Privacy policy
Last updated: [launch date] unconfirmed
This policy explains what personal information we collect when you use our website, contact us or have us install something for you, why we use it, who we share it with and the choices you have.
1. Who we are
Mercia Electrical Ltd (company number 12969398) is responsible for your personal information. Our address is Unit 6 Grassy Court, Etwall Road, Mickleover, Derby DE3 0BX unconfirmed. We're registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), registration number [number] unconfirmed. For anything about your personal information, email [privacy contact] unconfirmed or call 0800 111 4576.
2. What we collect
- When you send us an enquiry (our contact form, quote forms or email): your name, email address, phone number, postcode, your company name if you give it, what you'd like help with, and anything you tell us about your home, site or energy use. We also record how you found us: the page you sent the form from, any advert campaign details in the web address, and the Google Ads click ID.
- When you call us: if you came to our website from a Google advert, the number you see may be a Google forwarding number. Google then tells us the time and length of the call and the caller's area code, so we can see which adverts lead to calls unconfirmed.
- When you use our live chat: the messages you send (the chat is run by Tawk.to), your name and email if you give them, and technical details such as your browser and rough location from your internet address.
- When you become a customer: your address, details and photos of your property or site, your survey and system design, the equipment we install, payments, and the certificates and registrations for your installation.
- If you ask about finance: we pass your details to the finance provider you choose, Hometree Finance (a trading name of HTG Finance Limited) or Phoenix Financial Consultants Limited. They use them under their own privacy notices. We don't see your credit file unconfirmed.
- If Octopus Energy introduced you to us: Octopus only shares your details with us if you ask them to.
- When you browse our website: with your permission, information from cookies and similar technology (section 8).
3. How we use it, and our legal reasons
| What we do | Our legal reason |
|---|---|
| Reply to your enquiry and give you a quote | Steps you've asked us to take before a contract, and our legitimate interest in answering enquiries |
| Survey, design, install and look after your system, including warranties | Our contract with you |
| Register your installation and tell the bodies we must (for example MCS, your electricity network operator, and building control through our scheme) unconfirmed, and keep tax and accounting records | Legal obligation |
| Keep the website and forms secure and block spam | Legitimate interests |
| See how the website is used and which adverts work | Your consent (cookies) |
| Ask you for a review after your installation unconfirmed | Legitimate interests |
| Send you news or offers unconfirmed | Your consent, or as an existing customer with an easy way to opt out every time |
We don't sell your personal information.
4. Who we share it with
- Companies that run services for us, on our instructions: Cloudflare (hosts the website, checks forms are sent by a person with Cloudflare Turnstile, and delivers form messages to our inbox), Microsoft (our email), Tawk.to (live chat), Google (analytics, advertising and call tracking), Microsoft Advertising, PostHog and Mouseflow (website analytics) unconfirmed.
- Organisations involved in your installation: MCS, your electricity network operator, building control (through our scheme provider), equipment manufacturers for warranty registration, insurance-backed guarantee providers, and TrustMark or HIES where their consumer protection applies unconfirmed.
- Finance providers, if you ask for finance.
- Solar Quote Pro: if you use our online solar designer, you're on their website and their privacy policy applies. Our link passes on advert details (campaign and click ID) so we can see which adverts work.
- Professional advisers and insurers, and the police or regulators when the law requires it.
5. Where your information is stored
Form messages travel through Cloudflare's network to our Microsoft 365 email; the website itself doesn't keep a copy. If a message can't be delivered, a copy stays in Cloudflare's logs for a few days unconfirmed so it isn't lost. Some of our providers store or access information outside the UK, including in the United States. Where they do, the transfer is protected by UK adequacy regulations or the ICO's international data transfer agreement or addendum unconfirmed.
6. How long we keep it
| Information | How long unconfirmed |
|---|---|
| Enquiries that don't go ahead | 2 years from our last contact |
| Customer and installation records | 6 years after the contract ends, or longer while a warranty or certificate needs them |
| Live chat conversations | 12 months |
| Website analytics | 14 months |
7. Your rights
You can ask us to:
- give you a copy of your personal information;
- correct it;
- delete it;
- limit or object to how we use it, including stopping direct marketing at any time;
- give it to you, or another organisation, in a format a computer can read;
- withdraw any consent you've given (this doesn't affect what we did before).
Email [privacy contact] unconfirmed. We'll reply within one month. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the ICO at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113. We'd appreciate the chance to put things right first.
8. Cookies
When you first visit, our cookie banner asks what you're happy with. Nothing optional is switched on until you choose, and you can change your mind at any time with Cookie settings at the bottom of every page.
| Type | What it does | Who provides it | Cookies | How long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Necessary (always on) | Keeps the site working and secure, remembers your cookie choice, and checks forms are sent by a person | Mercia Electrical; Cloudflare (Turnstile) | consentMode | 1 year |
| Analytics | Shows us which pages people use and where they get stuck | Google Analytics; PostHog; Mouseflow | _ga, _ga_*; ph_*_posthog; mf_*, mf_user | Up to 2 years; 1 year; up to 90 days |
| Marketing | Tells us which adverts lead to enquiries, and lets us show our adverts on other websites | Google Ads; Microsoft Advertising | _gcl_au, _gcl_aw; _uetsid, _uetvid, MUID | 90 days; 1 day to 13 months |
| Functional | Loads the live chat on every page | Tawk.to | twk_*, TawkConnectionTime | Up to 6 months |
- Mouseflow unconfirmed can record how visitors move around a page (clicks, scrolling and mouse movement) to show us where pages are confusing. It's set up not to record what you type into forms unconfirmed.
- Without functional cookies, the "Chat with us" button still works: pressing it loads the chat and its cookies, because you've asked for it.
- Cookie names and lengths change from time to time; we last checked them on [date] unconfirmed. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser's settings.
9. Other websites
Our pages link to other websites, such as Solar Quote Pro, Google, Trustpilot, Octopus Energy and our finance providers. Their own privacy policies apply.
10. Changes to this policy
We'll update this page when the way we use personal information changes. The date at the top shows when it last changed.
Questions about this policy?
Email [privacy contact] unconfirmed, call 0800 111 4576 or use our contact page.