and required support.
• Correspondence and records of communications with us.
• Technical information that may be recorded by our website hosting infrastructure, such as IP address, browser type, device information, access time and requested pages.

Please avoid submitting unnecessary sensitive personal information through the website enquiry form.

3. How we use your information

We may use personal information to:

• Receive, assess and respond to enquiries.
• Discuss project requirements and determine whether our services are suitable.
• Prepare proposals, quotations or other pre-contract information where requested.
• Provide and manage services where you or your organisation becomes a client.
• Maintain business records and manage communications.
• Protect the security, availability and integrity of our website and systems.
• Comply with legal, regulatory, accounting or professional obligations.
• Establish, exercise or defend legal claims where necessary.

4. Lawful bases for processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for using personal information. The basis depends on why the information is being used.

5. Who we may share information with

We do not sell personal information.

Where necessary, information may be shared with trusted service providers that support our business, such as website hosting, email, IT, security, professional advisers or other suppliers acting on our instructions. We may also disclose information where required by law, a regulator, court or other competent authority.

Where a third party processes personal information on our behalf, we expect appropriate confidentiality, security and data protection arrangements to be in place.

6. International data transfers

Some technology or service providers may process data outside the United Kingdom. Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take reasonable steps to ensure an appropriate lawful transfer mechanism and safeguards are used where required by UK data protection law.

7. How long we keep information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including responding to enquiries, maintaining business records, managing contractual relationships and meeting legal or regulatory obligations.

Retention periods may vary depending on the nature of the information, the relationship with you or your organisation, and any applicable legal, contractual or professional requirements.

8. How we protect information

We take reasonable organisational and technical measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, loss or misuse. Access to personal information should be limited to people and service providers who need it for legitimate business purposes.

No internet service can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If you believe information you have provided to us may have been compromised, please contact us promptly.

9. Cookies, technical data and external resources

Our website may use technical storage or server-side mechanisms that are necessary for security, performance, form handling or normal website operation. Where non-essential cookies or similar tracking technologies are introduced, we will provide appropriate information and consent controls where required.

The website may also load resources from third-party providers, including externally hosted fonts or images. When your browser requests such resources, the provider may receive technical information such as your IP address, browser information and the referring page.

You can control many cookie and storage settings through your browser. Blocking essential functionality may affect how parts of the website operate.

10. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law may give you rights to:

• Ask for access to the personal information we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Ask us to delete personal information in certain circumstances.
• Ask us to restrict how personal information is used.
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests in certain circumstances.
• Request transfer of certain information in a portable format where applicable.
• Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions. To exercise a right, contact kevin@i-cost.co.uk. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

11. Questions and complaints

If you have a question or concern about how iCost handles personal information, please contact us first so that we can investigate and respond.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office if you are unhappy with how your personal information has been handled. Information about your rights and the ICO's complaint process is available from the Information Commissioner's Office.

12. Changes to this privacy policy

We may update this privacy policy when our website, services, technology providers or legal obligations change. The latest version will be published on this page and the last updated date will be shown above.