This policy explains how Forge Lead collects and uses your personal information when you visit this website or get in touch with us. We keep it simple: we only collect what we need, we don't sell your data, and you stay in control of it.
Who we are
Forge Lead is the trading name of Peter Solarski, a sole trader based in the United Kingdom. For the purposes of UK data protection law, the "controller" of your personal information is Peter Solarski, trading as Forge Lead.
Contact: hello@forgelead.co.uk
Address: [Add: business address]
What information we collect
Information you give us. When you email us, send a note through the contact form, book a call through Cal.com or become a client, we may collect:
- your name
- your email address and phone number
- your business name and details about your business
- anything you choose to tell us, such as details about your work, your projects or what you need from a website
- if you become a client: billing details, and what you send us to write your posts or build your website (text, photos of your work, project details, logos)
- if we run your LinkedIn for you: access to your LinkedIn account, so we can post, connect with architects and start conversations in your name. This means we also see the messages and profiles of the people you talk to there.
The contact form. When you send a note through the form on our Contact page, we receive your name, email address, what you make (if you tell us) and your message. The note is saved in this website's admin area, which only we can see, and sent to our email inbox so we can reply. The form uses no cookies and no third-party spam service: it checks for spam with a hidden field and the time the form took to fill in.
Information collected automatically. When you visit this website, our hosting provider may record basic technical information such as your IP address, browser type and the pages you visit. This is used to keep the site running and secure. See the Cookies section below for more.
Booking a call. The "Book a call" buttons open Cal.com, a separate company that runs the booking calendar. Nothing from Cal.com loads on this website until you click. When you book, Cal.com collects the details you enter (such as your name, email address and anything you add to the booking) and passes them to us so we can hold the call. How Cal.com itself handles your data is explained in Cal.com's privacy policy.
The name you type into the drawing. If you type your business name into the drawing on the home page, it is saved only in your own browser, so it is still there when you come back. It is never sent to us and we cannot see it. Click "Clear" next to the field, or use the buttons on our Cookie Policy page, to remove it.
We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.
How we use your information and why we're allowed to
| What we do | Our legal basis |
|---|---|
| Reply to your enquiry and give you a quote | Taking steps at your request before entering into a contract |
| Hold the call you booked through Cal.com | Taking steps at your request before entering into a contract |
| Run your LinkedIn, or build and look after your website, if you become a client | Performing our contract with you |
| Send invoices and keep business and tax records | Legal obligation |
| Keep the website secure and working properly | Legitimate interests (running a safe, working website) |
We will never sell your personal information or share it with anyone for their own marketing.
Who we share it with
We only share your information with trusted service providers who help us run the business, and only as much as they need. These are:
- Website hosting: the company that hosts this website
- Email: our email provider
- Booking calls: Cal.com (see "Booking a call" above)
- LinkedIn: for clients whose LinkedIn we run, the posts and messages we send from their account
- Accounting and payments: our bank and accounting software
These providers act on our instructions and must keep your information secure. We may also share information if we are legally required to, for example with HMRC.
Transfers outside the UK
Some of our providers (for example Cal.com and LinkedIn) may store or process data outside the UK, including in the United States. When this happens, we rely on the protections allowed under UK law, such as the UK-US Data Bridge, UK adequacy regulations, or the provider's standard contractual clauses, so your information gets a similar level of protection.
How long we keep it
- Enquiries that don't lead to work: up to 12 months, then deleted.
- Client records, contracts and invoices: 6 years after our work together ends, because UK tax and accounting rules require it.
When we no longer need your information, we delete it securely.
How we keep it safe
We use secure, password-protected accounts with two-factor authentication where available, and we only use reputable service providers. No system is 100% secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information. If a data breach happens that puts you at risk, we will tell you and the regulator as the law requires.
Cookies
This website sets no cookies for visitors and uses no analytics, advertising or tracking tools. It only keeps a few small notes in your own browser, such as whether you have already seen the intro on the home page. These are never sent to us.
The full list, why none of it needs your consent, and buttons to remove it are on our Cookie Policy page.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- access the personal information we hold about you
- correct information that is wrong or incomplete
- delete your information (where we don't need to keep it for legal reasons)
- restrict how we use your information
- object to us using your information, including for marketing
- move your information to another provider (data portability)
- withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on your consent
To use any of these rights, email hello@forgelead.co.uk. It's free, and we will reply within one month. We may ask you to confirm your identity first.
Complaints
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your personal information, please tell us first so we can put it right. Email hello@forgelead.co.uk with the subject "Data complaint". You don't need to use any legal wording. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days, keep you updated, and let you know the outcome without undue delay.
If you're still not happy, you can complain to the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):
Website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
Phone: 0303 123 1113
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated at the top.