Privacy Policy
- Last updated
- 2026-05-22
- Version
- 1.0
- Business
- FM Structural
- Trading status
- Sole trader, transitioning to limited company
- Correspondence address
- 14 Castle Lane, S44 6PS
- Governing law
- England and Wales
- Contact email
- info@fmstructural.co.uk
- ICO
- ICO registration/application reference: C1940133. The public registration number will be updated once confirmed.
Who we are
FM Structural is the controller of personal data collected through this website and in connection with our professional structural engineering services.
Correspondence address: 14 Castle Lane, S44 6PS.
ICO registration/application reference: C1940133. The public registration number will be updated once confirmed.
For any privacy query, contact us at info@fmstructural.co.uk.
What personal data we collect
Information you give us:
- Contact details — name, email, phone number, postal address.
- Project details and descriptions you provide in enquiry or checkout forms.
- Files you upload (drawings, plans, photographs, documents).
- Communication records (emails, notes from calls).
- Account credentials if you create a customer portal account.
Information we collect automatically:
- Technical data — IP address, browser type, device information.
- Usage data — pages visited, time on site, referral source. Collected via Google Analytics and Google Ads tags only where you have consented (see our Cookie Policy).
How we collect it
We collect personal data when you submit an enquiry form, place a buy-now order, correspond with us by email, create a customer portal account, or visit our website. We may also receive information from your architect, builder, contractor or other professional acting on your behalf.
Why we use it and lawful bases
We process personal data only where we have a lawful basis under UK GDPR Article 6. The table below sets out the purposes for which we process your data and the lawful basis for each.
| Purpose | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Responding to enquiries | Contract / steps before contract |
| Providing engineering services | Contract |
| Taking payment | Contract / legal obligation for accounting |
| Keeping project records | Legitimate interests: project administration, PI risk, dispute defence |
| Accounting/tax records | Legal obligation |
| Google Analytics | Consent |
| Google Ads / advertising cookies | Consent |
| Direct marketing emails | Consent or soft opt-in only if legally applicable |
You can withdraw consent for analytics, advertising or marketing at any time without affecting the lawfulness of earlier processing.
Payments
Card payments are processed by Stripe. We do not receive or store your full card number. Stripe provides us only with a payment confirmation, the last four digits of your card, and a transaction reference. Stripe's own privacy policy governs how it handles your payment data.
Enquiries and project records
When you submit an enquiry or place an order, we create a project record that may include your contact details, the project address, your description of the works, files you upload, our correspondence with you, our calculations, drawings and reports, and any notes or assumptions recorded during the project.
We may rely on information you supply, and may share relevant project information with Building Control bodies as part of submissions, or with other professionals working on your project with your knowledge.
Analytics and advertising
Where you have consented, we use Google Analytics 4 (measurement ID G-2MVV8P2N7R) to understand how visitors use the website. We also use Google Ads tags to measure the effectiveness of our advertising and to attribute enquiries and purchases to ad clicks.
Analytics and advertising tags are not loaded before you give consent. You can withdraw or change your consent at any time via the cookie preferences control in the website footer.
Cookies
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies. Strictly necessary cookies are always active because the site cannot function without them. Non-essential cookies — including analytics and advertising cookies — are only set where you have consented. See our Cookie Policy for full details and how to change your choices.
Processors and service providers
We do not sell your personal data. We use trusted service providers to operate our business, including:
- Stripe — payment processing;
- Google — Google Analytics, Google Ads and Google Workspace;
- Vercel — website hosting;
- Neon — database infrastructure;
- Google Workspace — email, storage and business communications.
We may also share data with Building Control bodies as part of submissions, with other professionals working on your project with your knowledge, and with professional advisors and insurers where necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
All processors are required to handle your data in accordance with applicable data protection law.
International transfers
Some of our processors — including Google, Stripe, Vercel and Neon — process data outside the UK, including in the United States. Where they do, transfers are protected by an appropriate safeguard — UK adequacy regulations, the UK extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, or the International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.
How long we keep data
We keep enquiry, client and project records only for as long as reasonably necessary. Typical retention periods are:
- unsuccessful enquiries: up to 24 months;
- accounting and payment records: 6 years or as required by law;
- project records, correspondence, assumptions, calculations, reports, drawings and issued deliverables: minimum 6 years from project completion and potentially longer where reasonably necessary for Professional Indemnity insurance, dispute defence, limitation/latent defect risk, regulatory or professional reasons;
- cookie consent records: for as long as needed to evidence consent and manage preferences.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to:
- access your personal data;
- have inaccurate data corrected;
- have data erased (subject to our retention obligations);
- restrict or object to processing;
- data portability;
- withdraw consent at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, email info@fmstructural.co.uk.
Complaints
You have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). You can contact the ICO at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113. We would, however, ask that you contact us first so that we have the opportunity to address your concern.
Contact
FM Structural
14 Castle Lane, S44 6PS
info@fmstructural.co.uk
Updates to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The version number and last updated date shown at the top of this page reflect the current version. Where changes are material, we will take reasonable steps to bring them to your attention.