Privacy Policy
Last updated:
This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it and what your rights are. We want it to be easy to read. If you have any questions, email us.
Who we are
PBACopywriting is a trading name of Philemon Asrat, a sole trader. In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" mean PBACopywriting. We are based in London, UK. We are the "controller" of the personal data described in this policy. That means we decide how and why it is used.
- Address: We are an online agency and do not have offices open to the public. Our postal address is: PBACopywriting, Office 21560, 182-184 High Street North, East Ham, London, E6 2JA
- Email: ContactUs@PBACopywriting.com
- Website: pbacopywriting.com
We follow the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).
If you book a call through our website
What we collect
When you fill in our booking form, we collect:
- your name
- your email address
- your phone number (if you give it)
- your business name
- your website (if you give it)
- your message (if you write one)
- the services you picked and the price totals shown
Then you book a time in Calendly. Calendly collects the details you enter there, such as your name, email address and chosen time, and shares them with us.
Why we use it
We use this data to reply to you, hold the call, and prepare a quote or proposal for you.
Our lawful basis
- Taking steps at your request before entering into a contract with you.
- Our legitimate interests in answering enquiries and running our business.
If you are our client
What we collect
- contact details for you and your team
- details of your business and your project
- invoices and payment records
- logins and access details you share with us (for example, your website, Google Business Profile or ad accounts)
- content you send us, such as photos, text and customer information that appears on your website or social media
- our emails and messages with you
Why we use it
We use this data to deliver the services you hired us for, manage our agreement, send invoices and keep accounts.
Our lawful basis
- Performing our contract with you.
- Legal obligation, for keeping tax and accounting records.
- Our legitimate interests in running our business, such as dealing with questions or disputes.
We only use your access details to do the work you asked for. We store them securely and you can remove our access at any time.
Sometimes, while working on your website or accounts, we may handle personal data about your own customers (for example, enquiries sent through your website form). In that case, you are the controller and we act for you. We only use that data to do the work you asked for.
If we contacted you by cold email
We send a small number of emails to local businesses to tell them about services that may help them. If you received one, this section explains how we got your details.
What we collect
We only collect business contact details and public facts about your business:
- business name
- business website
- public business email address
- the name of the person at the business, if it is published
- details from your Google Business Profile, such as your category, reviews summary, location and opening hours
- public facts from your website, which we use to make our email relevant to you
We do not collect private personal details, and we do not buy lists of private individuals.
Where we get it
- public business websites
- Google Maps and Google Business Profiles (collected using a tool called Apify)
- Hunter.io, a service that finds public business email addresses
We check that email addresses work using MillionVerifier. We send emails through Instantly, from mailboxes provided by Inbox Insiders. We keep a record of who we have contacted and any replies in a database run by Turso.
Why we use it
To tell local businesses about a service that may be useful to them, and to keep track of who we have contacted so we do not email people too often.
Our lawful basis
Our legitimate interests in telling local businesses about relevant services. We have balanced this against your interests. We only use business contact details, we only contact businesses our services are relevant to, we send a small number of emails, and you can opt out at any time.
Your right to object
Every email we send has an unsubscribe link. You can also reply to any email or write to ContactUs@PBACopywriting.com to ask us to stop.
You have an absolute right to object to direct marketing. When you opt out, we stop straight away. We add your email address to a suppression list, which is a short "do not contact" list. We keep it so we never contact you again by mistake.
We use Google Workspace for our email, including ContactUs@PBACopywriting.com. If you email us, your message and contact details are stored there. We use them to reply to you and keep a record of our conversation. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interests in answering messages and, for clients, performing our contract.
Who we share data with
We do not sell personal data. We share it only with service providers who help us run our business. They act on our instructions and must keep your data safe.
| Provider | What they do for us |
|---|---|
| Our website hosting provider | Hosts our website and receives booking form submissions |
| Calendly | Lets you book a call with us |
| Google Workspace | Our email |
| Instantly | Sends our outreach emails and handles unsubscribes |
| Inbox Insiders | Provides the mailboxes our outreach emails are sent from |
| MillionVerifier | Checks that business email addresses work |
| Apify | Collects public business details from Google Maps and Google Business Profiles |
| Hunter.io | Finds public business email addresses |
| Turso | Hosts the database where we keep outreach records |
| Cloudways | Hosts our clients' websites |
We may also share data with our accountant, our professional advisers, or public bodies such as HMRC, where the law requires it.
Sending data outside the UK
Some of our providers are based in the United States or other countries, or store data there. When your data leaves the UK, we make sure it is protected in one of these ways:
- the provider is certified under the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (the "UK-US Data Bridge"), or
- we rely on standard contractual clauses with the UK Addendum, or the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, which are legal contracts approved for this purpose.
You can email us for more details about how a transfer is protected.
How long we keep data
- Enquiries that do not lead to work: 12 months from our last contact.
- Client records: 6 years after the end of the tax year in which our work ended, as HMRC requires.
- Outreach records: up to 24 months from our last contact with the business.
- Suppression list: kept for as long as we send outreach emails, so we can respect your opt-out. It holds only the email address and the date you opted out.
When we no longer need data, we delete it securely.
Your rights
You have these rights over your personal data:
- Access: ask for a copy of the data we hold about you.
- Correction: ask us to fix data that is wrong or incomplete.
- Erasure: ask us to delete your data in some cases.
- Restriction: ask us to pause using your data in some cases.
- Objection: object to us using your data on the basis of legitimate interests. For direct marketing, this right is absolute and we will stop.
- Portability: ask for data you gave us in a common digital format, where we use it under a contract or your consent.
- Withdrawing consent: where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
To use any of these rights, email ContactUs@PBACopywriting.com. We may need to check who you are. We will reply within one month. It is usually free.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we use your data, please tell us first and we will try to put it right.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator:
- Website: ico.org.uk
- Phone: 0303 123 1113
Keeping data safe
We use trusted providers with strong security. We use strong passwords and two-step login where it is available, limit access to the people who need it, and keep client logins in a secure place. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your data.
Children
Our website and services are for businesses. They are not aimed at anyone under 18, and we do not knowingly collect data about children.
Cookies
Our website uses very little browser storage. See our Cookie Policy for details.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We will show the date of the latest version at the top. If we make a big change, we will tell our clients directly.