LAST REVISED: 11/08/2026

General

1) Who we are

These Terms and Privacy Notices apply to services provided by Northiam I.T ("we", "us", "our"), a sole trader operating in the United Kingdom. We are the data controller for the purposes of UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018). Our contact details: help@northiam-it.co.uk and 07548 304945.

2) Services we provide

We provide IT repair and related services, including:

• Computer Repair
• Virus Removal
• Performance Upgrades
• Data Recovery
• Networking Solutions
• Diagnosis

3) Booking and authorization

By requesting a repair service, you confirm that:

• You are authorised to approve repairs to the device(s) and/or account(s) you submit to us.
• The information you provide is accurate to the best of your knowledge.
• You consent to us performing diagnostics and repairs that are reasonably necessary to address the issue you describe.

4) Your right to cancel (distance contracts)

If you book a repair through our website or contact form (rather than in person), this is a "distance contract" under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. As a consumer, you normally have the right to cancel within 14 days of booking without giving a reason.

However, if you ask us to begin diagnostic or repair work within that 14-day period, you agree that:

• You are giving your express consent for us to start work before the cancellation period ends.
• You acknowledge that once work has begun, you lose the right to cancel once the service has been fully performed.
• If you cancel after work has started but before it is complete, you agree to pay a reasonable amount for the work already carried out and any parts already purchased on your behalf.

This cancellation right does not apply to in-person bookings made at our premises (if applicable) or where you have specifically requested urgent same-day service.

5) Customer responsibilities (important)

You agree that you will:

• Back up your data before handing your device to us (or before we begin work where feasible).
• Provide access to the information needed to diagnose the problem (e.g., device model, symptoms, error messages, any relevant account/management details where required).
• Remove or provide authorization for any security protections on the device (e.g., BitLocker/FileVault, account lock, admin passwords) as needed for our work.
• Ensure you are not requesting unauthorised access to data or accounts that you don’t have the right to access.

We do not guarantee that repairs will recover, preserve, or restore your data if it is lost or corrupted due to existing issues, failure, malware, encryption, or physical damage.

6) Data loss / no guarantee of data preservation

You acknowledge that:

• IT repairs may involve actions that could lead to data loss (including, but not limited to, reinstalling an operating system, replacing components, or performing recovery steps).
• We cannot guarantee the integrity, availability, or recoverability of your data.
• If we perform work that requires modifying or wiping storage media, you authorise us to proceed only to the extent necessary for the requested repair outcome, subject to your instructions where provided.

If you want us to attempt to preserve data, you must clearly tell us before work begins. Even when data-preservation efforts are requested, success cannot be guaranteed.

7) Insurance and devices in our care

Your device is not covered by insurance while it is in our possession for diagnosis, repair, or storage. We hold professional indemnity insurance, which covers claims arising from negligent advice or professional errors on our part — it does not cover accidental damage, loss, theft, or fire affecting your device while it is with us.

We take reasonable care to store and handle your device securely. If you would like your device covered against loss or damage while in our care, you should arrange this through your own home contents or equivalent insurance policy before handing it over, as many policies cover items temporarily away from home for repair.

8) Malware, security, and unsafe content

You agree that:

• You may be asked to run or approve specific diagnostic steps.
• If malware is discovered, we may take reasonable remediation actions. However, we cannot guarantee complete removal or that a device will be free of malware after service, especially if the device is re-infected from external sources.
• You are responsible for keeping your own accounts and security measures (e.g., passwords, 2FA) secure.

9) Third-party software, operating systems, and licenses

Any software-related work may be subject to third-party terms (including operating system licenses and software EULAs). We are not responsible for failures caused by third-party services, expired licenses, regional restrictions, or vendor-side changes.

10) Pricing and scope of work

• Estimates (if provided) are based on initial diagnostics and information supplied by you.
• Final pricing may change if additional faults are discovered during diagnosis or repair.
• We may require approval before proceeding with work beyond the agreed scope (where practicable).

11) Turnaround times

Any estimated timelines are not guarantees. Actual completion time depends on factors such as parts availability, complexity, and diagnostic findings.

12) Parts and repairs

• Replacement parts may be new, refurbished, or compatible equivalents, unless otherwise agreed.
• Compatibility is based on information provided by you and standard device specifications. We will not be responsible for issues caused by incorrect device identification or your failure to disclose relevant constraints.

13) Warranties / guarantees (repair warranty)

Any warranty or guarantee we provide (if applicable) is limited to:

• The specific repair(s) we performed.
• Normal use conditions.
• The warranty period described at the time of service or in any written quotation/invoice.

Repairs are not covered where the issue is caused by:

• Accidents, misuse, unauthorised modifications, or improper installation.
• Further damage after collection/return.
• Failures arising from incompatible accessories, non-standard power supplies, or external devices.
• Software issues unrelated to our repair work.

Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, including your right to repairs, replacements, or refunds for services not carried out with reasonable care and skill.

14) Payment terms

You agree to pay fees in accordance with:

• The invoice/quotation provided to you, and/or
• Any stated payment schedule and methods at the time of service.

Failure to pay may result in delaying or suspending further work and/or preventing release of the device until outstanding amounts are settled (to the extent permitted by applicable law).

15) Refunds and returns

Refunds (if any) depend on the work performed and the state of completion. Where diagnostics are performed, diagnostic fees may apply even if you decide not to proceed with repairs. Where a repair has been completed, refunds may be limited or unavailable unless required by law.

16) Device collection and storage

• You are responsible for collecting your device within a reasonable time after completion/notification.
• If you do not collect your device within a reasonable period, we may charge storage fees where permitted, or take reasonable steps to manage devices safely.
• We are not responsible for loss or damage caused by your failure to arrange collection.

If you do not collect your device within 90 days of us notifying you that it is ready, and you do not respond to our reasonable attempts to contact you, we may treat the device as abandoned. In that case, we may dispose of, recycle, or sell the device to recover any reasonable costs owed to us (including any outstanding repair or storage fees), in accordance with applicable law. We will make reasonable attempts to contact you using the details you provided before taking this step.

17) Liability limits

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law:

• We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, loss of business, or loss of data.
• Our total liability for claims related to the service is limited to the amount paid by you for the repair service giving rise to the claim.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.

18) Repair decisions and approvals

You authorise us to proceed with diagnostic steps reasonably necessary to identify the fault. Where additional work is needed beyond the agreed scope, we will attempt to obtain your approval before proceeding, unless circumstances require immediate action to prevent further damage.

19) Communications and updates

We will communicate with you using the contact details you provide (including email, telephone, and messaging provided through our contact workflow). You are responsible for ensuring your contact information is accurate and that you can receive our messages.

20) User conduct

You agree not to:

• Provide unlawful, abusive, or misleading information.
• Request illegal access or actions.
• Interfere with our business systems or attempt unauthorised access.

21) Events outside our control

We are not liable for any delay or failure to perform our obligations where this is caused by events outside our reasonable control, including but not limited to parts or supply shortages, illness, extreme weather, power or internet outages, or other circumstances beyond our reasonable ability to prevent. Where such an event affects your repair, we will let you know as soon as reasonably possible and take reasonable steps to minimise any delay.

22) Complaints

If you are unhappy with any aspect of our service, please raise this with us in the first instance so we have the opportunity to put things right. You can raise a complaint:

• In person
• By phone: 07548 304945
• Via our website contact form

We will aim to acknowledge your complaint promptly and work with you to resolve it. This complaints process relates to the service provided; if your concern is about how we handle your personal data specifically, see the "Your rights" section of the Privacy Notice below, including your right to contact the ICO.

23) Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms and Privacy Notice are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Privacy Notice (Data Handling)

1) What information we collect

When you contact us using our contact form, we collect and process the following information:

• Your name
• Email address
• Telephone number (optional)
• The type of issue
• The message you submit

We also automatically collect limited technical data through cookies and analytics when you browse our website — see Section 10 below.

2) How we use your information and our lawful basis

We use your information to:

• Respond to your enquiry and communication requests
• Identify and assess the type of issue you reported
• Provide quotes, booking information, and service updates
• Contact you about the repair process

Our lawful basis for processing this information is legitimate interests (responding to enquiries and providing the service you have requested) and, where a service is booked, performance of a contract with you. Where cookies are not strictly necessary, we rely on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time (see Section 10).

3) Data processing

We process your enquiry details solely to respond to your request. We do not intentionally collect more personal data than is necessary to respond to your message and provide our services.

4) How your enquiry is delivered and stored (email-js, Gmail, Yahoo)

Our contact form uses a third-party form-delivery service, EmailJS, to transmit the details you submit directly to our email inbox. We do not operate our own server to store this data — instead:

• EmailJS processes the submitted form data solely to route it as an email and does not, to our knowledge, retain a permanent copy once delivered.
• The email is delivered to a Gmail (Google) inbox.
• That Gmail inbox automatically forwards a copy of the email to a Yahoo inbox belonging to us, so that we can respond to you.

As a result, your enquiry details (name, email, telephone number if given, issue type, and message) are stored within our Gmail and Yahoo inboxes. Both Google and Yahoo act as data processors on our behalf for this purpose and may store data on servers outside the UK, including in the United States. Where this occurs, these providers rely on their own safeguards for international transfers (such as Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent mechanisms recognised under UK GDPR). We do not have visibility or control over the internal retention practices of EmailJS, Google, or Yahoo beyond our own inbox — please refer to their respective privacy policies for further detail. We do not sell your personal information.

5) Data sharing

We may share information only with:

• Service providers necessary to deliver and store enquiry emails (EmailJS, Google/Gmail, Yahoo).
• Where required by law, to protect our legal rights, or to comply with a court order or regulatory request.

We do not sell or rent your personal data to third parties, and we do not use your enquiry details for marketing unless you separately opt in.

6) Data retention

Because your enquiry is stored as an email in our Gmail and Yahoo inboxes rather than in a dedicated database, we retain it for as long as it remains in those inboxes. In practice:

• We keep enquiry emails only for as long as reasonably needed to respond to you, complete any related repair work, and deal with any follow-up queries or warranty matters.
• We periodically review and delete enquiry emails that are no longer needed, and we will delete your enquiry sooner on request (see Section 8).
• Where we have a legal or accounting obligation to keep records for longer (for example, invoicing or tax records), we retain only the minimum information necessary for that purpose and for no longer than required by law (generally up to 6 years for UK tax/accounting records).

7) Security

We use reasonable administrative and technical measures intended to protect the information we receive from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure, including relying on the account security features (such as two-factor authentication) offered by Gmail and Yahoo. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee the absolute security of information sent to us over the internet.

8) Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your data
• Object to or request restriction of our processing
• Request that we stop using your data for a particular purpose
• Data portability, where applicable

To make a request, contact: help@northiam-it.co.uk . If you are not satisfied with how we handle your personal data, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK’s data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), at ico.org.uk.

9) Children’s information

Our services and website are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so we can delete it.

10) Cookies and website tracking

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to make the site work properly and to help us understand how visitors use it. Cookies are small text files stored on your device.

We use the following categories of cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies — required for core website functionality (e.g., enabling the contact form to submit correctly). These cannot be switched off and do not require consent.

Most browsers also let you block or delete cookies directly through your browser settings; please note that blocking strictly necessary cookies may affect the functionality of our contact form.

We use Vercel Web Analytics to understand overall website traffic (such as page views, referrers, and approximate country-level location derived from your IP address). This is a cookieless analytics tool — it does not store any information on your device and does not track you individually, so it operates independently of the cookie consent described above. Vercel processes this data on our behalf as a data processor. Further information is available in Vercel’s privacy policy at vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy.

11) Changes to this notice

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time to reflect changes to our practices or legal requirements. The updated version will be posted here, along with the date it was last revised.

Acceptance of these Terms

By submitting a contact request or using our services, you agree to these Terms and Privacy Notice.