Privacy Policy

Who we are

This website is operated by VC-Virtual Communications Limited (“VC”, “we”, “us” or “our”). For the purposes of UK data protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, we are the controller of the personal information described in this policy. This means we decide how and why it is used.

This policy explains what personal information we collect through this website, how we use it, who we share it with and the choices and rights you have. If you have any questions, please see How to contact us about privacy.

What information we collect

Information you give us through the enquiry form

When you send us an enquiry, we collect the information you enter:

• your name;
• your company name, if you provide it;
• your email address;
• your telephone number, if you provide it;
• the service you’re interested in;
• your project description and anything else you choose to tell us;
• your preferred contact method;
• confirmation that you have read this Privacy Policy.

Please don’t include passwords, bank or card details, or other sensitive personal information in your enquiry. We don’t need them to respond to you.

Technical information

When you visit the website or submit the enquiry form, our server and our website hosting provider process technical information such as your IP address, browser type, the pages requested and the date and time of the request. This is used to deliver the website to you, to keep it secure and to protect the enquiry form from misuse, for example by limiting repeated submissions.

Your cookie choices

When you make a choice in the cookie banner or on the Cookie Preferences page, we store a small record of that choice in your browser so that we can respect it. It records which optional categories you have allowed and when you made your choice. Our Cookie Policy explains this in more detail.

The Ask VC chat assistant

If you use the chat assistant, the messages you type are processed in your own browser to find relevant answers from the content of this website. See Chat assistant (Ask VC) for how this works.

How we collect it

We collect personal information in the following ways:

• Directly from you, when you complete the enquiry form, or when you correspond with us by email, telephone or other means after an enquiry.
• Automatically, when your browser connects to the website and technical information is processed by our server and our website hosting provider.
• From your choices, when you set your cookie preferences, which are stored in your browser.

We do not buy personal information about you from third parties.

Why we use it

We use personal information to:

• respond to your enquiry and discuss your requirements using your preferred contact method;
• understand what you’re trying to achieve and whether, and how, we may be able to help;
• take steps you have asked for before entering into a contract, such as preparing to discuss scope or a proposal;
• keep a record of our correspondence with you;
• operate the website, keep it secure and protect it against misuse, fraud and abuse;
• remember your cookie choices and apply them;
• comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, and establish, exercise or defend legal claims where necessary.

Our lawful bases for using your information

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for using personal information. We rely on the following:

• Legitimate interests: to respond to enquiries and keep records of our correspondence, and to operate, secure and protect the website. We only rely on legitimate interests where we have considered that our interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.
• Steps prior to entering into a contract: where you ask us to take steps with a view to working together, such as discussing a potential project.
• Consent: for optional cookies and similar technologies, such as keeping your chat assistant conversation as you move between pages. You can withdraw consent at any time on the Cookie Preferences page.
• Legal obligation: where we need to use or keep information to comply with the law.

Storing your cookie choice is strictly necessary for the website to respect your preferences, so it does not require consent.

Who we share it with

We only share personal information where it is needed for the purposes described in this policy. This may include:

• Service providers who act on our instructions and help us run the website and our business, such as our website hosting provider and the email delivery service used to send enquiries to our team. They may only use your information to provide their services to us.
• Professional advisers, such as lawyers, accountants and insurers, where necessary.
• Regulators, law enforcement and other authorities, where we are required or permitted to do so by law.
• A buyer or successor, if all or part of our business is sold or reorganised, subject to appropriate confidentiality protections.

We never sell your personal information.

International transfers

Some of our service providers may store or process personal information outside the UK. Where this happens, we will make sure the transfer is carried out in line with UK data protection law and that appropriate safeguards are in place. For example, the transfer may be to a country the UK recognises as providing adequate protection, or it may be covered by approved contractual terms.

You can contact us for more information about the safeguards that apply to a particular transfer.

How long we keep it

We keep personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy. How long that is depends on why the information was collected. For example, it will depend on whether an enquiry leads to further discussion or a working relationship, and on any legal or regulatory requirements to keep records.

When information is no longer needed, we delete it or anonymise it securely.

Your cookie choice is stored in your browser for the period set out in our Cookie Policy. Any chat assistant conversation is held only in your browser, as explained below.

How we protect it

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information. On this website, these include:

• sending information between your browser and the website over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection;
• checking and validating enquiry form submissions on our server;
• limiting repeated form submissions to reduce misuse;
• keeping chat assistant conversations in your browser rather than sending them to us;
• restricting access to enquiries to the people who need it to respond.

However, no method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage, is completely secure. While we work to protect your information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have rights over your personal information. Depending on the circumstances, you have the right to:

• access the personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct (rectify) information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• ask us to erase your information;
• ask us to restrict how we use your information;
• object to our use of your information where we rely on legitimate interests;
• ask for your information to be provided in a portable format or transferred to another organisation (data portability);
• withdraw your consent at any time where we rely on consent. This does not affect anything we did before you withdrew it.

Some rights only apply in certain circumstances. To exercise any of them, please contact us. We may need to confirm your identity before responding. You do not normally have to pay a fee.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection, at ico.org.uk. We would appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns first, so please consider contacting us before you do.

Marketing

We do not send marketing communications unless you have asked us to or have given your consent. Sending an enquiry does not sign you up to marketing: we use the information in your enquiry to respond to it.

If you do agree to receive marketing from us in future, you can opt out at any time.

Third-party links

This website may include links to other websites. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of those websites. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of each website you visit.

Chat assistant (Ask VC)

Ask VC is a chat assistant that helps you find information about our services. It runs entirely in your browser and answers from the content of this website.

• Your messages are not sent to VC or to an AI service. They are processed in your browser to find a relevant answer.
• If you allow functional technologies, your conversation is kept in your browser’s session storage so it stays in place as you move between pages. It is deleted when you close the browser tab, or if you later switch functional technologies off.
• If you don’t allow functional technologies, your conversation is held only in the page’s memory and is cleared when you leave or reload the page.

The chat assistant cannot send your details to us. If you would like to talk to us about a project, it will direct you to the contact form.

Please don’t share sensitive information in the chat, such as passwords, bank or card details, authentication codes, or health or other special category information.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example if we change how the website works or the services we use. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated shown at the top. If we make significant changes, we will take reasonable steps to make you aware of them.

How to contact us about privacy

If you have any questions about this policy or how we use your personal information, or you would like to exercise any of your rights, please get in touch using our contact form. Please mention that your message is about privacy.

You can also write to us at: Suite 718, 95 Wilton Road, London SW1V 1BZ, United Kingdom.