Privacy policy.

Last updated 22 September 2026

The short version

• I only hold what you send me, or what I need to build and look after your website.
• This site sets no cookies and runs no tracking or advertising scripts.
• I never sell or rent your details, and I don't send marketing emails you haven't asked for.
• You can ask to see, correct or delete what I hold at any time. Email hello@tomchard.uk.

Who I am

This website belongs to Thomas Chard, a sole trader working as tomchard.uk and based near Bristol. For the purposes of UK data protection law I am the controller of the personal information described here, which means I decide how it is used and I'm responsible for looking after it.

I'm registered with the Information Commissioner's Office. My registration number is ZC254546, and you can check it on the ICO register.

For anything about your information, email hello@tomchard.uk. You'll be dealing with me directly. There's no one else.

Thomas Chard trading as tomchard.uk, 47 Sherwood Road, Keynsham, Bristol BS31 1DA.

What I collect

When you get in touch

Your name, email address and whatever you choose to tell me in your message, such as details about your business or the website you have in mind.

When you become a client

Contact and billing details, the content you send for your site (text, photographs, logos), our correspondence, and records of invoices and payments. To set up hosting or move a domain I may also need access to accounts such as your domain registrar. I only ask for the access a job needs.

When you visit this website

The site is hosted by Cloudflare. To deliver pages and protect the site from attacks, Cloudflare processes technical information such as your IP address, browser type and the pages requested. I don't use this to identify you, and the site runs no analytics or tracking of its own.

How I use it

The law requires a lawful basis for each use of personal information. These are mine.

What I use it for	Lawful basis
Replying to your enquiry and preparing a quote	Taking steps at your request before a contract
Designing, building, hosting and looking after your website	Performing our contract
Invoicing, taking payment and keeping accounts	Contract, and legal obligation (tax records)
Keeping the website secure and working	Legitimate interests
Dealing with a complaint, dispute or insurance claim	Legitimate interests

I don't use automated decision-making or profiling, and I don't use your details for marketing unless you've asked me to keep in touch.

Who I share it with

Only the few businesses that help me run this one, and only what each of them needs:

• Cloudflare, which hosts this site and client sites and routes email to my inbox.
• Google, which provides my email service (Gmail).
• My bank, to receive payments.
• My accountants, who prepare my tax return from my business records.
• HMRC or other authorities, where the law requires it.
• My insurer, if a claim ever arises.

Cloudflare and Google may process information outside the UK, including in the United States. Where they do, the transfer is covered by UK adequacy regulations or the UK's approved contract terms, so your information keeps the same level of protection.

How long I keep it

• Enquiries that don't go ahead: up to 12 months, then deleted.
• Client records, invoices and correspondence: six years after the end of the tax year they relate to, because HMRC requires it.
• Access to your accounts: removed when the work that needed it is finished, or when you ask.

Websites I host for clients

When I build, host or maintain a website for a client, any information collected through that site, such as messages from its contact form, belongs to the client. The client is the controller and I act as their processor, handling it only on their instructions. If you've used a form on a site I built, the privacy policy on that site explains how your information is used, and the business that owns it is the one to contact.

Cookies

This website doesn't set any cookies. The fonts are stored on the site itself, so nothing loads from Google or other third parties while you browse. Cloudflare may set a strictly necessary security cookie if it needs to check that a visitor isn't an automated attack. That cookie can't be switched off without breaking the protection, and it isn't used for tracking.

Your rights

You have the right to:

• ask for a copy of the information I hold about you
• have anything inaccurate corrected
• have your information deleted, unless I have to keep it for legal reasons such as tax records
• object to or restrict how I use it
• receive your information in a format you can take elsewhere

Email hello@tomchard.uk to use any of these rights. There's no charge, and I'll reply within one month.

Complaints

If you're unhappy with how I've handled your information, please tell me first and I'll do my best to put it right. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.

Changes to this policy

If the way I handle information changes, I'll update this page and the date at the top.