1. Who controls your information
Bondsmith Savings LTD is the controller of personal information collected through Merewell. Our address is 2nd Floor, 124-128 City Road, London, EC1V 2NJ. Our VAT ID is GB 373736668. Privacy enquiries can be sent to the company using [email protected] or +441612485534; these contact details are presented for reference and are not interactive links on this site.
This policy applies to information you provide through our enquiry forms, during consultations and in subsequent communications about Merewell services.
2. Information we collect
When you request a consultation, we may collect your name, email address, telephone number, the protection area you select and any information you choose to include in your message. During a consultation, you may also choose to discuss broad financial circumstances, approximate balances, ownership arrangements, valuable possessions and future planning priorities where relevant to the service you requested.
We do not ask for passwords, PINs, card security codes or online banking credentials. You should not send those details through the enquiry form or during routine correspondence.
Our web server and hosting providers may process technical information such as IP address, browser type, device information, timestamps and request logs for security, service delivery and troubleshooting.
3. Why we use personal information
We use enquiry data to respond to you, arrange and prepare for consultations, provide requested planning services, keep appropriate service records, issue invoices where a paid service is purchased, handle complaints and maintain the security and integrity of our operations.
We may use limited contact information to follow up on an enquiry where it is reasonable to do so. We do not sell personal information to advertisers. We do not use sensitive financial details to build advertising audiences.
4. Lawful bases
We generally process enquiry and consultation information because it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, or to perform a contract where you purchase a paid Merewell service. We may rely on legitimate interests for proportionate administrative follow-up, security, fraud prevention, service improvement and establishing or defending legal claims.
Where the law requires consent for a particular use, such as optional non-essential cookies or certain direct marketing, we will rely on consent and provide a way to withdraw it. We may also process information where necessary to comply with a legal obligation.
6. How long we keep information
Unconverted enquiries are normally retained for up to 18 months so that we can respond to follow-up questions and maintain an appropriate record of the enquiry. Records relating to purchased services, invoices and contractual matters may be retained for up to seven years where this is appropriate for tax, accounting, legal or record-keeping purposes.
We may keep information for longer where a dispute, complaint, legal hold or regulatory requirement makes this necessary. When information is no longer required, it is deleted or anonymised in accordance with our retention process.
7. Your data protection rights
Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law gives you rights to request access to your personal information, correction of inaccurate information, erasure, restriction of processing, objection to certain processing and data portability. Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent without affecting earlier lawful processing.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office if you believe your information has been handled unlawfully. We encourage you to contact us first if you would like us to investigate a concern.
8. Security and minimisation
We use organisational and technical measures appropriate to the nature of the information we handle. Access to client information is limited to people who need it for legitimate business purposes. We ask clients to avoid sending credentials or unnecessarily detailed account information because good security also depends on collecting no more data than the service requires.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when our services, suppliers or legal obligations change. The date at the top of this page shows when the current version was last revised. Material changes affecting how we use personal information will be communicated in an appropriate way.