Cookie & Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Hallmark Security Limited is the “data controller” responsible for your personal information under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Our details are:

• Company name: Hallmark Security Limited
• Registered in: England and Wales, company number 06878139
• Registered / trading address: 48–52 Penny Lane, Mossley Hill, Liverpool, Merseyside, L18 1DG
• Telephone: 0151 257 9996
• Email: info@hallmark-security.com

For any questions about this policy or about how we handle your personal information, please contact us using the details above, marking your enquiry for the attention of the person responsible for data protection.

2. The information we collect

We only collect information that we need in order to respond to your enquiries and to provide our security services. Depending on how you interact with us, this may include:

• Contact details – such as your name, email address and telephone number, which you provide when you complete our enquiry form or contact us by phone or email.
• Enquiry details – the content of your message and any information you choose to include about the security services you are interested in.
• Service and client information – where you become a client, information needed to plan, deliver and administer our services, including site details and points of contact.
• Technical information – limited information collected automatically by our website and its security tools, such as your IP address and interactions with the enquiry form, used to keep the site secure and prevent spam (see the section on cookies below).

We do not intentionally collect special category (sensitive) personal data through our website. Please do not include sensitive information in your enquiry unless we specifically ask for it.

3. How we collect your information

We collect personal information: directly from you, when you complete the enquiry form on our website, call us or send us an email; automatically, through cookies and similar technologies when you use our website; and, where relevant, in the course of providing services to you under a contract.

4. How we use your information and our lawful bases

Under UK data protection law we must have a valid “lawful basis” for using your personal information. Bbelow summarises how and why we use your information:

• To respond to your enquiry and provide information about our services – on the basis of our legitimate interests in dealing with enquiries and running our business, and/or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.
• To provide and administer our security services – for the performance of a contract with you, or to take steps to enter into one.
• To keep our website secure and prevent fraud and spam – on the basis of our legitimate interests in protecting our website, our business and our users.
• To comply with legal and regulatory obligations – where we are required to keep records or share information by law.
• To send you marketing about similar services – only where you have agreed to this or where we are otherwise permitted to do so; you can opt out at any time.

5. Sharing your information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share it with trusted third parties only where necessary, including: our website host and IT/security service providers; Google, which provides the reCAPTCHA anti-spam tool used on our website; professional advisers such as accountants and legal advisers; and law enforcement or regulatory bodies where we are required to do so by law.

6. International transfers

Some of our service providers, including Google (reCAPTCHA), may process information on servers located outside the United Kingdom. Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we take steps to ensure it is protected by appropriate safeguards, such as UK ‘adequacy’ regulations or the International Data Transfer Agreement / Addendum approved for use in the UK.

7. How long we keep your information

We keep personal information only for as long as we need it for the purposes set out in this policy, and to meet our legal and regulatory obligations. Enquiry information that does not lead to a contract is generally kept for a limited period and then securely deleted; information relating to clients and services is kept for the duration of our relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.

8. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have a number of rights in relation to your personal information. These include the right to:

• be informed about how your information is used;
• request access to the personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
• ask us to delete your information in certain circumstances;
• object to, or ask us to restrict, certain processing;
• request the transfer of your information (data portability); and
• withdraw your consent at any time where we rely on consent.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in section 1. We will respond within the timescales required by law. You will not normally have to pay a fee, and we may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

9. How we protect your information

We take the security of your personal information seriously and use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or alteration. Our website uses secure (HTTPS) connections, and access to personal information within our organisation is limited to those who need it to carry out their role.

10. Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work, to improve security, and to provide information to site owners. Some cookies are essential for a site to function, while others are optional.

Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), non-essential cookies may only be set with your consent. Our website currently uses only a small number of cookies and similar technologies, focused on core functionality and security rather than tracking or advertising.

Cookies used on our website

The reCAPTCHA service provided by Google is used to protect our enquiry form from spam and abuse. Its use is subject to Google’s own Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. You can read more at policies.google.com/privacy and policies.google.com/terms.

Managing your cookies

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can usually block or delete cookies, and set your browser to warn you before accepting them. Please note that if you block essential cookies or disable JavaScript, some parts of our website – such as the enquiry form – may not work correctly. Guidance on managing cookies for common browsers is available from the browser provider’s own help pages.

11. Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites operated by third parties. This policy applies only to our website, and we are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of external sites. We encourage you to read the privacy and cookie policies of any other websites you visit.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Cookie & Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, the services we use, or the law. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated “last updated” date, so please check back periodically.

13. How to complain

If you have any concerns about how we handle your personal information, please contact us first using the details in section 1 so that we can try to resolve the matter. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection, at www.ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.