Privacy Policy

1. Who I Am

Phil Carrick, trading as PhilCarrick.com ("I," "me," "my"), is the data controller responsible for your personal information. I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) under registration number ZB055901.

My registered address is: 6a Castleviggan Lane, Ballynahinch, United Kingdom, BT24 8SS.

2. Information I Collect

I may collect and process the following types of personal information:

I do not collect sensitive personal data (special category data) unless you voluntarily provide it.

3. How I Use Your Information

I use your personal information for the following purposes:

• Service delivery: To provide the services you have requested, including SEO consulting, Google Business Profile optimisation, and marketing services
• Communication: To respond to your enquiries, schedule consultations, and send service-related updates
• Marketing: To send you information about services, insights, and resources that may be relevant to your business (only with your consent where required)
• Website improvement: To analyse how visitors use my website and improve the user experience
• Legal compliance: To comply with applicable legal obligations and respond to lawful requests

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, I rely on the following legal bases to process your personal information:

• Contractual necessity: Processing necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract
• Legitimate interests: Processing necessary for my legitimate business interests, such as improving services and marketing to relevant audiences, where those interests are not overridden by your rights
• Consent: Where you have given clear consent for specific processing activities (such as receiving marketing emails)
• Legal obligation: Processing necessary to comply with applicable laws and regulations

5. Data Sharing and Third Parties

I do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. I may share your data with:

• Service providers: Third-party tools and platforms I use to operate my business — including website hosting (Landingsite.ai), analytics (Google Analytics), email services, scheduling tools (Calendly), and payment processors
• Professional advisors: Legal, accounting, or other professional advisors where necessary
• Legal authorities: Where required by law or to protect my rights

All third-party providers are carefully selected and are required to process your data only on my instructions and in compliance with applicable data protection law.

6. International Data Transfers

Some of my service providers may process data outside the United Kingdom. Where this occurs, I ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses or an adequacy decision, to protect your data to UK standards.

7. Data Retention

I retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. The specific retention period depends on the nature of the data and the purpose for which it was collected:

• Enquiry and contact data: up to 2 years after last contact
• Client and service data: up to 6 years after the end of the client relationship (for legal and accounting purposes)
• Marketing consent records: until consent is withdrawn
• Website analytics data: up to 26 months

8. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right of access: Request a copy of the personal data I hold about you
• Right of rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
• Right of erasure: Request deletion of your data in certain circumstances
• Right to restrict processing: Request that I limit how I use your data
• Right to data portability: Request transfer of your data to another controller
• Right to object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing
• Rights relating to automated decision-making: I do not use automated decision-making or profiling

To exercise any of these rights, please contact me at phil@philcarrick.com. I will respond within one month. There is no fee unless the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

9. Cookies

My website uses cookies and similar technologies. For detailed information about the cookies I use, their purposes, and how to manage them, please see my Cookie Policy.

10. Data Security

I implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include encryption, secure hosting, access controls, and regular security reviews. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure.

11. Children's Privacy

My website and services are not directed at individuals under the age of 18. I do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If I become aware that a child has provided me with personal data, I will take steps to delete it.

12. Changes to This Policy

I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version will always be available on this page, and I will note the date of the last update at the top of the page. Where changes are material, I may notify you by email or via a notice on the website.

13. Contact and Complaints

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact me:

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint if you believe your data protection rights have been violated. I would, however, appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns first.