Call Handling Service is committed to protecting your privacy and personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal information when you visit our website, contact us, request information about our services or use our telephone answering and call handling services.

Call Handling Service is a trading style of Connect Communications Services Ltd, registered in England and Wales under company number 08850911.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Connect Communications Services Ltd is the data controller responsible for personal information where it determines how and why that information is processed. When providing call handling services on behalf of a customer, we may instead act as a data processor and process information according to that customer’s instructions.

What Personal Information do we Collect?

We may collect personal information when you contact us, submit an enquiry, request a quotation, become a customer or use our services.

This information may include:

• Your name
• Company or organisation name
• Job title
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Business or billing address
• Account and service information
• Details about the call handling services you require
• Payment and transaction information
• Information contained within enquiries or correspondence
• Records of communications between you and us

When providing telephone answering and call handling services for our customers, we may also process information provided by callers. This may include names, telephone numbers, email addresses, messages and other information voluntarily provided during a call.

Our website may also collect limited technical information, such as your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited and information collected through cookies or similar technologies.

How do we Collect Personal Information?

We may collect personal information directly from you when you:

• Complete a contact or enquiry form
• Contact us by telephone or email
• Request information about our services
• Request a quotation
• Set up a call handling service
• Become a customer
• Provide instructions about how calls should be handled
• Use our telephone answering services
• Contact us about your account
• Communicate with our team

We may also process information provided by individuals who call businesses using our telephone answering and call handling services.

Some technical information may be collected automatically when you use our website.

How do we Use your Personal Information?

We may use personal information to:

• Respond to enquiries
• Provide information about our services
• Prepare quotations
• Set up and manage customer accounts
• Provide telephone answering services
• Provide virtual receptionist services
• Take and deliver messages
• Transfer calls
• Manage appointments and diaries where required
• Follow agreed call handling instructions
• Provide customer service support
• Manage customer relationships
• Process payments
• Maintain financial and accounting records
• Communicate about your account or services
• Operate and improve our website
• Improve our services
• Maintain website and business security
• Comply with legal and regulatory obligations
• Establish, exercise or defend legal claims

We only process personal information where we have an appropriate lawful basis for doing so.

How do we Process Information Provided During Calls?

As part of our telephone answering services, Call Handling Service may process personal information provided by individuals calling businesses that use our services.

Depending on the customer’s requirements, this information may include:

• Caller name
• Telephone number
• Email address
• Company or organisation
• Reason for calling
• Appointment or booking information
• Messages for the intended recipient
• Other information voluntarily provided during the call

Our call handlers may collect this information and pass it to the relevant customer according to the call handling instructions provided to us.

Where we process caller information solely on behalf of one of our business customers, the customer will generally determine the purposes and means of that processing and may therefore act as the data controller. Connect Communications Services Ltd may act as a data processor in these circumstances.

The relevant customer’s privacy policy may also apply to information provided during these calls.

What is our Lawful Basis for Processing your Information?

UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for processing personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, we may process information because:

• It is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.
• It is necessary to perform a contract with you.
• We have a legitimate interest in responding to enquiries, managing customer relationships, providing our services and operating our business.
• We need to comply with a legal obligation.
• You have provided consent for a particular use of your information.

Where we act as a data processor for one of our customers, we process personal information according to the customer’s documented instructions and the applicable contractual arrangements.

Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time.

Marketing Communications

We may use your contact details to provide information about Call Handling Service and related services where we have a lawful basis to do so.

Where consent is required, we will obtain it before sending marketing communications.

You can ask us to stop sending marketing communications at any time by contacting us or using an unsubscribe option provided within the communication.

Stopping marketing communications will not prevent us from contacting you where necessary in connection with an enquiry, account or service.

Who do we Share Personal Information With?

We do not sell your personal information.

Where necessary to operate our business or provide our services, we may share relevant information with:

• Customers for whom we provide call handling services
• Contractors and service providers
• Telephone and telecommunications providers
• Call management technology providers
• Website hosting and IT providers
• Email and communication providers
• Payment and accounting providers
• Professional advisers
• Website analytics providers
• Government authorities, regulators or law enforcement agencies where required by law

We only share personal information where there is an appropriate reason to do so.

Where another organisation processes personal information on our behalf, we take appropriate steps to ensure information is handled securely and in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

International Data Transfers

Some technology and service providers may process or store personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we take appropriate measures to ensure the transfer complies with UK data protection law and that appropriate safeguards are used where required.

How Long do we Keep Personal Information?

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.

The length of time information is retained may depend on:

• The type of information
• Why the information was collected
• Our relationship with you
• Whether you have an active account
• Contractual requirements
• Legal and regulatory obligations
• Accounting and taxation requirements
• Whether information may be required in connection with a legal claim

Where we process information on behalf of a customer, retention may also depend on that customer’s instructions and our contractual arrangements with them.

When personal information is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise or dispose of it where appropriate.

How do we Protect your Personal Information?

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

Access to personal information is restricted to individuals who reasonably require it to perform their work.

We also take appropriate measures to protect information processed as part of our telephone answering and call handling services.

No method of electronic transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we process.

Do we Record Telephone Calls?

Telephone calls may be recorded where this forms part of the relevant call handling service and there is an appropriate lawful basis for doing so.

Where calls are recorded, appropriate information will be provided to callers where required.

Recordings may be processed for purposes such as service delivery, quality monitoring, training, resolving queries or disputes and meeting legal or contractual requirements.

How long recordings are retained may depend on the service being provided, the reason for the recording and, where applicable, the instructions of the relevant customer.

Cookies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to operate correctly, understand how visitors use the website and improve its performance.

Some cookies are strictly necessary for the website to function. Other cookies may be used for purposes such as analytics, functionality or advertising.

Where required, non-essential cookies will only be used after you have provided the appropriate consent.

You can accept, reject or manage non-essential cookies through the cookie consent options available on our website.

Further information about the cookies used on our website can be found in our Cookie Policy.

Third-Party Websites

Our website may contain links to websites operated by third parties.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of third-party websites.

If you follow a link to another website, we recommend reviewing that organisation’s privacy policy before providing personal information.

What are your Data Protection Rights?

Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law may give you the right to:

• Request access to personal information held about you
• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
• Ask us to delete your personal information in certain circumstances
• Ask us to restrict how your information is processed
• Object to certain types of processing
• Object to the use of your information for direct marketing
• Request the transfer of certain personal information to you or another organisation
• Withdraw consent where we rely on consent

These rights are subject to certain legal conditions and exemptions.

Where Call Handling Service processes personal information solely on behalf of one of our customers, requests concerning that information may need to be handled by the relevant customer as the data controller.

How can you Request Access to your Personal Information?

You can contact us if you would like to know what personal information we hold about you.

We may need to verify your identity before providing information to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure.

We will respond to valid requests within the timeframe required by applicable data protection legislation.

There is normally no charge for exercising your data protection rights, although there are limited circumstances where a reasonable fee may be charged or a request may be refused where permitted by law.

How to Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, how we process personal information or your data protection rights, please contact:

Call Handling Service
A trading style of Connect Communications Services Ltd
Company Number: 08850911

How to Make a Complaint

If you have concerns about how we collect or use your personal information, please contact us first so we can investigate the matter.

You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent data protection regulator.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our website, services, business practices or legal obligations.