Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

This privacy policy applies to www.stern-meb.co.uk and the services provided through it. The site and the underlying business is operated by:

Stern Site Services Ltd, trading as Stern MEB.
Registered office: 19 Mill Lane, Woodford Green, Essex, IG8 0UN.
Companies House registration: 13888682.
Phone: 0800 612 7654.
Email: info@stern-meb.co.uk.

For the purposes of the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, Stern Site Services Ltd is the data controller for any personal data you provide to us through this website or in the course of doing business with us.

2. What information we collect

We collect personal data when you actively give it to us, and a small amount of technical data automatically when you use the site.

Information you give us

• Your name, phone number, email address and postcode when you complete an enquiry form, request a site survey, or fill in a Lead Form on a Meta or Google ad.
• Details of the service you’re enquiring about (e.g. EV charger install, EICR, fire alarm, fit-out) and any relevant property or business detail you choose to share.
• Records of any phone calls, emails, WhatsApp messages, text messages or other correspondence between us.
• Any other information you actively send to us — for example a photo of a fuse board, a property address, or company information for a workplace enquiry.

Information collected automatically

• Your IP address, broad geographic location, browser type, device type and operating system.
• Pages visited, time on each page, the page that referred you to us, and search terms used to find us.
• Cookies and similar tracking technologies (see Section 6).

3. How we use your information

We use your personal data only for clearly defined purposes:

• To respond to your enquiry — so we can call or email you back, arrange a site survey, or send a quote.
• To deliver the work — schedule visits, issue NICEIC certificates, file OZEV grant paperwork on your behalf, and provide aftercare.
• To meet our regulatory obligations — issue compliance certificates (EICR, BS 5266 emergency lighting, BS 5839 fire alarm), file building notices where required, retain records as our trade bodies (NICEIC, OZEV, TrustMark, CHAS) require.
• To improve the service — analyse anonymised website usage to make pages clearer and find content gaps.
• To run advertising — show you and people like you our adverts on Facebook, Instagram and Google. You can opt out at any time (see Section 8).

4. The legal basis for processing your data

Under UK GDPR we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. The bases we rely on are:

• Consent — when you complete an enquiry form, you are consenting to us using your contact details to respond. You can withdraw consent at any time by emailing info@stern-meb.co.uk.
• Contract — once you’ve engaged us to do work, we process your data to deliver that contract.
• Legitimate interest — to keep records of jobs, follow up on quotes, and analyse anonymised website behaviour to improve our service. We’ve balanced this against your rights and have concluded that the processing is reasonable and expected.
• Legal obligation — to retain the records our trade bodies and HMRC require us to keep.

5. Who we share your information with

We do not sell your personal data and we do not share it for anyone else’s marketing. We share data only with the third parties that help us run our business:

• Our website host and email provider — for storing the site and your enquiry safely.
• Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and Google — when you click through from one of our ads, the platforms record the click and may pass anonymised conversion data back so we can measure performance. See Section 6 for cookies and Section 8 to opt out.
• NICEIC, OZEV, TrustMark, CHAS — when we issue a certificate or file a grant on your behalf, your details are submitted to the relevant scheme. This is a regulatory requirement and a normal part of the work you’ve engaged us to do.
• HMRC — for invoicing and tax compliance.
• Our trades insurance providers — only if a claim is made.

None of our service providers are permitted to use your data for their own purposes.

6. Cookies and tracking

This website uses a small number of cookies and tracking pixels. The most significant ones are:

• Functional cookies set by WordPress and the page builder so the site works (login state, preferences). These are not used for tracking.
• Meta Pixel and Conversions API — sends us anonymised information about which ads you saw before contacting us, so we can measure which adverts are working. The pixel can be blocked at the browser level (see Section 8).
• Google Analytics or Google Ads tag — same purpose as the Meta Pixel, for our Google ads.
• RankMath SEO — does not place cookies on visitors. It runs server-side only.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may stop parts of the site from working as expected.

7. How long we keep your data

We hold your data only for as long as we genuinely need it.

• Enquiries that don’t become jobs — held for up to 12 months in case you come back to us, then deleted.
• Customer records — held for 6 years after the last job, in line with HMRC’s record-keeping rules and the standard period for civil claims under the Limitation Act.
• Compliance certificates (EICR, fire alarm, emergency lighting, NICEIC certificates) — held for the certificate’s stated validity period plus 2 years, in line with industry guidance.
• Marketing and analytics data — held for 24 months.

8. Your rights and how to opt out of advertising

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Correct any data that is inaccurate.
• Delete your data, where we don’t have a regulatory or contractual reason to keep it.
• Restrict or object to our processing of your data.
• Data portability — receive your data in a portable format.
• Withdraw consent for any marketing-related processing at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, email info@stern-meb.co.uk with the subject line “Data request”. We’ll respond within 30 days.

To opt out of personalised advertising on Meta platforms, visit facebook.com/adpreferences. To opt out of personalised Google ads, visit adssettings.google.com. Both let you control what advertisers like Stern MEB can show you across the web.

9. Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your data: HTTPS encryption on the website, access controls on our internal systems, password discipline, and regular review of who can see what. No transmission over the internet can be guaranteed 100% secure, but we work to industry best practice.

10. Children’s data

Our services are aimed at adult homeowners, landlords and businesses. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18.

11. International transfers

Most of our data stays within the UK. Where we use service providers based in the United States or the EU (for example Meta and Google), data may be transferred outside the UK. Those providers are bound by Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent safeguards approved by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top of the page reflects when it was last reviewed. Any material changes will be highlighted on this page for at least 30 days.

13. Contact and complaints

If you have a question about this policy or about how we handle your data, please contact us first:

Stern Site Services Ltd
19 Mill Lane, Woodford Green, Essex, IG8 0UN
Email: info@stern-meb.co.uk
Phone: 0800 612 7654

If you’re unhappy with our response, you have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
Helpline: 0303 123 1113