Privacy Policy

The Thompson Group privacy policy

The Thompson Group (including Thompson Audio Visual Communications Ltd, CTM Fire and Security (Preston) Ltd (trading as Thompson Group Services), Thompson Unified Communications Ltd and CTM Fire and Security Ltd) understand that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your personal data is used. We respect and value the privacy of everyone who visits our websites, www.thompsonavc.co.uk, www.thompsongroupservices.com, www.thompsonuc.co.uk and www.technology2018.co.uk, and will only collect and use personal data in ways that are described here, and in a way that is consistent with our obligations and your rights under the law.

Please read this privacy policy carefully and ensure that you understand it. Your acceptance of this privacy policy is deemed to occur upon your first use of any of our websites. If you do not accept and agree to this privacy policy, you must stop using our Site immediately.

Definitions and Interpretation

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

Cookie

A cookie is a small text file placed on your computer or device when you visit certain parts of our websites or when you use certain features of our site.

Cookie law

Refers to the relevant parts of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003

What does this policy cover?

This privacy policy only applies to your use of our websites.

Our websites may contain links to other websites, but please be aware that we do not have any control over how your data is collected, stored, or used by them and we advise you to check the relevant privacy policy of any such websites before using and / or providing any personal data to them.

What is personal data?

Personal data is defined by the General Data Protection Regulation (EU Regulation 2016/679) (the “GDPR”) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier’.

Personal data is, in simpler terms, any information about you that enables you to be identified. Personal data covers obvious information such as your name and contact details, but it also covers less obvious information such as identification numbers, electronic location data, and other online identifiers.

What are my rights?

The GDPR provides the following rights for individuals in relation to the processing of your data – which we will always adhere to.

The right to be informed about The Thompson Group and our collection and use of your personal data. This privacy policy should tell you everything you need to know, but you can always contact us to find out more or to ask any questions using the Contact Us details on any of our websites.

The right of access to the personal data we hold about you.

The right of rectification – to have your personal data corrected on our systems if any of it is inaccurate or incomplete

The right to erasure (otherwise known as The right to be forgotten); i.e. the right to ask us to delete or otherwise dispose of any of your personal data that we hold.

The right to restrict processing – you can ask us to restrict or suppress the processing of your personal data.

The right to data portability allows you to obtain and reuse a copy of the personal data we hold relating to you so that you can use this for your own purposes across different services. This only applies to information you have supplied to us / a data controller.

The right to object to The Thompson Group using your personal data for a particular purpose or purposes.

The Thompson Group do not use automated decision-making and / or profiling technologies to process your personal data.

For more information about The Thompson Group’s use of your personal data or exercising your rights as outlined above, please contact us using the details under the Contact Us section on any of our websites.

Further information about your rights can also be obtained from the Information Commissioner’s Office (www.ico.org.uk) or your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

If you have any cause for complaint about our use of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with us in the first instance, and if you do not feel that your complaint has been resolved to your satisfaction, you can also lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

What data do we collect?

We will always aim to request the minimal amount of personal information from you for the purposes required.

The information we request will always relate to our current or potential business dealings with you.

In the main, we may ask for:

Title (Mr. Mrs. Dr., etc.)

First name

Last name

e-mail address

Telephone number

Beyond this, we may also ask for

Job Title

The name of the Company you work for

The address of the Company you work for

Where you contract us to do work for you we may also ask for

Contact details for your accounts team

Through the use of Google Analytics linked to our websites the following data may also be made available to us:

IP address

Web browser type and version

Operating system

A list of URLs starting with a referring site, your activity on any of our websites and the site you exit to

How do you use my personal data?

Under the GDPR, The Thompson Group must always have a lawful basis for using personal data. This may be because the data is necessary for our performance of a contract with you, because you have consented to our use of your personal data, or because it is in The Thompson Group legitimate business interests to use it.

Your personal data may be used for one of the following purposes:

Providing and managing your Account with us

Supplying services to you. Your personal details are required in order for us to enter into a contract with you.

Communicating with you. This may include responding to emails or calls from you, supplying you with information by email, phone and / or post that you have opted-in to (you may unsubscribe or opt-out at any time by calling us/emailing/clicking on unsubscribe link on marketing communications we may send from time to time).

Analysing your use of our website(s) and gathering feedback to enable us to continually improve it/them and your user experience.

Notifying you of relevant events from The Thompson Group or its members.

With your permission and/or where permitted by law, The Thompson Group may also use your personal data for marketing purposes, which may include contacting you by email AND/OR telephone AND/OR post with information, news, and offers on our products AND/OR services.

You will not be sent any unlawful marketing or spam. We will always work to fully protect your rights and comply with our obligations under the GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, and you will always have the opportunity to opt-out.

How long will you keep my personal data?

The Thompson Group will not keep your personal data for any longer than is necessary. Your personal data will, therefore, be kept for the following periods (or, where there is no fixed period, the following factors will be used to determine how long it is kept):

We will update or delete your data in the event of the business you work for being liquidated or closed; the named subscriber retiring and / or no longer wishes to receive Thompson Group updates or leaves the business through ill health or death.

How and where do you store or transfer my personal data?

The Thompson Group will only knowingly store or transfer your personal data within the European Economic Area (the “EEA”). The EEA consists of all EU member states, plus Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein (plus the UK if and when the Brexit process is complete). This means that your personal data will be fully protected under the GDPR or to equivalent standards by law.

We share your data within the Thompson Group of companies, which are all based in the UK.

Where we transfer your data to a third party based in the US, this may be protected if they are part of the EU-US Privacy Shield. This requires the third party to provide data protection to standards similar to those in Europe. More information is available from the European Commission. Please contact us using the details below for further information about the particular data protection mechanism used by us when transferring your personal data to a third country.

The security of your personal data is essential to The Thompson Group, and to protect your data, The Thompson Group take a number of important measures, including the following:

We only use of credible software providers.

Only allow employees to access data via Company controlled devices.

Do you share my personal data?

The Thompson Group will not share any of your personal data outside of the Group for any purposes, subject to one important exception.

In some limited circumstances, we may be legally required to share certain personal data, which might include yours, if we involved in legal proceedings or complying with legal obligations, a court order, or the instructions of a government authority.

The Thompson Group may share your personal data with our sister companies for the purpose of informing you about relevant marketing you may be interested in, inviting you to Thompson Group events and ensuring contact is not duplicated within the group.

The Thompson Group may sometimes contract with third parties to supply certain services. These may include payment processing, delivery, and marketing. In some cases, those third parties may require access to some or all of your personal data that we hold.

i.e. Event management software such as Eventbrite for the purposes of creating tickets for events.

If any of your personal data is required by a third party, as described above, we will take steps to ensure that your personal data is handled safely, securely, and in accordance with your rights, our obligations, and the third party’s obligations under the law.

If any personal data is transferred outside of the EEA, we will take suitable steps in order to ensure that your personal data is treated just as safely and securely as it would be within the UK and under the GDPR.

In some limited circumstances, The Thompson Group may be legally required to share certain personal data, which might include yours, if we involved in legal proceedings or complying with legal obligations, a court order, or the instructions of a government authority.

How can I control my personal data?

In addition to your rights under the GDPR, when you submit personal data via any of our websites, you may be given options to restrict our use of your personal 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 OR at the point of providing your details and by managing your Account).

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 receive.

Can I withhold information?

You can access the majority of the information on our websites without providing any personal data at all.

Wherever possible, you will not be forced to provide your personal information, but there are occasions where we will need to obtain your correct information (i.e. your name and address details in order to deliver work at your premises / your e-mail address to send quotations through to you).

How can I access my personal data?

If you want to know what personal data we hold about you, you can ask us for details of that personal data and for a copy of it (where any such personal data is held). This is known as a “subject access request”.

All subject access requests should be made in writing and sent to the email or postal address at the end of this policy. There is not normally any charge for a subject access request. If your request is ‘manifestly unfounded or excessive’ (for example, if you make repetitive requests) a fee may be charged to cover our administrative costs in responding.

We will ordinarily respond to your subject access request within 14 days and, in any case, in not more than one month of receiving it. Normally, we aim to provide a complete response, including a copy of your personal data within that time. In some cases, however, particularly if your request is more complex, more time may be required up to a maximum of three months from the date we receive your request. You will be kept fully informed of our progress.

How do you use cookies?

The Thompson Group websites may place and access certain first-party Cookies on your computer or device. First-party Cookies are those placed directly by us and are used only by The Thompson Group to facilitate and improve your experience of our website(s)and to provide and improve our products and services. We have carefully chosen these Cookies and have taken steps to ensure that your privacy and personal data is protected and respected at all times.

All Cookies used by and on our website(s) are used in accordance with current Cookie Law.

Before Cookies are placed on your computer or device, you will be shown a discreet option requesting your consent to set those Cookies. By giving your consent to the placing of Cookies you are enabling us to provide the best possible experience and service to you. You may, if you wish, deny consent to the placing of Cookies; however certain features of our website(s) may not function fully or as intended

Certain features of our website(s) depend on Cookies to function. Cookie Law deems these Cookies to be “strictly necessary”. Your consent will not be sought to place these Cookies, but it is still important that you are aware of them. You may still block these Cookies by changing your internet browser’s settings, but please be aware that the The Thompson Group Site may not work properly if you do so. We have taken great care to ensure that your privacy is not at risk by allowing them.

In addition, our website(s) use analytics services provided by Google analytics, which also use Cookies. Website analytics refers to a set of tools used to collect and analyze usage statistics, enabling us to better understand how people use our Site.

How do I contact you?

To contact us about anything to do with your personal data and data protection, including to make a subject access request, please use the following details for the attention of Matthew Sarabadu:

Email: info@thompsonavc.co.uk

Tel: 01902 658822

Postal address:

The Thompson Group,

Thompson House,

Gorsebrook Road,

Wolverhampton

WV10 6JD

Changes to this privacy policy

We may change this privacy policy from time to time. This may be necessary, for example, if the law changes, or if we change our business in a way that affects personal data protection.

Any changes will be immediately posted on our website(s) and you will be deemed to have accepted the terms of the updated privacy policy on your first use of our website(s) following the alterations. We recommend that you check this page regularly to keep up to date.

Thompson Audio Visual Communications Ltd –	Company registration No. 04066149
CTM Fire and Security (Preston) Ltd – (trading as Thompson Group Services)	Company registration No. 03911992
Thompson Unified Communications Ltd –	Company registration No. 10524818
CTM Fire and Security Ltd –	Company registration No. 03643661