Privacy Policy

Our Commitment to Your Privacy

At Helm, we take the protection of your personal information seriously. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your data when you use our website and services.

We believe in transparency and want you to understand exactly what information we gather and why. If you have any questions about our privacy practices, we encourage you to contact us directly.

Information We Collect

Information You Provide Directly

When you interact with our website or services, you may choose to provide us with certain information:

• Contact Information: Your name, email address, phone number, and other details you share when filling out contact forms or enquiring about our services
• Communication Records: The content of messages you send us, including questions, feedback, or service requests
• Business Information: Details about your business that you share during consultations, such as company name, industry, and specific needs
• Payment Information: Billing details necessary to process payments for our services (processed securely through third-party payment providers)

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, certain information is collected automatically to help us understand how people use our site:

• Usage Data: Information about your interactions with our website, including pages visited, time spent, and navigation patterns
• Device Information: Technical details about the device you're using, such as browser type, operating system, and screen resolution
• Location Data: General geographic location based on your IP address (not precise location)
• Cookie Data: Information stored through cookies and similar technologies, as detailed in our Cookie Policy

Information from Third Parties

In some cases, we may receive information about you from other sources, such as analytics providers or advertising platforms, to help us understand our audience and improve our services.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for several purposes, all aimed at providing you with better service:

Service Delivery

• Responding to your enquiries and providing information about our services
• Scheduling and conducting consultations
• Delivering the business consulting services you've requested
• Processing payments and maintaining transaction records

Communication

• Sending you updates about services you've requested or expressed interest in
• Providing important notices about changes to our services or policies
• Responding to your questions and providing support
• Sharing helpful information and resources related to business consulting (with your consent)

Website Improvement

• Analysing how visitors use our website to improve its functionality and user experience
• Understanding which content is most helpful to our audience
• Identifying and fixing technical issues
• Testing new features and improvements

Legal Obligations

• Complying with applicable laws and regulations
• Protecting our rights and the rights of others
• Preventing fraud and maintaining security

Legal Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a valid legal basis to process your personal information. We rely on the following:

• Consent: When you've given us clear permission to use your information for specific purposes
• Contract: When processing is necessary to provide services you've requested
• Legitimate Interests: When we have valid business reasons that don't override your rights and freedoms
• Legal Obligation: When we must process your data to comply with the law

How We Share Your Information

We respect your privacy and don't sell your personal information to third parties. However, we may share your information in limited circumstances:

Service Providers

We work with trusted third-party companies that help us operate our business and provide services to you. These may include:

• Website hosting and maintenance providers
• Email and communication platforms
• Payment processing services
• Analytics and marketing platforms

These providers are contractually required to protect your information and use it only for the specific purposes we've outlined.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests from public authorities, such as in response to a court order or subpoena.

Business Transfers

If we're involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We'll notify you of any such change and how it affects your data.

How We Protect Your Information

We implement reasonable security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction:

• Encryption: We use SSL/TLS encryption to protect data transmitted between your browser and our servers
• Access Controls: Only authorised personnel have access to personal information, and only when necessary for legitimate business purposes
• Regular Security Reviews: We regularly review and update our security practices to address new threats
• Secure Storage: Personal data is stored on secure servers with appropriate technical and organisational safeguards

While we take these precautions seriously, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but are committed to protecting your information to the best of our ability.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

• Active Clients: We retain information for the duration of our business relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to address any follow-up needs
• Enquiries: Information from contact forms and enquiries is typically retained for up to two years
• Financial Records: Transaction records are retained as required by UK tax and accounting regulations, typically six years
• Marketing Communications: We keep your contact details until you ask us to stop or we determine the information is no longer relevant

Your Rights and Opt-Out Instructions

You have important rights regarding your personal information. Under UK data protection law, you can:

• Access Your Data: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Correction: Ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete information
• Deletion: Request that we delete your personal information in certain circumstances
• Restriction: Ask us to limit how we use your information
• Portability: Receive your data in a structured, commonly used format to transfer to another service
• Object: Object to our processing of your information based on legitimate interests
• Withdraw Consent: Remove consent you've previously given for specific uses of your data

You are not required to provide any personal information when using this website. If you prefer not to share your data, you may:

• Avoid filling out contact forms, account registrations, or any data-submitting features
• Disable cookies through your browser settings (see our Cookie Policy for more details)
• Contact us directly to request the deletion of any previously shared personal data

We respect your privacy choices. If you would like us to delete your data, please reach out to us at the contact details provided on our Contact page. We will process your request promptly.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@domain.com. We'll respond to your request within one month, though in some cases we may need additional time and will let you know if that's the case.

International Data Transfers

We primarily process data within the United Kingdom. However, some of our service providers may be located outside the UK or European Economic Area. When we transfer data internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:

• Standard contractual clauses approved by relevant authorities
• Adequacy decisions confirming appropriate data protection levels
• Other legally recognised transfer mechanisms

Children's Privacy

Our services are intended for businesses and adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 18. If we become aware that we've inadvertently collected such information, we'll take steps to delete it promptly.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services, or legal requirements. When we make significant changes, we'll notify you by email (if we have your email address) or through a notice on our website. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we're protecting your information.

Third-Party Websites

Our website may contain links to other websites that we don't operate. This Privacy Policy applies only to our website and services. We're not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party sites, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing them with any personal information.