Privacy Notice | Kitch Applicare

1. Who is responsible for your information

The data controller is the individual sole trader operating under the Kitch Applicare trading name. Correspondence address: Aberdeen House, Aberdeen, Scotland, AB11 6NF. Privacy contact: hello@kitchapplicare.co.uk.

2. Information we collect

name, service address, email address and any telephone number you choose to provide;
appliance type, make, model, serial number, age, condition, fault and access information;
enquiry, membership, appointment, maintenance, quote, repair and complaint records;
communications and your choices or instructions;
limited payment and Bacs mandate information supplied by Stripe, such as payment status, mandate reference and limited bank-identifying data; and
essential security and technical information needed to operate the website.

If an eligibility application is accepted and a Stripe-hosted payment link is provided, your full bank account number is entered on Stripe’s page and is not directly collected or stored by Kitch Applicare.

3. Why we use information and our lawful bases

Enquiries and eligibilityTo take steps at your request before a contract and to answer your questions.

Membership and servicesTo perform the contract, register appliances, schedule visits and administer separately approved repairs.

Payments and recordsTo perform the contract and comply with tax, accounting, consumer and legal obligations.

Safety, fraud and service improvementOur legitimate interests in protecting customers, engineers and the business, where those interests are not overridden by your rights.

Legal requests and disputesTo comply with legal obligations and establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

MarketingWe do not currently use personal information for electronic marketing. If that changes, we will use a valid permission or another lawful route and always include an opt-out.

4. Information you must provide

We need core contact, service address, appliance and payment information to assess eligibility and provide a membership. If it is not provided, we may be unable to accept or perform the contract. Optional information will be identified as optional.

5. Who receives information

Information may be shared only where needed with:

Stripe for Bacs payment, mandate communications, fraud prevention and payment records;
Hostinger for website hosting and related security;
our domain email provider;
engineers or subcontractors who need limited information for an appointment;
professional advisers, accountants, insurers and IT support where necessary; and
courts, regulators, law enforcement or public authorities where lawfully required.

Membership and repair appointments may be delivered by appropriately skilled independent subcontractor engineers under written data-protection obligations. We do not sell personal information.

6. International transfers

Some suppliers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where a restricted transfer occurs, we require a lawful safeguard, such as an adequacy regulation or approved contractual protections. You may request information about the safeguard that applies.

7. How long we keep information

unsuccessful membership enquiries: up to 12 months after the last meaningful contact;
membership, service, payment, repair and complaint records: normally six years after the relationship ends, where needed for tax, contract and legal records;
security records: only for the period reasonably needed to investigate and protect the service; and
suppression records: minimal contact information retained where needed to honour a marketing opt-out.

We may keep information for longer where a legal obligation, active dispute or safeguarding need requires it, and will document the reason.

8. Security

We use access controls, supported systems, secure hosted payments, encrypted connections, backups and limited engineer access appropriate to the information and risk. No internet service can promise absolute security. We maintain processes for incidents, customer rights and supplier access.

9. Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may ask for access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection or transfer of your personal information. Where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw it without affecting earlier lawful use. You also have the right not to be subject to certain solely automated decisions. We do not use solely automated decision-making.

To exercise a right, email hello@kitchapplicare.co.uk. We may need reasonable information to verify identity.

10. Complaints about data use

Please contact us first so we can investigate. You may also complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.

11. Changes to this notice

We will publish material changes clearly and update the date. If a change materially affects an existing customer, we will provide an appropriate direct notice.