Abbey Bookkeeping Solutions Privacy Policy

 

Effective Date: 12th June 2025

 

Abbey Bookkeeping Solutions ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy and complying with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018). This Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal data when you visit our website www.abbeybookkeeping.co.uk.

 

1. Who We Are

 

Stacy Pickering T/A Abbey Bookkeeping Solutions

Address: 15 Gerrards Fold, Abbey Village, Chorley, PR6 8DL
Phone number: 07352 454764

Email: info@abbeybookkeeping.co.uk

 

2. What Information We Collect

 

We may collect and process the following types of personal data:

• Contact details (e.g. name, email address, phone number) if you fill out a form or contact us

• Technical data (e.g. IP address, browser type, operating system)

• Usage data (e.g. pages visited, time spent on site, referral source)

• Cookies and similar technologies (see Section 8)

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3. How we collect the personal information

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We collect personal data about you through various means, including:

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Information You Provide Directly

When you interact with our website or services, you may voluntarily provide us with personal data, such as:

• Completing forms (e.g. contact forms, registration, newsletter sign-ups)

• Communicating with us via email, phone, or post

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This information is collected directly from you and is necessary for us to deliver our services or respond to your enquiries.

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Automatic Data Collection

When you visit our website, some information is collected automatically through cookies, tracking technologies, and server logs. This data includes:

• Your IP address

• Browser type and version

• Operating system and device information

• Pages you visit, time spent, and interaction behaviour (e.g. clicks, scrolling)

• Referring website or source

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This information helps us analyse website usage, improve functionality, enhance security, and tailor your experience.

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Data from Third Parties

In some cases, we may receive information about you from third parties, such as:

• From publicly available sources (e.g. Companies House, websites, social media)

• From third parties with your consent or as legally required (e.g. referral partners, regulators)

• Automatically through cookies and analytics tools when you use our website (see Section 8)

 

We only obtain and use such data when we have lawful grounds to do so, and we ensure these third parties meet UK GDPR standards.

 

4. How We Use Your Information

 

Any or all of the above data may be required by us from time to time in order to provide you with the best possible service and experience when using our website. Specifically, data may be used by us for the following reasons:

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a) To provide, maintain, and improve our website and services

• The processing of your personal data to provide and maintain our website is primarily based on the performance of a contract or taking steps at your request prior to entering into a contract. This means that when you use our website—such as registering an account, or submitting inquiries — you enter into an agreement with us, either explicitly or implicitly, and we need to process your data to fulfil our obligations under that agreement.​

• ​We may process your data based on our legitimate interests, such as ensuring the security, availability, and proper functioning of our website. This includes activities like maintaining website infrastructure, preventing unauthorized access, and improving the overall user experience.

 

b) To communicate with you

We process your personal data to communicate with you for different purposes and the legal basis for this processing depends on the context:

• Performance of a contract

  • If you have registered for an account, or otherwise engaged with our services, we may contact you with service-related communications (e.g. updates, support responses). In this case, processing your personal data is necessary for us to fulfil our contractual obligations to you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.

• Legitimate interests

  • We may also contact you for administrative or informational purposes—such as notifying you about changes to our terms, system maintenance, or important updates—even if no formal contract exists. We do this under our legitimate interest in managing our relationship with you and ensuring the smooth operation of our services. We always consider your rights and interests and provide you with the option to opt out where appropriate.

 

5. Legal Basis for Processing

 

Under the UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Legitimate interests – for analytics, improving the website, and responding to queries

• Contract – when we need to provide services you've requested

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6. Who We Share Your Data With

 

We may share your personal data with selected third parties where necessary to deliver our services, comply with legal obligations, or pursue our legitimate interests. Specifically, your data may be shared with the following groups of recipients:

• Our employees, agents, and professional advisers – access to your data is granted only to those who require it to carry out their duties, such as delivering services to you, providing customer support, or offering legal or financial advice. All such individuals are bound by confidentiality and data protection obligations.

• Government authorities, regulatory bodies, or law enforcement agencies – we may disclose your data where required to comply with legal or regulatory obligations, such as fulfilling tax requirements, responding to legal process, or assisting in the investigation or prevention of crime or fraud.

In each case, we ensure that the sharing of data is limited to what is necessary, proportionate, and done in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable data protection laws.

 

We do not sell or rent your personal data to third parties for marketing or any other commercial purposes.

 

7. Data Retention

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Unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law, we will retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements, or until you request that your data be deleted.

Even after your data has been deleted from our active systems, it may remain stored in secure backup or archival systems for a limited period, where retention is necessary for legal, tax, regulatory, or

compliance purposes. In such cases, access to this data is strictly controlled and limited to those purposes only.

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8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

 

This website may place cookies on your device to enhance your experience and improve the functionality of our services. Abbey Bookkeeping Solutions uses cookies to help deliver a better, more personalised browsing experience and to refine the performance of our website.

 

All cookies used by this website comply with the applicable laws on cookies in the UK and EU, including the UK GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

 

Before any non-essential cookies are placed on your device, you will be asked for your consent via a cookie banner. By accepting, you allow Abbey Bookkeeping Solutions to enhance your experience and tailor our services more effectively. If you choose not to consent, or later withdraw your consent, certain parts of the website may not function as intended.

 

9. Your Rights

 

Under the UK GDPR, you have a number of important rights in relation to your personal data. These rights are designed to give you greater transparency and control over how your data is used. Subject to certain limitations and exemptions, you have the right to:

• Access your personal data – you have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.

• Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data – you can ask us to correct or complete any information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete.

• Erasure (‘right to be forgotten’) – in certain circumstances, you may ask us to delete your personal data, such as when it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected.

• Restrict processing – you have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your data in certain scenarios, such as when you contest its accuracy or object to its processing.

• Object to processing – you may object to our processing of your personal data where we rely on a legitimate interest as our legal basis, or where we are using your data for direct marketing purposes.

• Data portability – you have the right to obtain a copy of your data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and to request that it be transferred to another data controller where feasible.

• Withdraw consent – where we rely on your consent to process personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.

 

10. Telephone Queries and Requests

 

When you contact us by telephone, we may collect personal data such as your name, contact details, and any other information you choose to provide during the call. This information may be recorded or noted for the purposes of responding to your query, fulfilling your request, or maintaining a record of the interaction for quality assurance, training, or legal purposes.

 

The legal basis for this processing is either:

• the performance of a contract or steps taken at your request prior to entering into a contract (e.g. making a service enquiry);

• our legitimate interests, such as providing customer support, improving service quality, and ensuring accurate records; or

• compliance with a legal obligation, where applicable.

 

We do not record telephone calls unless explicitly stated at the start of the call. Any data collected during telephone interactions will be handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy and retained only for as long as necessary for the purposes outlined above.

 

11. Written Queries and Requests

 

When you contact us in writing—whether by email, contact form, letter, or other means—we may collect and process personal data such as your name, contact details, and the contents of your message. This information is used solely for the purposes of responding to your enquiry, fulfilling your request, and maintaining a record of correspondence for reference, accountability, or compliance purposes.

The legal basis for processing this data will depend on the context and may include:

• The performance of a contract, or taking steps at your request prior to entering into a contract (e.g. asking for a quote or product information);

• Our legitimate interests, such as providing effective customer service, improving our services, or maintaining accurate business records; or

• Compliance with a legal obligation, where necessary (e.g. responding to formal complaints or regulatory enquiries).

 

All written communications are retained only for as long as necessary for the purposes stated above. We ensure your data is handled securely and kept confidential at all times.

 

12. Security

 

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including encryption, secure servers, and access controls.

 

13. International Transfers

 

If we transfer your data outside the UK/EU, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or reliance on adequacy decisions.

 

14. Changes to this Policy

 

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised "Effective Date.”

 

15. How to Complain

 

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us at info@abbeybookkeeping.co.uk

 

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.

 

• Website: https://www.ico.org.uk

• Phone: 0303 123 1113

• Address: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, United Kingdom

 

The ICO is the independent authority responsible for upholding information rights and can provide guidance and assistance in resolving data protection issues.