Privacy Notice

We are the controller of your personal data. For more information on controllers and their responsibilities please see the guidance on data protection principles, definitions, and key terms.

This privacy notice tells you what to expect us to do with your personal information.

Contact Details

Email: enquiries@gateforth.systems

What Information We Collect, Use, and Why

We collect or use the following information to provide and improve products and services for clients:

• Names and contact details
• Addresses
• Occupation
• Payment details (including card or bank information for transfers and direct debits)
• Transaction data (including details about payments to and from you and details of products and services you have purchased)
• Information relating to compliments or complaints
• Records of meetings and decisions
• Account access information
• Website user information

We collect or use the following personal information for the operation of client or customer accounts:

• Names and contact details
• Addresses
• Purchase or service history
• Account information, including registration details
• Information used for security purposes
• Technical data, including information about browser and operating systems

We collect or use the following personal information for information updates or marketing purposes:

• Names and contact details
• Profile information
• Marketing preferences

We collect or use the following personal information to comply with legal requirements:

• Name
• Contact information
• Client account information
• Any other personal information required to comply with legal obligations

We collect or use the following personal information for dealing with queries, complaints or claims:

• Names and contact details
• Addresses
• Payment details
• Account information
• Purchase or service history
• Relevant information from previous investigations
• Customer or client accounts and records
• Financial transaction information
• Correspondence

Lawful Bases and Data Protection Rights

Under UK data protection law, we must have a “lawful basis” for collecting and using your personal information. You can find out more about lawful bases on the ICO’s website.

Which lawful basis we rely on may affect your data protection rights which are set out in brief below. You can find out more about your data protection rights and the exemptions which may apply on the ICO’s website:

• Your right of access: You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. You can request other information such as details about where we get personal information from and who we share personal information with. There are some exemptions which means you may not receive all the information you ask for.
• Your right to rectification: You have the right to ask us to correct or delete personal information you think is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Your right to erasure: You have the right to ask us to delete your personal information.
• Your right to restriction of processing: You have the right to ask us to limit how we can use your personal information.
• Your right to object to processing: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data.
• Your right to data portability: You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you.
• Your right to withdraw consent: When we use consent as our lawful basis you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

If you make a request, we must respond to you without undue delay and in any event within one month.

To make a data protection rights request, please contact us using the contact details at the top of this privacy notice.

Our Lawful Bases for the Collection and Use of Your Data

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to provide and improve products and services for clients are:

• Contract: We have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object.
• Legitimate interests: We’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interests are:
  • We need to review our past project deliverables, client feedback, and service usage to refine our software architecture methodologies, improve our internal processes, and ensure we continue to offer high-quality, relevant technical consultancy.

For more information on our use of legitimate interests as a lawful basis you can contact us using the contact details set out above.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for the operation of client or customer accounts are:

• Contract: We have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object.
• Legitimate interests: We’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interests are:
  • We have a necessary commercial and security interest in providing a stable and secure client portal. This involves processing account and technical data to manage user access, maintain platform security, and ensure a reliable environment for our clients’ consultancy documents.

For more information on our use of legitimate interests as a lawful basis you can contact us using the contact details set out above.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for information updates or marketing purposes are:

• Legitimate interests: We’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interests are:
  • We have a commercial interest in promoting our B2B consultancy services. We process contact details to keep relevant corporate clients and prospects informed about our availability, industry updates, and service offerings, provided they have not opted out of these communications.

For more information on our use of legitimate interests as a lawful basis you can contact us using the contact details set out above.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to comply with legal requirements:

• Legal obligation: We have to collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for dealing with queries, complaints or claims are:

• Contract: We have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object.
• Legitimate interests: We’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interests are:
  • We need to maintain accurate historical records of our communications, project scopes, and architectural decisions. This allows us to efficiently resolve future client queries, address any complaints professionally, and establish or defend our legal position in the event of a dispute.

For more information on our use of legitimate interests as a lawful basis you can contact us using the contact details set out above.

Where We Get Personal Information From

• Directly from you
• Publicly available sources
• Third parties
  • We may receive contact information and professional details from business networking referrals, former colleagues, referring agencies, or our existing corporate clients.

How We Protect Your Information

We take the security of your personal data seriously. We have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered, or disclosed.

These measures include strict access controls, the use of multi-factor authentication for all administrative accounts, and ensuring that all data processed via our cloud infrastructure is encrypted both in transit and at rest. Access to your personal data is limited to those who have a strict business need to know.

How Long We Keep Information

We only keep your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for. Specifically:

• Financial and transaction records (including invoices and associated contact details) are retained for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to, in order to comply with HMRC legal obligations.
• Client project records, portal access logs, and correspondence are retained for the duration of our consultancy contract, plus an additional 6 years, to assist with any subsequent queries and to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights.
• Marketing contact details are retained until you opt out or unsubscribe, at which point your email address is moved to a suppression list to ensure we do not contact you again.

Who We Share Information With

Data processors

Cloud communications and workspace provider (IT sector, global operations with UK/EU data centres)

This data processor hosts our corporate email infrastructure, calendars, and internal operational documents, allowing us to communicate securely with clients.

Cloud accounting software provider (FinTech sector, based in the UK/Global)

This data processor provides the software we use to manage our financial ledgers, generate and store client invoices, and prepare our statutory corporate accounts.

Others we share personal information with

• Professional or legal advisors
• Organisations we’re legally obliged to share personal information with

Sharing Information Outside the UK

Where necessary, we may transfer personal information outside of the UK. When doing so, we comply with the UK GDPR, making sure appropriate safeguards are in place.

For further information or to obtain a copy of the appropriate safeguard for any of the transfers below, please contact us using the contact information provided above.

Organisation name: Google LLC

Category of recipient: Cloud communications and workspace provider

Country the personal information is sent to: European Economic Area (EEA)

How the transfer complies with UK data protection law: The country or sector has been assessed as providing adequate protection to data subjects (also known as Adequacy Regulations or UK data bridge)

Organisation name: Google LLC

Category of recipient: Cloud communications and workspace provider

Country the personal information is sent to: USA

How the transfer complies with UK data protection law: UK Extension to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (with the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses acting as a contractual fallback).

Where necessary, our data processors will share personal information outside of the UK. When doing so, they comply with the UK GDPR, making sure appropriate safeguards are in place.

For further information or to obtain a copy of the appropriate safeguard for any of the transfers below, please contact us using the contact information provided above.

Organisation name: Sub-processors engaged by our primary software providers

Category of recipient: Cloud infrastructure, application security, and analytics providers

Country the personal information is sent to: European Economic Area (EEA)

How the transfer complies with UK data protection law: The country or sector has been assessed as providing adequate protection to data subjects (also known as Adequacy Regulations or UK data bridge)

Organisation name: Sub-processors engaged by our primary software providers

Category of recipient: Cloud infrastructure, application security, and analytics providers

Country the personal information is sent to: USA

How the transfer complies with UK data protection law: UK Extension to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (with the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses acting as a contractual fallback).

Automated Decision-Making and Profiling

We do not use your personal data for automated decision-making or profiling. All decisions regarding our consultancy services, client accounts, and commercial operations that may legally or significantly affect you are made with human intervention.

How to Complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a data protection complaint to us:

Email: enquiries@gateforth.systems

If you remain unhappy with how we’ve used your data after raising a complaint with us, you can also complain to the ICO at the following address: