A close up image of a certificate of incorporation of a private limited company

COMPANY FORMATION

COMPANY REGISTRATIONS ONLINE LTD PRIVACY POLICY

Company Registrations Online Ltd (CRO) is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal data. This Privacy Notice describes how we collect, use and look after your personal data when you visit our website (regardless of where you visit it from), including when you purchase a product or services or sign up to our newsletter. It also tells you about your rights and how the law protects you.

1. Important information

Our website is not intended for children and we do not knowingly collect data relating to children other than in direct relation to the services we offer where for example a child may be a registered shareholder of a company that we are asked to incorporate.

This Privacy Notice supplements the other notices (including our terms of use (Terms)) and is not intended to override them.

CRO is either the controller or processor and responsible for your personal data (we, us or our).

To assist you further in understanding this Privacy Notice, we have set out in Part 5 of Schedule 1 a glossary of terms used, examples of types of personal data we collect, how we use it, the lawful basis for processing such data and further details of your rights.

We have appointed a data protection manager (DPM). If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact our DPM in writing, either:

by email to: [email protected]

by post to: CRO, Carpenter Court, Maple Rd, Bramhall, Cheshire SK7 2DH

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the ICO (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.

Your duty to inform us of changes

It is important that the data we hold about you is accurate and current, therefore please keep us informed of any changes to your personal data.

Third-party links

Our website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. By clicking on these links or enabling connections you may be allowing third parties to collect or share your personal data. We have no control these third-party websites, plug in or applications and are not responsible for their privacy notices, therefore you should also read their privacy notices to understand what personal data they collect about you and how they use it.

2. The data we collect about you

We may collect, use, store and transfer the types of personal data about you listed in Part 1 of Schedule 1.

We also collect, use and share aggregated data. However, if we combine aggregated data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat this as your personal data.

If you choose to pay online, your debit/credit card information is collected directly by Global Payments and is neither accessed by us nor stored on our servers.

We do not collect any special categories of personal data or any information about criminal convictions and offences.

Failure to provide personal data

If we are required by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you, to collect your personal data and you fail to provide it, we may not be able to enter into perform the contract with you and, we may have to cancel a product or service. We will notify you of this at the relevant time.

3. How personal data is collected

We collect personal data in the following ways:

direct interactions

you may provide personal data when you complete online forms, request products/services, subscribe to our services, create a user account, join our mailing list, or otherwise correspond with us (by post, phone or email)

automated technology

we automatically collect personal data (technical and usage) when you browse or interact with our website, by using cookies, server logs and other similar technologies. We may also receive technical data about you if you visit other websites which use our cookies. Please see our cookie notice (Paragraph 5) for further details.

publicly available sources

we may collect personal data from publicly availably sources such as Companies House and the Electoral Register and credit reference agencies, based inside the EU, and potentially other public sources based outside the EU in order to fulfil our contract with the user.

third parties

we may receive personal data from: (a) analytics providers based outside the EU(such as Google); (b) and (c) search information providers[such as Companies House based inside OR outside the EU; (d) our suppliers such as payment providers, delivery services, website support and maintenance providers.

4. How we use your personal data

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data:

  • to perform the contract, we are to enter into or have entered into with you;
  • to comply with a legal obligation; and
  • where it is necessary to carry out our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.

Part 2 of Schedule 1 sets out the lawful basis we will rely on to process your personal data.

We do generally only rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your personal data to send email and SMS marketing communications and you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us. Please note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your information.

Marketing

We may analyse your personal data to form a view on what products and or services we think may be of interest to you. You will only receive marketing communications from us, if you have requested information from us or purchased services from us, and you have not subsequently opted out or withdrawn your consent or if we have another basis to send you the marketing communications.

We will not share your personal data with third parties for their marketing purposes.

How to opt out

You can opt out of email marketing by clicking the unsubscribe button within the particular marketing email. You can also withdraw your consent to marketing at any time by contacting our DPM.

Even if you opt out of receiving marketing, we may still use your personal data for other purposes provided we have a lawful basis to do so.

Change of purpose

We will only use your personal data for the purpose that we originally collected it for, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose.

If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to use your personal data in this manner.

We may process your personal data (without your knowledge or consent) where this is required or permitted by law.

5. Our use of cookies and other information gathering technologies

If you register with us or continue to use our site, you agree to our use of cookies.

A cookie is a piece of information that is stored on your computer’s hard drive by your web browser. During the order process you will be given the option of using a cookie to remember your login and password. This feature is for your own convenience and entirely optional. Most browsers accept cookies automatically, but usually you can alter the settings of your browser to prevent automatic acceptance. If you choose not to receive cookies, you may still use most of the features of our web site, including purchasing items. Please note that if you use cookies, we may collect information about your computer, including where available your IP operating system and browser type for system administration and to report aggregate information in accordance with the above.

Some of the cookies we use are essential for our site to operate, and, unless you have adjusted your browser setting will be automatically issued as soon as you visit our site.

Cookie

Name

Purpose

More information

Login details

email

password

These are optional “opt-in” cookies that allow you to store your login details in your browser for your convinience.

Please note that this information is not encrypted and could easily be accessed by anyone with physical access to your computer.

Essential site cookie

ASP.NET_SessionId

This cookie is essential for the online forms such as those used throughout the ordering process. This cookie is deleted when you close your browser.

Visit the Microsoft website

Google Analytics

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These cookies are used to collect information about how visitors use our site. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the site. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where vistors have come to the site from and the pages they visited.

Click here for an overview of privacy at Google

6. Disclosure of your personal data

We may have to share your personal data with third parties further details of which are set out in Part 4 of Schedule 1. We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes. They can only process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

7. International transfers

Some of our external third parties are based outside the European Economic Area (EEA) so their processing of your personal data will involve a transfer of data outside the EEA.

Please contact us if you want further information on the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your personal data out of the EEA.

8. Data security

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. We also limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know and they can only process your personal data on our instructions and will be subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We have procedures in place to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

9. Data retention

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

Details of retention periods for different aspects of your personal data are available in our retention policy which you can request from us. However, we are legally required to keep basic information about our customers (including contact, identity, financial and transaction data) for six years after they cease being customers, for tax purposes.

We may also anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes. We can use anonymised information indefinitely without further notice to you.

10. Your legal rights

You have certain rights in certain circumstances under data protection law. These are set out in full in Part 3 of Schedule 1. If you wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact our DPM.

You will not have to pay a fee to exercise any of your rights. However, if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive, we may charge a reasonable fee for this information or refuse to comply with your request.

We may request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity when you contact us and ensure. This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who does not have the right to receive it.

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

Schedule 1

Part 1: Types of personal data

contact data

billing address, delivery address, email address and telephone number

financial data

bank account and payment card details

identity data

first name, maiden name, last name, username or similar identifier, title, date of birth and home address

marketing and communication data

your preferences in receiving marketing from us and your communication preferences

profile data

your username and password, purchase or orders made by you, preferences, feedback and survey responsess

technical data

internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform and other technology on the devices you use to access our website

transaction data

details about payments to and from you and other details of products and services you have purchased from us

Part 2: Lawful basis for processing and processing activities

The lawful basis upon which we may rely on to process your personal data are:

consent

you have given your express consent for us to process your personal data for a specific purpose

contract

the processing is necessary for us to perform our contractual obligations with you under our contract, or because you have asked us to take specific steps before entering into a contract with you

legal obligation

the processing is necessary for us to comply with legal or regulatory obligation.

legitimate interests

the processing is necessary for our or a third party’s legitimate interest e.g. in order for us to provide the best service to you via our website. Before we process your personal data on this basis we make sure we consider and balance any potential impact on you, and we will not use your personal data on this basis where such impact outweighs our interest

Set out below are specific details of the processing activities we undertake with your personal data and the lawful basis for doing this.

Purpose/Activity

Type of data

Lawful basis for processing

to register you as a new customer

identity & contact

to perform our contract with you

to process and deliver your order, manage payments, fees and charges and debt recovery

identity, contact, financial, transaction and marketing & communications

(i) to perform our contract with you;

(ii) as necessary for our legitimate interest in recovering debts due to us.

to manage our relationship with you, notifying you about changes to our Terms or Privacy Notice and ask you to leave a review or take a survey

identity, contact, profile & marketing & communications

(i) to perform our contract with you

(ii) as necessary to comply with a legal obligation

(iii) as necessary for our legitimate interests in keeping our records updated and analysing how customers use our products/services.

to administer and protect our business and this website (including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, system maintenance, support, reporting and hosting of data)

identity, contact & technical

(i) as necessary for our legitimate interests in running our business, provision of administration and IT services, network security, to prevent fraud and in the context of a business reorganisation or group restructuring exercise

(ii) as necessary to comply with any legal obligations

to deliver relevant website content/advertisements to you and measure or understand the effectiveness of our advertising

identity, contact, profile, usage, marketing & communications & technical

as necessary for our legitimate interests in studying how customers use our products/services, to develop them, to grow our business and to inform our marketing strategy

to use data analytics to improve our website, products/services, marketing, customer relationships and experiences

technical & usage

as necessary for our legitimate interests to define types of customers for our products and services, to keep our website updated and relevant, to develop our business and to inform our marketing strategy

to make suggestions and recommendations to you about goods or services that may be of interest to you, including promotional offers

identity, contact, technical, usage & profile

as necessary for our legitimate interests to develop our products/services and grow our business

Part 3: Your legal rights

You have the following legal rights in relation to your personal data:

access your data

you can ask for access to and a copy of your personal data and can check we are lawfully processing it

correction

you can ask us to correct any incomplete or inaccurate personal data we hold about you

erasure

you can ask us to delete or remove your personal data where:

(a) there is no good reason for us continuing to process it;

(b) you have successfully exercised your right to object (see below);

(c) we may have processed your information unlawfully; or

(d) we are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law.

We may not always be able to comply with your request for specific legal reasons, which will be notified to you at the time of your request

object

you can object to the processing of your personal data where:

(a) where we are relying on our legitimate interest (or those of a third party) as the basis for processing your personal data, if you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms;

(b) where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes.

In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and freedoms and in such circumstances, we can continue to process your persona data for such purposes

restrict processing

you can ask us to us to suspend or restrict the processing of your personal data, if:

(a) you want us to establish the accuracy of your personal data;

(b) our use of your personal data is unlawful, but you do not want us to erase it;

(c) you need us to hold your personal data (where we no longer require it) as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; or

(d) you have objected to our use of your personal data, but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it

request a transfer

you can request a transfer of your personal data which is held in an automated manner and which you provided your consent for us to process such personal data or which we need to process to perform our contact with you, to you or a third party. We will provide your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format

withdraw your consent

you can withdraw your consent at any time (where we are relying on consent to process your personal data). This does not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent

Part 4: Third Parties

service providers

acting as processors or controllers based in the EEA but also around the world who provide services and IT and system administration services.

professional advisors

acting as processors or joint controllers including lawyers, bankers, auditors and insurers based in the United Kingdom who provide consultancy, banking, legal, insurance and accounting services

HM Revenue & Customs, regulators and other authorities

acting as processors or joint controllers based in the EEA who require reporting of processing activities in certain circumstances

third parties

third parties whom we may choose to sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or our assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. If a change happens to our business, then the new owners may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this Privacy Notice

Part 5: Glossary

aggregated data

information such as statistical or demographic data which may be derived from personal data but which cannot by itself identify a data subject

controller

a body that determines the purposes and means of processing personal data

data subject

an individual living person identified by personal data (which will generally be you)

personal data

information identifying a data subject from that data alone or with other data we may hold but it does not include anonymised or aggregated data

processor

a body that is responsible for processing personal data on behalf of a controller

special categories of personal data

information about race, ethnicity political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, health, genetic, biometric data, sex life, sexual orientation.

ICO

Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK’s supervisory authority for data protection issues

Revision 3.0 – 25/5/2018