Privacy Policy
This notice explains how GEM Electrical & Mechanical Repairs collects, uses, shares and protects personal information when you visit this website, contact us, book work, buy a postal repair service, send us an item, use an eBay listing, or otherwise deal with us.
1. Who is responsible for your information?
GEM Electrical & Mechanical Repairs (“we”, “us” or “our”) is the data controller for personal information used for our own business purposes.
Contact: info@gemrepairs.co.uk · 07300 072614. Our service area is Birmingham and the wider West Midlands.
This notice is intended to reflect the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 as amended, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (“PECR”).
2. Personal information we collect
Depending on how you use our services, we may collect:
- Identity and contact information: name, billing or service address, postcode, email address, telephone number and account details.
- Booking, order and transaction information: requested service, appointment details, order number, products or services purchased, amounts, invoices, payment status, delivery method, parcel tracking and communications.
- Vehicle, item and repair information: make, model, registration or VIN where supplied, module type, part and serial numbers, fault descriptions, diagnostic information, coding or configuration details, EEPROM/MCU/flash files, test results, repair notes and service history.
- Customer-supplied content: messages, documents, photographs and videos of vehicles, modules, equipment, faults or work areas. These may incidentally contain people, number plates, addresses or other personal information.
- Website and device information: IP address, browser/device information, security events, pages viewed, referral source, cookie choices and analytics or advertising identifiers where consent applies.
- Marketplace and social communications: information supplied through eBay, Facebook, WhatsApp or another platform when you use that service to contact or transact with us.
Please do not send passwords, unrelated files, unnecessary images of people, or other personal information that we do not need for the requested service.
3. How and why we use personal information
| Purpose | Typical information | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Answer enquiries, assess requested work and provide quotations | Contact, vehicle/item, fault and message information | Steps requested before entering a contract; legitimate interests in responding to genuine enquiries |
| Manage bookings, orders, postal services, repairs, returns and customer support | Contact, order, service, vehicle/module, delivery and repair records | Performance of our contract with you |
| Read, back up, repair, reset, program, clone or recover supported module data | Module identifiers, configuration, diagnostic and stored data | Performance of our contract; legitimate interests in delivering and documenting the agreed technical service |
| Take payment, prevent fraud, issue refunds and maintain tax/accounting records | Transaction, billing, fraud-prevention and invoice information | Performance of contract; legal obligation; legitimate interests in preventing fraud and protecting our business |
| Arrange collection, delivery, parcel cover and tracking | Name, address, contact details, parcel value and tracking information | Performance of contract |
| Protect the website, accounts, customers and business; establish or defend legal claims | Account, order, communications, technical and security records | Legitimate interests in security, fraud prevention, dispute resolution and legal protection; legal obligation where applicable |
| Measure website use and advertising performance | Cookie, device, analytics and advertising identifiers | Consent where required by PECR and data-protection law |
| Send optional marketing | Name and contact details, preferences and prior service relationship | Consent, or legitimate interests where electronic-marketing law permits; you may opt out at any time |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, those interests are operating and improving our services, keeping appropriate repair records, protecting customers and our systems, preventing fraud, and handling disputes. We consider whether those interests are necessary and balanced against your rights.
4. If you do not provide required information
Certain contact, payment, delivery and service information is needed to enter into or perform a contract. If you do not provide it, we may be unable to quote, accept an order, complete the requested work, deliver or return an item, or meet a legal requirement. Optional information will be identified by context and does not have to be supplied.
5. Payments
Online payments may be processed through WooPayments and the payment method you select, including card networks, Clearpay, Klarna, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Amazon Pay. A direct bank transfer may also be available. Payment providers receive the information needed to authorise, process, secure and administer the transaction under their own terms and privacy notices.
We do not receive or store your complete card number or security code. Payment providers may use automated fraud, identity, eligibility or credit checks. Klarna, Clearpay and other payment providers are responsible for explaining any decision-making they perform under their own privacy notices.
6. Who we share information with
We share only what is reasonably necessary with relevant recipients, which may include:
- website hosting, WordPress/WooCommerce, email, backup, security and technical-support providers;
- WooPayments, payment networks, banks and the payment option selected by you;
- Evri and other delivery, tracking or parcel-cover providers used for customer items;
- eBay and our eBay listing-management service when you view, order or communicate through eBay;
- Google services used for site administration, reviews and consented analytics, and Meta/Facebook services used for consented advertising measurement and communications;
- parts or specialist service suppliers where necessary for an agreed repair, normally using the minimum information needed;
- accountants, insurers, professional advisers, HMRC, regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or other authorities where required or reasonably necessary;
- a purchaser or successor if all or part of the business is sold or reorganised, subject to appropriate confidentiality and data-protection requirements.
We do not sell or rent personal information.
7. eBay, social media and third-party services
If you use eBay, Facebook, WhatsApp, Google, a payment wallet or another third-party service, that provider may act as a separate controller for information it collects directly. Its privacy notice also applies. We are not responsible for how an independent third party uses information outside our control.
8. Cookies, analytics and advertising
Strictly necessary cookies support functions such as security, cookie preferences, customer sessions, baskets and checkout. These do not require consent where the legal exemption applies.
With your permission, the site may use Google analytics and Meta/Facebook advertising technologies to measure visits and advertising results. Optional analytics and advertising storage is not intended to activate unless you choose “Accept all” on our cookie banner. You can decline optional cookies. You can also clear the gem_cookie_consent cookie or your browser’s site data to make the banner appear again and change your choice.
Third parties may set or read cookies when their features are used. Their retention periods and uses are described in their own privacy and cookie information.
9. International transfers
Some technology, payment, analytics, marketplace or communications providers may process information outside the UK. Where UK transfer rules apply, we expect the relevant provider or transfer to use a lawful mechanism, such as UK adequacy regulations or appropriate contractual safeguards, together with proportionate security measures. Contact us if you would like more information about safeguards relevant to your information.
10. How long we keep information
We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose collected, including service, warranty, safety, tax, accounting, fraud-prevention and legal-claims requirements. Factors include the type and sensitivity of the information, the status of the job or account, applicable limitation periods and legal record-keeping duties.
- Enquiries that do not become a booking or order: normally reviewed for deletion after 12 months, unless needed for an ongoing matter, consented follow-up, security issue or legal claim.
- Orders, invoices, payments and completed repair records: normally retained for up to six years after completion, or longer where required for an active dispute, warranty, tax enquiry or legal obligation.
- Uploaded diagnostic photos, videos and technical files: retained while needed to assess, perform and document the service; they may be retained with the associated repair record where relevant to warranty, safety, fraud prevention or a dispute, and otherwise deleted when no longer needed.
- Customer accounts: retained while active and then reviewed in line with related transaction and legal records.
- Security, consent and technical logs: retained for a proportionate period based on security, troubleshooting, audit and legal needs.
Backups and provider systems may retain residual copies for a limited period after deletion.
11. Security
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures intended to protect personal information, including controlled administrative access, software and security controls, secure payment providers, backups and access limited to those who need the information. No internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed completely secure. Please use a secure method when sending sensitive information and do not send unnecessary credentials.
12. Your data-protection rights
Depending on the circumstances and lawful basis, you may have the right to:
- ask for access to your personal information;
- ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
- ask for deletion of information;
- ask us to restrict how information is used;
- receive certain information in a portable format;
- withdraw consent at any time where processing relies on consent; and
- object to processing based on legitimate interests or to direct marketing.
These rights are not absolute. We may need to verify your identity and may retain information where required by law or needed for legal claims. We normally respond to valid rights requests within the applicable legal period.
13. Data-protection complaints
To raise a complaint about how we use personal information, email info@gemrepairs.co.uk with “Data protection complaint” in the subject line. Tell us what happened and the outcome you are seeking.
We will acknowledge a data-protection complaint within 30 days of receipt. Without undue delay, we will take appropriate steps to investigate, keep you informed where appropriate, and notify you of the outcome.
If you remain dissatisfied, you may complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/, telephone 0303 123 1113, or write to Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. You may also seek a remedy through the courts.
14. Children
Our repair and commerce services are not directed at children. A person under 18 should ask a parent or guardian to contact or transact with us. If we learn that we hold a child’s information unnecessarily, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.
15. Changes to this notice
We may update this notice when our services, providers or legal obligations change. The latest version will appear on this page with its update date. Where a change materially affects how we use existing personal information, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of affected people where required.