Privacy Policy

Who we are
Pepper & Co Ltd is a renovation and HETAS-registered log burner installation business working across Kent and the South East. We're a service-area business run by Christiaan Kotze, working from a base near Sevenoaks and travelling to customers' homes, so we don't operate a shop or showroom you can visit.
We're the "data controller" for the information described here. That means we decide what information is collected and what happens to it, and we're responsible for looking after it.
How to reach us about anything on this page:

Email: pepperallthings@gmail.com
Phone: +44 7398 521806
Post: Pepper & Co Ltd, Kent

Company registered in England and Wales

What this covers
This page explains what we do with personal information when you use our website at pepperandco.co.uk, when you get in touch for a quote, when we carry out work for you, and if you apply to work with us as a subcontractor.
We've tried to write it in plain English rather than legal language. If anything here isn't clear, ask us and we'll explain it properly.

The short version

We collect the details you give us, mainly so we can quote for work and then carry it out.
We don't sell your information to anyone, ever.
We don't send marketing emails unless you've asked for them, and you can stop them at any time.
Your job records are kept for six years because HMRC requires it, then deleted.
You can ask us what we hold on you, and we'll tell you within a month.

What we collect, and why

When you browse the website

Our website is built on Wix. Like most websites, it records basic technical information automatically: your IP address, the type of device and browser you're using, which pages you looked at and how you arrived. This is used to keep the site working and secure, and to understand which pages are useful.
When you ask for a quote or get in touch

Through our quote form, contact forms, by phone, by WhatsApp or by email, we collect:

Your name
Your phone number and email address
The address of the property, and details about it
What work you're interested in and anything else you tell us

We use this to reply to you, arrange a free home survey, and prepare a written quote. If you ask for a quote, we'll contact you about that quote. That's the whole point of the form.

If a quote doesn't go ahead, we may follow up once or twice to see whether you'd still like the work done. You can tell us to stop at any time and we'll delete your details.

When we carry out work for you

Once you accept a quote, we keep a record of the job. That includes your contact details and address, the survey and installation dates, what we quoted and what you accepted, payments received, and notes about the job and what was agreed.

For log burner installations we also record the stove make and model, the flue type, and the HETAS notification number issued for the installation. We're required to notify Building Control of a self-certified installation, and you may need that certificate when you come to sell your home.

We may take photographs of the work. We'll ask you separately before using any photo of your home in our marketing or on our website, and you can say no without it affecting anything.
We don't ask for or record card or bank details. Payments are recorded as an amount and a date only.

When you download our guide or sign up for emails

If you download our log burner guide or tick to join our mailing list, we collect your first name and email address so we can send you the guide and, if you've opted in, occasional emails about our work. You can unsubscribe from any email using the link at the bottom.

If you apply as a subcontractor

Through our subcontractor form we collect your name, contact details, trade, and anything you tell us about your experience and qualifications. We use it to assess whether we might work together and to get in touch about jobs.
What we don't collect

We don't ask for information about your health, ethnicity, religion, political views or anything else in the "special category" tier, and we don't want it. If you tell us something about a health condition because it affects the work, we'll only note the practical detail we need, such as access arrangements.

Our legal reasons for using your information

The law requires us to have a reason for each thing we do with your information.

Quoting for work and carrying out the job. Contract. We can't fit a stove without knowing where you live.
Replying to an enquiry and following it up. Legitimate interests. You contacted us and would expect a reply.
Keeping financial records. Legal obligation. HMRC requires it.
Building Regulations and HETAS notification. Legal obligation. Required for the installation to be lawful.
Sending marketing emails. Consent. Only if you asked for them.
Using photos of your home in our marketing. Consent. We ask first, every time.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, you have the right to object. Tell us and we'll stop, unless we have a legal reason to continue.

Who else sees your information

We use a small number of trusted companies to run the business. They only handle your information to provide their service to us, and they can't use it for their own purposes.

Wix. Hosts our website, runs the contact forms, and sends our emails.
Supabase. Hosts the private database where our job records are kept.
Netlify. Serves the private job management app we use internally.
Consortium Studio. Built and maintains our job management system, and can access it for support.
Google. Our business listing, reviews, and website search performance.
Meta. Our Facebook and Instagram pages and advertising.
Our accountant. Sees invoices and payment records for the accounts.
Subcontractors. Are given your name, address and job details only where they're working on your job.

We may also share information where we're legally required to, such as notifying Building Control of an installation.
We never sell your information, and we never share it for anyone else's marketing.

Where your information is held

We're a Kent business and we keep your information in the UK wherever we can.
Our job records are stored in a database hosted in London (UK), and the app we use to manage jobs is only accessible with a password by us.

Some of the companies listed above are based outside the UK, so some information — mainly website and email data through Wix, and advertising data through Meta and Google — may be transferred abroad. Where that happens, it's protected by safeguards approved under UK data protection law, such as UK adequacy regulations or an International Data Transfer Agreement.

How long we keep things

Financial records for completed work. Six years after the end of the relevant tax year, as HMRC requires.
Job records, notes and certificates. Six years, to match the financial records.
HETAS and Building Regulations certificates. Kept longer, as you may need them when selling your home.
Enquiries that didn't turn into work. Two years, then deleted.
Mailing list details. Until you unsubscribe.
Subcontractor applications. One year, unless we start working together.

If you ask us to delete your information sooner, we will, unless we're legally required to keep part of it. We'll tell you if that's the case and explain which part.

Your rights

You have the right to:

Know what we hold on you, and get a copy
Have it corrected if it's wrong
Have it deleted, where we don't have a legal reason to keep it
Object to us using it, where we're relying on legitimate interests
Restrict what we do with it while a query is sorted out
Take it elsewhere in a portable format
Stop marketing at any time, which is absolute and immediate

To use any of these, just email or ring us. You don't need to use any particular wording or fill in a form. We'll respond within one calendar month and we won't charge you.

Our website uses cookies, which are small files stored on your device.
Essential cookies keep the site working, remember what you've typed into a form, and help keep it secure. The site can't work properly without these.
Analytics and advertising cookies help us understand how people use the site and let us show ads on Facebook, Instagram and Google to people who've visited. These only run if you accept them.
You can change your choice at any time through the cookie banner on our site, or by clearing cookies in your browser settings. Blocking essential cookies may stop parts of the site working.

Marketing

We'll only send you marketing emails if you've asked for them, or if you're an existing customer and we're telling you about something similar to the work we did for you.

Every marketing email has an unsubscribe link. If you unsubscribe, we'll action it promptly and keep a note of your email address purely so we don't accidentally add you back.
Unsubscribing from marketing doesn't stop us contacting you about a job we're actually doing for you.

Children

Our services are for homeowners and our website isn't aimed at children. We don't knowingly collect information about anyone under 18.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we handle information, we'll update this page and change the date at the top. If it's a significant change and we hold your email address, we'll tell you.

Complaints

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, please tell us first — email pepperallthings@gmail.com and we'll try to put it right.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK's data protection regulator:
Information Commissioner's Office Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF Helpline: 0303 123 1113 ico.org.uk