Privacy Policy

1.Who we are

This Privacy Policy explains how Real Agent Group, trading as Utility Umbrella ("we", "us", "our"), collects, uses, shares and protects your personal data when you visit our website, request a quote, or use our services.

For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, Real Agent Group is the data controller of the personal data described in this policy. We are a company registered in England and Wales, with our registered address at Bloomsbury Street, WC1B 3QJ, London, United Kingdom.

We are registered with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a data controller. If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your personal data, you can contact our data protection team at help@utilityumbrella.com.

2.Personal data we collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

• Identity and contact data — name, job title, business name, postal address, email address and telephone number.
• Business and account data — company registration number, trading details, the services you hold or enquire about, and account history.
• Financial and payment data — bank account details for Direct Debit mandates, billing records and payment history. We do not store full card numbers; card payments are processed by our regulated payment partners.
• Usage data captured on the supply — where you take a service such as telephony or broadband, information about your use of that service (for example call records and data usage) for billing, support and fraud prevention.
• Technical data — IP address, browser type, device information and cookie identifiers collected automatically when you use our website.
• Communications data — records of your contact with us, including emails, call recordings, support tickets and live-chat transcripts.
• Marketing and preference data — your consent choices and preferences for receiving marketing from us.

3.How we collect your data

• Directly from you — when you complete a quote or contact form, sign up for a service, speak to our team, or otherwise correspond with us.
• Automatically — through cookies and similar technologies when you interact with our website (see "Cookies" below).
• From third parties — including Companies House, credit reference and fraud-prevention agencies, our suppliers and partners, and publicly available sources, where lawful to do so.

4.Our lawful bases for processing

We only process your personal data when the law allows us to. The lawful bases we rely on are:

• Performance of a contract — to provide the services you have requested, manage your account and process payments.
• Legitimate interests — to run and grow our business, prevent fraud, keep our services secure, and contact business customers with relevant offers, provided your rights do not override these interests.
• Consent — for certain marketing communications and non-essential cookies. You can withdraw consent at any time.
• Legal obligation — to comply with our legal and regulatory duties, including accounting, tax and anti-money-laundering requirements.

5.How we use your data

• To respond to quote requests and enquiries.
• To arrange, set up and manage the services you order from us and our suppliers.
• To process billing, payments and Direct Debits.
• To provide customer support and handle complaints.
• To prevent, detect and investigate fraud and to keep our systems secure.
• To send you service and administrative messages relating to your account.
• To send marketing communications where you have consented or where we are otherwise permitted to do so.
• To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.
• To improve our website, products and services.

6.Marketing and your choices

We may send you information about products and services that may be of interest to you, in line with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) and UK GDPR. You can opt out of marketing at any time by using the unsubscribe link in any email, replying to ask us to stop, or contacting us directly. Opting out of marketing will not affect service or administrative messages relating to your account.

7.Sharing and disclosure

We may share your personal data with:

• Suppliers and partners — the telecoms, broadband, energy, payments, POS and other providers needed to deliver the services you order.
• Service providers and sub-processors — including hosting, payment processing, communications and software providers who act on our instructions.
• Credit reference and fraud-prevention agencies — to assess applications and prevent fraud and money laundering.
• Professional advisers and authorities — including auditors, lawyers, regulators and law-enforcement bodies where required by law.
• Business successors — in the event of a sale, merger or reorganisation of our business.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

8.International transfers

We aim to store and process your personal data within the UK. Where data is transferred outside the UK, we ensure an appropriate safeguard is in place, such as a UK adequacy decision, the International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA), or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, so that your data receives an equivalent level of protection.

9.How long we keep your data

We keep your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy any legal, accounting, tax or reporting requirements. For most customer records this means for the duration of your relationship with us and for a period of up to six years afterwards. When data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymise it.

10.How we protect your data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or alteration. These include encryption in transit, access controls, secure hosting and staff training. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to protect your data and have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data breach, including notifying you and the ICO where we are legally required to do so.

11.Your data protection rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

• be informed about how your data is used;
• access a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
• request rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data;
• request erasure of your data in certain circumstances;
• restrict or object to our processing of your data;
• data portability, where applicable;
• withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent; and
• not be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at help@utilityumbrella.com. We will respond within one month. There is normally no charge.

12.Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to make the site work, remember your preferences, and understand how the site is used. Essential cookies are always active; non-essential cookies (such as analytics) are only used with your consent. You can manage cookies through your browser settings. For more detail on how we use your data, see the relevant sections of this policy.

13.Automated decision-making

Some application and fraud checks may involve automated processing — for example, automated credit or identity checks. Where a decision that produces a legal or similarly significant effect is made solely by automated means, you have the right to request human intervention, to express your point of view, and to contest the decision.

14.Children

Our website and services are intended for businesses and adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal data relating to children.

15.Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or the law. The latest version will always be available on this page, with the "last updated" date shown above. We encourage you to review it periodically.

16.Contact us and complaints

If you have any questions about this policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us:

• By email: help@utilityumbrella.com
• By post: Utility Umbrella, Bloomsbury Street, WC1B 3QJ, London, United Kingdom

The right to complain to the ICO

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection, at any time. We would, however, appreciate the chance to address your concerns first. You can contact the ICO at www.ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

See also our Terms & Conditions and Fair Usage Policy.