I have really got frustrated with all of the hype around GDPR. It has been madness, sole traders and small businesses worrying about it and spending time and money out of fear. Fear of big fines and strong talk about consequences if deemed to be breaching the latest EU Law.
It is a massive burden for small business and largely pointless (in my opinion).
Common sense should prevail here but no, we have to be bombarded with vague guidelines, everyone emailing us with their updated policies so we can read (supposedly) through dozens of long-winded privacy policies that they have had to update. The legal profession must be booming right now. Some of these updated and ‘easy to understand’ updates are a joke.
Seriously, who has read those policies before clicking agree? Who even understands them? Billions of pointless emails must have been sent out.
This should be aimed at the massive companies that purposely exploit our data for their financial and competitive gains. Target them with harsh fines and complex guidelines and leave us SME’s and Sole Traders to get on with making a living.
Also, target those companies that make nuisance marketing calls and send spam and leave us genuine businesses alone so we can get on with generating our income.
Okay, I am not a fan of the EU’s scare tactics but I do respect people’s information and privacy. On that basis, I have made it really simple (why can’t the EU do this tsk!) and have provided my transparent information for those who care to read it.
My New Website Usage Terms and Privacy Policy
Website
My website contains information about me and my services. Any public contact details can be used to contact me but do not put me into databases and send me spam. My website may also contain links to other websites that will have their own terms and privacy policies. You can read theirs too if you wish.
You can link to my website from anywhere you like. If I find it and don’t like it I may ask you to remove it or change it.
My website uses technology that none of us really understand. Sometimes known as cookies. It will make using the website faster and help make it work properly. Using Google Analytics I keep track of my visitor numbers and which pages are being visited to see that my marketing is working. Google Analytics is very widely used and you can Google it for full information about how it works.
Nothing on my website mines your data to target adverts at you. There is nothing sinister here, just technology to make the website work well and tracking of visitor numbers.
Everything on here is my opinion and as I am human it may contain errors from time-to-time. I do my best to avoid that. Any advice given is in the spirit of just that and I do not accept liability for anything you subsequently do after reading content or advice on my website.
Contacting me
If you contact me, I reserve the right to reply to you using your personal data. If you want me to delete it at any stage just ask me and I will.
I will only use the information you provide to me for the purpose of developing our relationship. I will not sell or give your information away.
If you join my mailing list I will email you in relation to what I was offering on the mailing list at that time. You can unsubscribe any time and I use Mailchimp who have their own policies that you can find on their website.
Buying from me
If you purchase anything from me you may have to agree to the terms of the company or bank that I use to process payments. Currently, I use PayPal, Worldpay, GoCardless (for direct debits) and numerous other banks, along with Quickfile for invoicing.
If I contact you
If I contact you using your publicly available details such as email address, phone number or public profile I am doing it with good intentions and will contact you directly. I will not spam you or do anything with your contact information other than contacting you directly. At any time, if you do not want me to contact you again just ask me to delete your data and I will.
Finally
Hopefully, that is clear and you realize that I am not trying to catch you out or bamboozle you with pages of legal speak that nobody ever reads.
Any data I hold in emails, online social accounts or otherwise is kept as safe as it can be using web technology. In other words, my accounts are password protected and rely on Gmail for my emails and numerous other platforms for good online security (as I am sure you do).
If the above is okay with you please use my website and feel free to deal with me. If not please leave.
If you need any clarification about my privacy policy or have any concerns before working with me please feel free to ask me.
Please note, the latest version of my terms can always be seen here
This blog post is for informational purposes only. You are welcome to use and adapt my terms but I take no responsibility. You have to decide how to manage the legal aspects of your own business.