01 Who we are

Blake Telecom Ltd is a provider of business phone systems, broadband, and mobile services in the UK. We are the data controller for the personal data described in this policy.

Registered office

2 Peel Court, St Cuthberts Way, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 1GB

Company number

11554660 (England and Wales)

VAT number

227604711

ICO registration

[ICO registration number to be confirmed and inserted here]

02 Information we collect

Personal data

• Contact information — name, address, email, phone number, and details of your query or order.
• Financial information — bank details, payment card information, and billing address.
• Service usage information — call records, text messages, internet usage data, and service preferences.
• Technical information — IP address, existing telecoms equipment, network details, operating system, and device identifiers, so we can plan a smooth switch from your previous provider.

Non-personal data

• Browser information — browser type, language, and version.
• Device information — device type, operating system, and unique device identifiers.
• Usage data — pages visited, time spent on the site, and similar analytics.

03 How we collect it

Directly from you

• When you create an account on our website.
• When you enquire about our services by form, email, or phone.
• When you place an order or subscribe to a service.
• When you take part in a survey or give us feedback.

Automatically, as you browse

• Cookies — small files placed on your device; see section 13.
• Web beacons — small graphics or code used to measure how pages and emails perform.
• Log files — your IP address, browser type, internet service provider, referring or exit pages, and time stamps.

From third parties

Including credit reference agencies, fraud prevention agencies, and partners who provide services on our behalf.

04 How we use your data

• Providing your service — setting up, managing, and improving the telecoms services you've asked for.
• Billing — processing payments, running credit checks, and collecting debts.
• Support — responding to enquiries and troubleshooting issues.
• Marketing — telling you about products, services, and offers, where you haven't opted out (see section 6).
• Legal compliance — meeting tax, anti-fraud, and anti-money-laundering obligations.
• Improving our services — analysis and research to make what we offer better.
• Fraud prevention — protecting our rights and the rights of others.

05 Our legal basis for processing

UK data protection law requires us to have a valid legal basis for every way we use your data:

06 Marketing calls, texts & email

Alongside the UK GDPR, our marketing communications are governed by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). In practice, this means:

• We only send marketing emails or texts to existing customers about similar products and services (the "soft opt-in"), or where you've otherwise given consent.
• We check the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and Corporate TPS before making outbound marketing calls to numbers not already registered as customers.
• Every marketing email includes a way to unsubscribe, and you can ask us to stop at any time by emailing accounts@blake-telecom.co.uk or using the unsubscribe link.
• Opting out of marketing won't affect service messages we need to send you, such as billing or fault notices.

07 Who we share data with

• Service providers — payment processors, technical support partners, accounting software, platform providers, and marketing agencies who work on our behalf.
• Legal and regulatory bodies — credit reference agencies, emergency services, law enforcement, and regulators, where the law requires it.
• A future buyer of the business — if Blake Telecom is ever merged, acquired, or sells assets, your data may transfer to the new owner, who would remain bound by this policy.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

08 International transfers

Some of our service providers are based outside the UK. Where that happens, we only transfer personal data where one of the following applies:

• the destination country has a UK "adequacy" ruling confirming it protects data to a similar standard; or
• we have put a UK International Data Transfer Agreement (or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses) in place with the recipient.

You can ask us for details of the specific safeguard used for any transfer by contacting us (section 17).

09 How long we keep it

We don't keep personal data longer than we need to. In practice:

Where we can't fully delete data (for example, because it sits in a backup), we put it beyond active use until it's cycled out in the ordinary course of our retention schedule.

10 Automated decisions

We don't make decisions based solely on automated processing that have a legal or similarly significant effect on you. The one exception is automated credit and fraud checks carried out by credit reference agencies when you apply for an account; these inform, but don't solely determine, our decision, and you can ask us to explain or review any outcome by contacting us (section 17).

11 Keeping your data secure

• Encryption — sensitive information is encrypted in transit.
• Access controls — only authorised staff can access your data, and they're bound by confidentiality obligations.
• Regular audits — we review our data protection practices to keep them current.

12 Your rights

Under the UK GDPR, you have the following rights over your personal data:

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in section 17. We'll respond within one month.

13 Cookies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit our website. They help our site work, improve your experience, and tell us how visitors use our pages.

How we ask for consent

When you first visit our site, a cookie banner lets you accept or reject non-essential cookies, and revisit your choice at any time. We only set non-essential cookies once you've given consent, in line with PECR.

Types of cookies we use

• Essential — necessary for the site to work, and always on.
• Performance — tell us how visitors use our site, so we can improve it.
• Functional — remember your choices and preferences.
• Targeting — used to show you more relevant advertising.

You can also manage or delete cookies through your browser settings at any time. See allaboutcookies.org for guidance, though blocking cookies may affect how well our site works for you.

14 Children's privacy

Blake Telecom provides services to businesses, and our website is not directed at children. We don't knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 13, the UK's age of consent for information society services. If you believe a child has given us personal data, please contact us (section 17) and we'll delete it promptly.

15 Other websites

Our website may link to third-party sites. This policy only covers Blake Telecom, so we'd encourage you to check the privacy policy of any other site you visit.

16 Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or the law. We'll post the new version here, with an updated date at the top of the page. Continuing to use our website or services after a change means you accept the update.

17 Contact us