Privacy policy
Your information, in plain English
What we collect, why, who helps us handle it, how long we keep it, and your rights. Last updated 1 November 2026.
Who we are
Howell & Sons Construction Ltd (company number 11270942, registered office The Barn, Musgrave Farm, Horningsea Road, Fen Ditton, Cambridge CB5 8SZ) is responsible for your personal information. In data protection law we are the "controller". We're a small building firm based in Barrington, near Cambridge.
Questions or requests about your information: email info@howellandsons.co.uk or call 01223 501605.
The short version
- We only collect what we need to reply to you, price your project, build it, and run the business.
- We never sell your information, and we don't send newsletters or marketing emails. If we ever want to, we'll ask first.
- Advertising cookies are only used if you say yes.
- You can ask to see, correct or delete your information at any time.
What we collect, and why
When you get in touch
If you use our contact form, call, email or message us, we keep your name, contact details, the job's address or postcode, and what you tell us about your project. We use it to reply, arrange a visit and prepare a quote. Our legal basis is taking steps at your request before a contract, and our legitimate interest in answering enquiries.
When you use our cost calculator
We collect your name, phone number, email, the job's postcode, any notes, and your project choices (type, size, specification, any budgets you add). We use them to work out and email you a guide price, and so we can follow up about your project. The postcode tells us whether you're in our working area and which regional prices to use. We also note roughly how you found our website (for example "Google" or "Instagram"). Legal basis: legitimate interests (giving you the price you asked for and following up on it).
To stop the calculator being used to send spam, we keep a scrambled code made from your email address and internet (IP) address. It can't be turned back into either, and is only used to count how many emails have been sent.
When you order an estimate from your drawings
We collect your name, email, phone number, the property's address and postcode, a description of the project, your notes, and the drawings you upload. Drawings often show names and addresses. We use all of this to produce your estimate, send it to you, and contact you about it. Legal basis: performing our contract with you.
- Measuring. Your drawings are sent to Anthropic's AI service (Claude) to read the measurements. Anthropic processes them on our behalf, under its commercial terms, and doesn't use them to train its models.
- Instant estimates are produced automatically from those measurements and our pricing data, without a person checking them first. That's why they come with a wider price range. Reviewed estimates are checked by Paul. If you're unhappy with an instant estimate, contact us and we'll look at it ourselves.
- Payment is handled by Stripe. We never see or store your card details. We receive confirmation that you've paid, and the amount.
- Improving our pricing. When Paul reviews an estimate, its measurements and prices may be kept to help price future jobs. Your name, contact details and address are left out of that copy.
When we build for you
For customers, we keep contact details, quotes, contracts, drawings, invoices, payment records and correspondence about the job. Legal bases: performing our contract, legal obligations (such as tax and building regulations records), and our legitimate interest in dealing with any questions or claims after the work is finished.
When you visit our website
- Our host (Netlify) keeps standard server logs, including IP addresses, to run the site securely.
- Our fonts are loaded from Google Fonts, so your browser connects to Google, which sees your IP address.
- Only if you click Accept on our cookie banner, we load Google Ads and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) measurement tools. They tell us whether our adverts lead to enquiries or orders. Legal basis: your consent, which you can withdraw at any time. See our cookies page for details and to change your choice.
Who helps us handle your information
We use these service providers. They only use your information to provide their service to us:
| Provider | What for |
|---|---|
| Netlify | Hosting the website, receiving form messages, storing orders and drawings |
| Anthropic | Reading measurements from drawings you order an estimate for |
| Stripe | Taking payment for estimates |
| Resend | Sending your guide price, order confirmation and estimate by email |
| Our email and phone providers | Receiving and replying to your messages |
| Google (Fonts, and Ads only with consent) | Website fonts; measuring our adverts |
| Meta (only with consent) | Measuring our Facebook and Instagram adverts |
| Xero | Accounts, quotes and invoices |
| Our accountant | Bookkeeping and tax |
If you become a customer, we may share what's needed with the people who help build your project, such as subcontractors, architects, structural engineers and building control. We'll also share information if the law requires it.
Some of these providers are based in, or store data in, the United States. When information goes outside the UK, it's protected by the UK's approved safeguards: the UK–US data bridge, or the UK's standard data transfer contracts.
How long we keep it
- Enquiries and calculator requests that don't lead to work: up to 2 years, then deleted.
- Estimates from drawings (your details, drawings and estimate): 2 years from the estimate, unless you become a customer. Payment records: 6 years, for tax.
- Customers: 7 years after the work is finished, because of tax rules and the time limits for claims about building work.
- Your cookie choice is saved in your own browser until you clear it.
Keeping it safe
Our systems use encrypted connections. Orders, drawings and estimates are stored privately, and only we can reach them, behind a password. Your estimate is shared using a long private link that only you receive. If something ever goes wrong that puts your information at risk, we'll tell you and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) where the law requires it.
Your rights
You can ask us to:
- give you a copy of the information we hold about you
- correct anything that's wrong
- delete your information (unless we have to keep it, for example for tax)
- stop or limit how we use it, or object to us using it for our legitimate interests
- give you your information in a format you can take elsewhere
- withdraw your consent, where we rely on it (for example advertising cookies)
Just email info@howellandsons.co.uk. It's free, and we'll reply within a month. If you're not happy with how we've handled your information, please tell us first so we can put it right. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk, 0303 123 1113).
Children
Our services are for adults. We don't knowingly collect information about children.
Changes
If we change how we use your information, we'll update this page and the date at the top.