Privacy Policy

Privacy policy — updated 10 September 2026.

Who is responsible for your information?

John Sweet, trading as Tameside Handyman, is responsible for deciding how personal information is used to handle enquiries and provide handyman services. This notice explains the information handled through this website and its connected services.

For privacy questions or to exercise your information rights, use the Privacy request form.

Information handled through the website

• Enquiries and quote requests: your name, email address, house number and street, town or area, postcode, phone number, message and details of the work you need.
• Photos you choose to attach: images of the job or problem. Please avoid including people, documents, payment details, access codes or anything unrelated to the work.
• Bookings: the contact, appointment and service details you provide through the existing SimplyBook booking service. Any additional information requested is shown in that service.
• Technical information: hosting services may record your IP address, requested pages, access times and browser details. The enquiry forms also use security identifiers and delivery-status records to protect the service and prevent duplicate messages.

Required fields are marked on each form. If required information is missing, that form cannot be submitted. Photos are optional. Contact and Toilet Repair Quote messages go to the business enquiry inbox. Privacy requests go to a separate private inbox. Replies go to the email address supplied in the form.

Why information is used

Enquiry and job details are used to understand requests, prepare quotes, arrange appointments, communicate about work and provide the services requested.

The appropriate lawful basis depends on the purpose:

• Contract: handling steps you ask for before entering a contract, such as preparing a quote, and providing an agreed service.
• Legitimate interests: answering general questions, protecting the website, preventing spam and duplicate messages, and dealing with disputes. The relevant interests are running a reliable service, responding to customers and protecting the business and its users; these must be balanced against your rights.
• Legal obligation: keeping records or providing information where applicable law requires it.

John uses the separate SimplyBook booking service for occasional marketing emails, including its subscription and unsubscribe controls. The enquiry forms on this website do not add people to that mailing list. SimplyBook publishes its own privacy policy and cookie policy.

Occasional marketing emails: John may send occasional emails about his services or offers. These should be sent only where permitted by the applicable marketing rules: for example, with your consent, or where contact details were obtained during a sale or genuine discussions about a sale, the offers concern similar services, and a clear opt-out was offered both when the details were collected and in each marketing email. Consent is the data-protection basis where you agree to marketing; legitimate interests may apply to permitted existing-customer marketing. Sending an enquiry is not, by itself, consent to marketing. The current website forms do not subscribe you to a marketing list.

You can ask to stop marketing at any time through the Privacy request form. Marketing emails must provide a simple way to opt out. Opting out does not prevent messages needed to deal with your enquiry, booking or agreed work. A minimal record of an objection may need to be kept so that you are not added back to a marketing list.

Messages and uploaded photos

Accepted form messages are sent by email. Uploaded JPEG and PNG photos are checked and converted before attachment; the conversion removes embedded image metadata. The form does not publish your photos in a public gallery.

The website’s delivery log stores security hashes, reference numbers, timestamps and delivery states, rather than a copy of the message or photo. This does not remove the email and attachments from the receiving mailbox or its backups.

Service providers and other recipients

• SiteGround: provides hosting for this website. Website and email infrastructure handle information needed to operate the site and deliver messages.
• SimplyBook.me: provides the existing booking service and processes information entered there. Its privacy information explains its handling of data. This service remains separate from the website enquiry forms.
• YouTube/Google and Vimeo: provide embedded videos. Loading their players connects your browser to those providers.
• Elfsight: provides the embedded customer-review display and receives technical information when its widget loads. See its privacy policy.

Information may also need to be disclosed where legally required or where necessary to handle a legal claim. This does not mean enquiry details are routinely shared with video or review providers: those embedded services receive browser and usage information through their own connections.

The existing booking widget also connects to Metricool for website-visit analytics. Metricool describes its tracker as recording the page viewed and deriving country from an IP address without setting cookies. This is separate from sending enquiry details. See Metricool’s explanation.

Where information is processed

Connected services may process information in more than one country. SimplyBook publishes a Data Processing Agreement describing its processors and international-transfer safeguards, including UK safeguards where applicable. The arrangements and optional integrations applying to this business’s accounts still need to be confirmed. Information is not necessarily processed only in the UK.

How long information is kept

Enquiries and related emails or photos: John normally aims to delete an enquiry promptly if it is rejected straight away. Enquiries kept for future reference may be retained for up to two years.

Completed-job emails: John normally keeps these for up to around two years. This is separate from invoices and other records needed for accounting, warranties or disputes.

Photographs of completed work: photographs John takes and uses to show his work on this website or Facebook may be kept without a fixed end date. This is separate from photos submitted with an enquiry. Where a photograph identifies a person or can be linked to them, its publication basis and continuing retention need to be reviewed; the two-year email period does not automatically apply to these portfolio photographs.

Invoices: John currently keeps invoices without a fixed deletion date. The retention schedule must distinguish the records required for tax, accounting or legal claims from personal information no longer needed. Indefinite retention is not treated as a blanket entitlement to keep personal information forever.

Booking records: the retention period in the separate booking service remains to be confirmed. Existing emails, photographs, invoices and bookings are managed separately from the website forms.

Website delivery records: completed form-delivery records become eligible for removal after seven days and are cleared during subsequent submission processing. Unresolved delivery records are retained for investigation so that an uncertain submission is not automatically sent again. Abuse-rate counters expire after one hour and are cleared during later form activity. These periods do not apply to messages in email accounts.

Hosting logs and backups: SiteGround documents raw access-log history of up to 30 days and up to 30 daily backups on shared hosting. Manual recovery copies are separate and are not covered by that rolling period. The retention of manual copies and other business records remains to be settled. Removing an active record does not immediately remove existing backup copies.

Cookies and embedded services

The forms use session cookies called tameside_contact and tameside_quote and tameside_privacy. These support form security and delivery-status recovery. They are session cookies, although a browser’s session-restore feature may preserve them. Blocking them can stop the forms working.

The website’s own code does not currently include an analytics or advertising tracker. The SimplyBook booking widget, Elfsight reviews and YouTube or Vimeo players load automatically on the pages where they appear and connect your browser to their providers. These services may use cookies or similar technologies. YouTube’s privacy-enhanced player is used, but it still connects to Google and can use browser storage. Vimeo’s Do Not Track setting is enabled to reduce player analytics; essential security cookies may still be used.

You can manage or remove cookies in your browser settings, although blocking them may affect booking or embedded content. Third-party cookie and storage purposes, and any applicable consent requirements, remain under review. The external booking link opens SimplyBook directly under its own controls.

Embedded-service storage

• SimplyBook: the widget uses a session cookie called sb_widget and its booking domain uses session identifiers to operate the booking system. Browser session restoration can preserve session cookies.
• Elfsight reviews: elfsight_viewed_recently avoids repeated view counting and is documented as lasting 15 seconds. A session security cookie called _cfuvid was also observed. Elfsight says technical information such as IP address and browser type is retained for seven days for security and fault detection.
• YouTube: the player has been observed using local browser storage. Browser storage can remain until cleared; privacy-enhanced mode does not mean storage-free operation.
• Vimeo: its player can use security cookies, including __cf_bm (documented as 30 minutes). The Do Not Track setting does not remove cookies already stored by Vimeo.

These observations are a snapshot, not a complete fixed list for every browser or interaction. Provider behaviour can change. The automatic-loading setup and any applicable consent or objection requirements remain under review. Details are available from SimplyBook, Elfsight and Vimeo.

SiteGround’s Data Processing Agreement covers hosting processing and includes an International Data Transfer Agreement for UK data. It provides for removal from backup systems within a maximum of 60 days after relevant deletion or service termination, subject to legal retention exceptions. This differs from the ordinary rolling backup period and does not cover copies we keep separately.

Your information rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis used, you can ask for access to your personal information, correction of inaccurate information, deletion, restriction of use, or a portable copy. You can object to processing based on legitimate interests and to direct marketing. Where consent is relied on, you can withdraw it without affecting the lawfulness of earlier use.

These rights are not absolute; for example, some records may need to be retained to meet a legal obligation or deal with a claim. Reasonable information may be needed to verify your identity before disclosing records.

Requests are normally handled free of charge and without undue delay, usually within one month. The law allows exceptions and extensions in certain circumstances; you should be told if one applies.

Questions and complaints

You can raise a concern with John through the Privacy request form. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office. Visit the ICO complaints page for information about making a complaint.

Changes to this notice

The notice will be updated when the way information is handled changes. The date above identifies when this notice was last updated.