Privacy Policy | Free Energy Grants Scotland

1. Who We Are

This website is operated by Free Energy Grants Scotland ("we", "us", "our"). We are an informational resource helping Scottish households understand and access government-backed energy efficiency grant schemes.

For data protection enquiries, contact us at:

Email: info@scottishenergyefficiency.co.uk
Phone: 0141 230 0198
Address: Prospect Business Centre, Dundee DD2 1TY, Scotland

2. Information We Collect

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide when using our services:

Eligibility Check Forms

When you complete our eligibility check, we may collect: full name, email address, telephone number, postcode, property type, ownership status, EPC rating, occupancy details, and whether you receive certain benefits.

Email Sign-Up

When you sign up for our resources or newsletter, we collect your email address.

Contact Interactions

When you contact us via phone, email, or WhatsApp, we may record the content of your communication for quality and record-keeping purposes.

Automatic Data

We automatically collect certain technical data when you visit our website, including IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited, time spent on pages, and referring website. This data is collected through standard web server logs and analytics tools.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

To assess your potential eligibility for energy grant schemes
To connect you with authorised scheme providers and installers who can process your application
To respond to your enquiries and provide information you have requested
To send you relevant updates about energy grant schemes (only if you have opted in)
To improve our website, content, and services
To comply with legal obligations

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we process your personal data on the following legal bases:

Consent: When you submit a form or sign up for communications, you consent to us processing your data for the stated purpose.
Legitimate interest: We have a legitimate interest in improving our services, analysing website usage, and preventing fraud.
Legal obligation: We may process data where required by law.

5. Data Sharing

We may share your personal information with:

Authorised grant scheme providers: To process your eligibility and arrange surveys or installations.
Service providers: Third-party services that help us operate our website and process data (such as form processing and hosting providers). These providers are contractually required to protect your data.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We do not share your data with unrelated organisations for their marketing purposes.

6. Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies. Cookies are small text files placed on your device that help us provide and improve our services.

Essential Cookies

These are necessary for the website to function and cannot be disabled. They include cookies for authentication, security, and basic functionality.

Analytics Cookies

These help us understand how visitors use our website, which pages are most popular, and how users navigate through the site. This information is used to improve our content and user experience.

You can manage your cookie preferences using the cookie banner that appears when you first visit our website, or through your browser settings.

7. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the following rights:

Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure: You can ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances.
Right to restrict processing: You can ask us to limit how we use your data.
Right to data portability: You can request your data in a commonly used format.
Right to object: You can object to us processing your data for certain purposes.
Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@scottishenergyefficiency.co.uk. We will respond within one month.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected:

Eligibility form data: retained for up to 24 months from submission
Email subscriber data: retained until you unsubscribe
Contact records: retained for up to 24 months
Analytics data: aggregated and anonymised after 14 months

9. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. This includes encrypted data transmission (HTTPS/TLS), secure hosting infrastructure, access controls, and regular security reviews.

10. Third-Party Links

Our website contains links to external websites including government services, partner organisations, and information resources. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to read their privacy policies.

11. Children's Privacy

Our website and services are not directed at individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

13. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, please contact us first at info@scottishenergyefficiency.co.uk. If you remain unsatisfied, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):

Website: ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113