Who we are
We are Vanadium Technologies Limited, a renewable energy installer based in Wimborne, Dorset. Company number 12447147. Registered office: Unit 8, Westcroft Business Park, Three Legged Cross, Wimborne BH21 6FQ. In this policy “Vanadium”, “we”, “us” and “our” mean Vanadium Technologies Limited.
We are the data controller for the personal information described here and are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office, registration number C1287886. If you have any question about how we use your information, or want to exercise any of your rights, email support@vanadiumtechnologies.co.uk or call 0330 320 1500.
This policy applies to our website at vanadiumtechnologies.co.uk, to enquiries and support requests you send us, and to the information we hold about you as a customer.
The information we collect
When you enquire through our website or by phone. Your name, phone number, email address and the postcode or address of the property, what you are interested in, and anything you tell us in the message box. If you use the “Find address” button we send the postcode you type to our address-lookup provider and show you the matching addresses so you can pick yours.
When you ask for support. Your name, contact details, the postcode of the installation, which system you have and a description of the problem, plus any photos or messages you send us afterwards by email or WhatsApp.
When you become a customer. Your address and contact details, details of your property and electricity usage (including bills, smart-meter data and drone or satellite imagery of your roof where you have asked for a design), the system we design and install for you, the paperwork that goes with it (MCS certificates, electrical certificates, network operator and grant applications) and your payment records.
When you leave a review or take part in a case study. Your feedback from our customer surveys and, only with your written consent, video or photographs of your installation for use on our website and social media. We never publish your name, house name or street address alongside a case study; we refer to the nearest town only.
How you arrived at our site. When you submit an enquiry we record the page you were on, the page you first landed on, the site that referred you and any campaign tags in the link you clicked, so we know which of our advertising is working. This is stored for your browsing session only and is only sent to us if you submit a form.
We also receive information about you from third parties in some cases: from Facebook or Instagram if you complete one of our lead forms there, from our finance partner if you apply for finance, and from public sources such as Google Business Profile if you review us there.
How we use it and why we are allowed to
| What we do | Why we are allowed to |
|---|---|
| Answer your enquiry, survey your property, design and quote a system | Taking steps at your request before entering a contract |
| Install, commission, register and maintain your system, and provide support and warranty service | Performing our contract with you |
| Register your installation with MCS, your Distribution Network Operator and, where you are claiming a grant, Ofgem or the relevant scheme | Legal obligation and performing our contract |
| Keep records of installations, certificates and payments | Legal obligation (building regulations, MCS, tax and accounting) |
| Tell you about products, offers and news from Vanadium | Your consent, given when you tick the box on our forms. You can withdraw it at any time |
| Ask for your feedback and, with your separate consent, publish a review or case study | Consent |
| Understand which advertising brings people to our website | Our legitimate interest in running the business efficiently |
| Prevent spam and abuse of our forms | Our legitimate interest in protecting our systems |
We do not sell your information and we do not use automated decision-making that has a legal or similarly significant effect on you.
Who we share it with
We share your information only where it is needed to do the work you have asked for:
- The people who work on your installation. Our own sales, design, installation and compliance team, and the scaffolding and roofing partners we use on every job, who receive the site address and access details only.
- Our heating partner Sureline Plumbing & Heating, where you have asked for an air source heat pump.
- Regulators and schemes. MCS, your Distribution Network Operator (usually SSEN in our area), Ofgem for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, and the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles for EV charger grants, as required to register your system or claim a grant.
- Service providers who process data for us. Google Cloud, which hosts our website and our customer management system in the United Kingdom; Google Analytics, for anonymised website usage statistics if you accept analytics cookies; Allies Computing (Postcoder) for address lookup; our email, telephony and messaging providers; and our accounting software.
- Our finance partner. If you ask about finance we introduce you to Phoenix Financial Consultants Limited, a credit broker, and pass them the details needed to progress your application. Vanadium Technologies Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative (FCA reference 976370).
- Equipment manufacturers. Tesla, SolarEdge, Easee and other manufacturers receive the details needed to register your product warranty and, where you use their app, to run your system.
- Professional advisers and authorities where the law requires it or to protect our legal rights.
Some of these organisations are outside the UK, in particular the app services of equipment manufacturers. Where that is the case we rely on the UK adequacy regulations or the standard contractual clauses approved for use in the UK.
How long we keep it
- Enquiries that do not become a customer: 24 months from your last contact with us, so we can pick up where we left off if you come back.
- Customer and installation records: 10 years after the installation, because that is the period over which warranties, MCS obligations and accounting rules require us to keep them.
- Support tickets: 6 years after they are closed.
- Marketing consent: until you withdraw it.
- Reviews and case studies: until you ask us to remove them.
Cookies and similar technology
Analytics cookies (with your consent). We use Google Analytics to understand which pages people visit, how they got to the site and whether it is working well, so we can improve it. Google Analytics sets cookies named _ga and _ga_* that give your browser a random identifier; they last up to 2 years. These cookies are only set if you choose Accept on the cookie banner. If you decline, or do nothing, Google Analytics runs without cookies and only receives anonymous, aggregated counts. You can change your choice at any time using the Cookie settings link in the footer of every page. The data is processed by Google Ireland Limited and may be transferred to Google LLC in the United States under the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. IP addresses are anonymised. We do not use Google Analytics for advertising, and we do not use advertising cookies at all. Google’s own privacy policy is at https://policies.google.com/privacy.
Strictly necessary storage. We use the browser’s session storage to remember the page you arrived on while you are on the site, so that an enquiry can be credited to the right source. That information is cleared when you close your browser and is never shared unless you submit a form. Your cookie choice itself is kept in your browser’s local storage for 12 months so we do not keep asking.
Third-party content. Case-study pages embed videos from YouTube. YouTube may set cookies when you play a video, under Google’s privacy policy.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to ask for a copy of the information we hold about you, to have it corrected or deleted, to object to or restrict how we use it, to receive it in a portable format, and to withdraw any consent you have given. To do any of these, email support@vanadiumtechnologies.co.uk. We will respond within one month.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113. We would appreciate the chance to put things right first.
Keeping your information safe
Our website and customer management system are hosted on Google Cloud in the United Kingdom, with access limited to staff who need it and protected by individual logins. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Our forms include protection against automated submissions.
Changes to this policy
We review this policy when our services or the law change. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.