Method IT Privacy Policy

Please read this privacy policy carefully and ensure that you understand it. Your acceptance of our privacy policy is deemed to occur upon your first use of our site.

Method IT, a trading name of Strategic Network Consulting Limited, understands that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your personal data is used and shared online. We respect and value the privacy of everyone who visits this website, www.method-it.co.uk (“Our Site”) and will only collect and use personal data in ways that are described here, and in a manner that is consistent with Our obligations and your rights under the UK data protection laws.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully and ensure that you understand it. Your acceptance of Our Privacy Policy is deemed to occur upon your first use of Our Site. If you do not accept and agree with this Privacy Policy, you must stop using Our Site immediately.

1. Definitions and Interpretation

In this Policy the following terms shall have the following meanings:

"Cookie" – means a small text file placed on your computer or device by Our Site when you visit certain parts of Our Site and/or when you use certain features of Our Site. Cookies are governed by the relevant parts of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. Details of the Cookies used by Our Site are set out in section 15, below;

"personal data" - means any and all data that relates to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified from that data. In this case, it means personal data that you give to us via Our Site. This definition shall, where applicable, incorporate the definitions provided in the EU Regulation 2016/679 – the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), as retained into the UK domestic law as the UK GDPR; and

"We/Us/Our" - means Method IT, a trading name of Strategic Network Consulting Limited, a limited company registered in England under company number 3372355, whose registered address is Ash House, Journeymans Way, Southend on Sea, Essex SS2 5TF, and whose main trading address is Ash House, Journeymans Way, Southend on Sea, Essex SS2 5TF.

2. Information About Us

  • 2.1. Our Site is owned and operated by Method IT, a trading name of Strategic Network Consulting Limited Ltd, a limited company registered in England under company number 3372355, whose registered address is Ash House, Journeymans Way, Southend on Sea, Essex SS2 5TF
  • 2.2. Our VAT number is GB 696 809 175
  • 2.3. Our Information Security Manager can be contacted by email at enquiries@method-it.co.uk, by telephone on 0345 521 6111 or by post at Ash House, Journeymans Way, Southend on Sea, Essex SS2 5TF
  • 2.4 This privacy policy aims to give you information on how We collect and processes your personal data through your use of Our Site, including any data you may provide through Our Site when you purchase a product or service.
  • 2.5 Our Site is not intended for children and We do not knowingly collect data relating to children.
  • 2.6 It is important that you read this privacy policy together with any other privacy policy or fair processing policy We may provide on specific occasions when We are collecting or processing personal data about you so that you are fully aware of how and why We are using your data. This privacy policy supplements other notices and privacy policies and is not intended to override them.
  • 2.7 We are the data controller and processor (as defined in the UK GDPR) and are responsible for your personal data. We have appointed a data protection officer (DPO) who is responsible for overseeing questions in relation to this privacy policy. If you have any questions about this privacy policy, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact the DPO using the details set out in section 16 below.

3. What does this policy cover?

This Privacy Policy applies only to your use of Our Site. Our Site may contain links to other websites. Please note that We have no control over how your data is collected, stored, or used by other websites and We advise you to check the privacy policies of any such websites before providing any data to them.

4. Your Rights

  • 4.1 As a data subject, you have the following rights under the UK GDPR, which this Policy and Our use of personal data have been designed to uphold:
    1. The right to be informed about Our collection and use of personal data
    2. The right to rectification if any personal data We hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete (please contact Us using the details in section 16)
    3. The right to be forgotten – i.e. the right to ask Us to delete any personal data We hold about you (We only hold your personal data for a limited time, as explained in section 6 but if you would like Us to delete it sooner, please contact Us using the details in section 16);
    4. The right to restrict (i.e. prevent) the processing of your personal data;
    5. The right to data portability (obtaining a copy of your personal data to re-use with another service or organisation);
    6. The right to object to Us using your personal data for particular purposes; and
  • 4.2 If you have any cause for complaint about Our use of your personal data, please contact Us using the details provided in section 16 and We will do Our best to solve the problem for you. If We are unable to help, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK’s supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office (www.ico.org.uk).
  • 4.3 For further information about your rights, please contact the Information Commissioner’s Office or your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

5. What Data We Collect

Depending upon your use of Our Site, We may collect some or all of the following personal and non-personal data (please also see section 13 on Our use of Cookies and similar technologies and Our Cookie Policy)

  1. name;
  2. business/company name
  3. contact information such as email addresses and telephone numbers;
  4. your website URL;
  5. IP address;
  6. web browser type and version;
  7. operating system;
  8. a list of URLs starting with a referring site, your activity on Our Site, and the site you exit to; and
  9. any information that you provide to Us in relation to an enquiry that you make to Us or which you otherwise supply to Us in connection with any services that you require from Us.

6. How is your data collected?

  • 6.1 We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:
  • 6.2 Direct interactions. You may give Us your identity and contact data by filling in forms or by corresponding with Us by post, phone, email or otherwise. This includes personal data you provide when you:
    1. apply for our products or services;
    2. create an account on Our Site;
    3. subscribe to our service or publications;
    4. request marketing to be sent to you;
    5. enter a competition, promotion or survey; or
    6. give Us feedback or contact us.
  • 6.3 Automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with Our Site, We will automatically collect technical data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using Cookies, server logs and other similar technologies. Please see our Cookie Policy for further details.
  • 6.4 Third parties or publicly available sources. We will receive personal data about you from various third parties and public sources as set out in this Policy.

7. How Do We Use Your Data

  • 7.1 All personal data is processed and stored securely, for no longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected. We will comply with Our obligations and safeguard your rights under the UK GDPR at all times. For more details on security see section 8, below.
  • 7.2 Our use of your personal data will always have a lawful basis, either because it is necessary for Our performance of a contract with you, because you have consented to Our use of your personal data (e.g. by subscribing to emails), or because it is in Our legitimate interests. Specifically, We may use your identity and contact data for the following purposes:
    1. Providing and managing your access to Our Site;
    2. Supplying Our products and/or services to you (please note that We require your personal data in order to enter into a contract with you);
    3. Personalising and tailoring Our products and/or services for you;
    4. Replying to emails from you;
    5. Supplying you with emails that you have opted into (you may unsubscribe or opt-out at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email);
    6. Analysing your use of Our Site and gathering feedback to enable Us to continually improve Our Site and your user experience;
  • 7.3 With your permission and/or where permitted by law, We may also use your data for marketing purposes which may include contacting you by email with information, news and offers on our products and/or services. We will not, however, send you any unsolicited marketing or spam and will take all reasonable steps to ensure that We fully protect your rights and comply with Our obligations under the UK GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.
  • 7.4 We may use your identity, contact, technical, usage and profile data to form a view on what We think you may want or need, or what may be of interest to you. This is how We decide which products, services and offers may be relevant for you.
  • 7.5 You will receive marketing communications from Us if you have requested information from Us or purchased goods or services from Us and you have not opted out of receiving that marketing.
  • 7.6 We will get your express opt-in consent before We share your personal data with any third party for marketing purposes.
  • 7.7 You can ask Us or third parties to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by logging into Our Site and checking or unchecking relevant boxes to adjust your marketing preferences or by following the opt-out links on any marketing message sent to you or by contacting Us at any time.
  • 7.8 We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which We collected it, unless We reasonably consider that We need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.
  • 7.9 If We need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, We will notify you and We will explain the legal basis which allows Us to do so.
  • 7.10 Please note that We may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.
  • 7.11 We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes We collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if We reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you.
  • 7.12 To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, We consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which We process your personal data and whether We can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.
  • 7.13 In some circumstances We will anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case We may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

8. How and where we store your data?

  • 8.1. We only keep your personal data for as long as We need to in order to use it as described above in section 7, and/or for as long as We have your permission to keep it.
  • 8.2 Your data will only be stored in the UK.
  • 8.3 Data security is very important to Us, and to protect your data We have taken suitable measures to safeguard and secure data collected through Our Site.
  • 8.4 Steps We take to secure and protect your data include:
    1. Using appropriate technical and organisational steps, and will store it on our database within a secure network.
    2. Notwithstanding the security measures that We take, it is important to remember that the transmission of data via the internet may not be completely secure and that you are advised to take suitable precautions when transmitting to Us data via the internet.

9. Do We Share Your Data?

  • 9.1 We only keep your personal data for as long as We need to in order to use it as described above in section 7, and/or for as long as We have your permission to keep it.
  • 9.2 Data security is very important to Us, and to protect your data We have taken suitable measures to safeguard and secure data collected through Our Site. As such, We are using appropriate technical and organisational steps, and storing data on Our database within a secure network.
  • 9.3 Notwithstanding the security measures that We take, it is important to remember that the transmission of data via the internet may not be uninterrupted and completely secure and that you are advised to take suitable precautions when transmitting to Us data via the internet.
  • 9.4 We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

10. International Transfers

  • 10.1 Some of our external third parties are based outside the UK so their processing of your personal data will involve a transfer of data outside the UK (for example ConnectWise, LLC, when using Order Porter).
  • 10.2 Whenever We transfer your personal data out of the UK, We ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:
    1. We will only transfer your personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data;
    2. Where We use certain service providers, We may use specific contracts approved for use in the UK which give personal data the same protection it has in the UK.
  • 10.3 Please contact Us if you want further information on the specific mechanism used by Us when transferring your personal data out of the UK.

11. What happens if our business changes hands?

  • 11.1 We may, from time to time, expand or reduce Our business and this may involve the sale and/or the transfer of control of all or part of Our business. Any personal data that you have provided will, where it is relevant to any part of Our business that is being transferred, be transferred along with that part and the new owner or newly controlling party will, under the terms of this Privacy Policy, be permitted to use that data only for the same purposes for which it was originally collected by Us.
  • 11.2 In the event that any of your data is to be transferred in such a manner, you will be contacted in advance and informed of the changes. When contacted you will be given the choice to have your data deleted or withheld from the new owner or controller.

12. How Can You Access Your Data

  • 12.1 When you submit personal data via Our Site, you may be given options to restrict Our use of your data. In particular, We aim to give you strong controls on Our use of your data for direct marketing purposes (including the ability to opt-out of receiving emails from Us which you may do by unsubscribing using the links provided in Our emails and at the point of providing your details).
  • 12.2 You may also wish to sign up to one or more of the preference services operating in the UK: The Telephone Preference Service (“the TPS”), the Corporate Telephone Preference Service (“the CTPS”), and the Mailing Preference Service (“the MPS”). These may help to prevent you receiving unsolicited marketing. Please note, however, that these services will not prevent you from receiving marketing communications that you have consented to receiving.

13. Your Right To Withhold Information

  • 13.1 You may access certain areas of Our Site without providing any data at all. However, to use all features and functions available on Our Site you may be required to submit or allow for the collection of certain data.
  • 13.2 Where We need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract We have with you, and you fail to provide that data when requested, We may not be able to perform the contract We have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with goods or services). In this case, We may have to cancel a product or service you have with Us but We will notify you if this is the case at the time.
  • 13.3 You may accept, decline or limit Our use of Cookies. For more information, see Our Cookie Policy.

14. How Can You Access Your Data

  • You have the right to ask for a copy of any of your personal data held by Us (where such data is held). Under the UK GDPR, no fee is payable and We will provide any and all information in response to your request free of charge. Please contact Us for more details at enquiries@method-it.co.uk or using the contact details below in section 16.

15. Our Use Of Cookies

  • For more information, see Our Cookie Policy.

16. Contacting Us

  • If you have any questions about Our Site or this Privacy Policy, please contact Us by email at enquiries@method-it.co.uk by telephone on 0345 521 6111 or by post at Ash House, Journeymans Way, Southend on Sea, Essex SS2 5TF. Please ensure that your query is clear, particularly if it is a request for information about the data We hold about you (as under section 14, above).

17. Changes To Our Privacy Policy

  • 17.1 We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time (for example, if the law changes). Any changes will be immediately posted on Our Site and you will be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Privacy Policy on your first use of Our Site following the alterations. We recommend that you check this page regularly to keep up-to-date.
  • 17.2 It is important that the personal data We hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep Us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with Us.