Privacy Policy

How we use your information

This privacy policy tells you what to expect when Microcare Systems Limited (“we, “us” or “Microcare”) collects personal information. It applies to information we collect about:

• Visitors to our website;
• People who buy products or use any of our services;
• People who notify under the Data Protection Act; and
• Job applicants and our current and former employees.

Visitors to our website

When someone visits www.microcare-systems.co.uk we use a third party service, Google Analytics, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way which does not identify anyone. We do not make, and do not allow Google to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our website. If we do want to collect personally identifiable information through our website, we will be up front about this. We will make it clear when we collect personal information and will explain what we intend to do with it.
Use of cookies
You can read more about how we use cookies on our Cookies page.
Search engine
Our website search and decision notice search is powered by WordPress.com. Search queries and results are logged anonymously to help us improve our website and search functionality. No user-specific data is collected by either us or any third party.
E-newsletter
We use a third party provider, Mail Chimp, to deliver our e-newsletter. We gather statistics around email opening and clicks using industry standard technologies including clear gifs to help us monitor and improve our e-newsletter. For more information, please see Mail Chimp’s privacy notice.

WordPress

We use a third party service, WordPress.com, to publish our blog. This site is hosted at WordPress.com, which is run by LCN.com. We use a standard WordPress service to collect anonymous information about users’ activity on the site, for example the number of users viewing pages on the site, to monitor and report on the effectiveness of the site and help us improve it. WordPress requires visitors that want to post a comment to enter a name and email address. For more information about how WordPress processes data, please see LCN’s privacy notice.

Security and performance

We use a third party service to help maintain the security and performance of our website. To deliver this service it processes the IP addresses of visitors to our website.
We use reasonable security procedures to protect personal data from unauthorised loss, misuse, alteration or destruction. However, security cannot be absolutely guaranteed against all threats. Access to personal data is limited to those who have a need to know. All our staff that access personal data are required to maintain confidentiality of such information.

People who use our services

We offer various products and services. We have to hold the details of the people who have requested the product or service in order to provide it. However, we only use these details to provide the product or service the person has requested and for other closely related purposes. We will use your personal information if we consider it is in our legitimate business interests so that we can operate as an efficient and effective business.
As a customer or potential customer the information we will hold in order to provide you with a product or service will include:
• Your contact details and other information to confirm your identity and your communications with us. This includes your name, gender, business/private address, phone number, date of birth and email address.
• Your payment and financial information.
• Your communications with us, including emails and phone calls. We will also keep records of any settings or communication preferences you choose.

We will use your personal information, as a customer, to send you direct marketing and to better identify products and services that interest you.

We will send you information (about the products and services we provide) by phone, post, or email. We also use the information we have about you to personalise these messages wherever we can as we believe it is important to make them relevant to you. We do this because we have a legitimate business interest in keeping you up to date with our products and services. We also check that you are happy for us to send you marketing messages by email before we do so. In each message we send, you also have the option to opt out.
You can ask us to stop sending you marketing information or withdraw your permission at any time.

Credit checks

We may undertake a credit check before we provide you with a product or service (including upgrades or renewals), or sometimes when you use our products and services. This will involve us having to use personal information you have given us together with information we have collected from credit reference agencies or fraud prevention agencies. We use this information to manage our credit risk, and prevent and detect fraud and money laundering. We’ll also use these organisations to confirm your identity. When they get a search from us, a ‘footprint’ goes on your file which other organisations might see. We might also share the information with other organisations. We do this because it’s in our, and the organisations’, legitimate interests to prevent fraud and money laundering, and to check identities, to protect our business and to keep to laws that apply to us.
If you don’t become one of our customers, we’ll still keep the result of our credits checks about you if we have a legal obligation and it’s in our legitimate interests to help prevent or detect fraud. Fraud prevention agencies can hold your personal information for different periods of time, and if you are considered to pose a fraud or money laundering risk, your information can be held by us and the organisations we share it with for up to six years.
If you give us false or inaccurate information which we identify as fraudulent, we’ll pass that on to fraud prevention agencies. We might also share it with law enforcement agencies, as may the agencies we have shared the information with.
If we, a credit reference or fraud prevention agency, decide that you are a credit, fraud or money laundering risk, we may refuse to provide the services or financing you have asked for, or we may stop providing existing services to you.
We send credit reference and fraud prevention agencies information about applications, and they keep that information. We might also give them details of your accounts and bills, including how you manage them.

Data Retention

We always delete your information when we no longer need to keep it. We will keep the following personal information as follows:
• A summary copy of your bills for six years from the date of your last bill;
• Your contact details on file while you are one of our customers and for six years after; and
• Details relating to any dispute for six years after it was closed.

In other cases we will store personal information for the periods needed for the purposes for which the information was collected or for which it is to be further processed or for longer if we need to by law. Otherwise we delete it.

People who call our helpline

When you call our helpline we collect Calling Line Identification (CLI) information. We use this information to help improve its efficiency and effectiveness.

People who email us

Any email sent to us, including any attachments, may be monitored and used by us for reasons of security and for monitoring compliance with office policy. Email monitoring or blocking software may also be used. Please be aware that you have a responsibility to ensure that any email you send to us is within the bounds of the law.

Children

We understand the importance of protecting children’s privacy online. Our site is not intentionally designed for or directed at children under the age of 16. We never knowingly collect or retain information about anyone under the age of 16 except as part of an engagement to provide services.

Job applicants, current and former employees

When individuals apply to work at Microcare, we will only use the information they supply to us to process their application and to monitor recruitment statistics. Where we want to disclose information to a third party, for example where we want to take up a reference or obtain a ‘disclosure’ from the Criminal Records Bureau we will not do so without informing them beforehand unless the disclosure is required by law.
Personal information about unsuccessful candidates will be held for 12 months after the recruitment exercise has been completed, it will then be destroyed or deleted. We retain de-personalised statistical information about applicants to help inform our recruitment activities, but no individuals are identifiable from that data.
Once a person has taken up employment with us, we will compile a file relating to their employment. The information contained in this will be kept secure and will only be used for purposes directly relevant to that person’s employment. Once their employment with us has ended, we will retain the file in accordance with the requirements of our retention schedule and then delete it.

Complaints or queries

We try to meet the highest standards when collecting and using personal information. For this reason, we take any complaints we receive about this very seriously. We encourage people to bring it to our attention if they think that our collection or use of information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate. We would also welcome any suggestions for improving our procedures.
This privacy policy was does not provide exhaustive detail of all aspects of our collection and use of personal information. However, we are happy to provide any additional information or explanation needed. Any requests for this should be sent to the address below.

Access to personal information

We try to be as open as it can be in terms of giving people access to their personal information. Individuals can find out if we hold any personal information by making a ‘subject access request’. We charge £10 for requests for personal information so please enclose a cheque made out to Microcare Systems Ltd with your request. If we do hold information about you we will:
• give you a description of it;
• tell you why we are holding it;
• tell you who it could be disclosed to; and
• let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.
To make a request to us for any personal information we may hold you need to put the request in writing addressing it to:

Microcare Systems Limited
Phoenix House,
100 Brierley Street,
Bury,
BL9 9HN

Disclosure of personal information

In many circumstances we will not disclose personal data without consent.
However, where we use other service providers to process personal information to help us provide services to you for example, processing of payment transactions, undertaking fraud and credit checks and collecting debts. Where we use another organisation, we still control your personal information and have strict controls in place to make sure it is properly protected.
In certain circumstances we can pass on personal data without consent for example, to prevent and detect crime, requests of government or law enforcement agencies or where it is required by applicable laws, court orders or government regulations.

Links to other websites

This privacy notice does not cover the links within this site linking to other websites. We encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit.

Changes to this privacy policy

We keep our privacy policy under regular review and it may change from time to time by us posting a new version on our website.

How to contact us

If you want to request further information about our privacy policy you can write to us at:

Microcare Systems Limited
Phoenix House,
100 Brierley Street,
Bury,
BL9 9HN