Privacy Notice
1. Website Privacy Notice
This notice applies to visitors to michaelswift.co.uk. The site is operated by James Swift trading as Michael Swift Horologist ("we", "us").
What the website does
The website is purely informational. It describes the clock and watch repair services offered. There are no contact forms, no account registration, no online ordering, no analytics scripts set by us, and no marketing cookies set by the site itself. We do not use visitor data for profiling or advertising, and we do no marketing or outreach.
Third-party content
The homepage includes a YouTube welcome video (privacy-enhanced embed at youtube-nocookie.com). Cookies are not set on page load but may be set if you press play. The contact page offers an optional Google Maps embed; the about page offers an optional Vimeo documentary. Maps and Vimeo load only if you click to activate them. See our cookie policy for details.
Browser storage: When you click to load an optional embed, we remember your choice for the current browser session using sessionStorage (not a cookie).
Fonts: We host the Roboto font on our own server. Loading pages does not send your data to Google Fonts.
Lawful basis
Legitimate interests (security and operation of the website) and, where applicable, performance of a contract if you later instruct work.
Your rights and contact
You have the usual UK GDPR rights (access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, portability where applicable). To exercise them, email [email protected] or write to Michael Swift Horologist, 6 Gallowgate, Rothesay, Isle of Bute, PA20 0HR. You may also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.
This notice may be updated from time to time. The current version is available on the website.
2. Customer Privacy Notice
This notice explains how Michael Swift Horologist collects, uses and protects personal data when providing clock and watch repair services.
Who we are
James Swift trading as Michael Swift Horologist, 6 Gallowgate, Rothesay, Isle of Bute, PA20 0HR. Sole trader. Data controller. Email: [email protected].
What data we collect
Almost all of this comes from you when you enquire or leave work with us.
- Identity and contact details: name, address, telephone, email.
- Job and transaction details: item description, job numbers, invoices, payment records, repair notes and history.
- Photographs: technical images of the case, movement and related detail linked to a job. Images containing personal correspondence ("document private") are stored separately and never exposed via public URLs.
- Communications: records of SMS, email, WhatsApp and telephone contact about your repair.
We do not collect special category data in the ordinary course of business.
How we communicate with you
- SMS via The SMS Works (UK) for job notifications and reminders. These are about the job, not marketing.
- Email from our self-hosted mail server in the UK (invoices, receipts and other repair correspondence).
- WhatsApp when you use that channel.
- Telephone via the shop line. EE keeps its own call logs; we do not control those.
- Card payments via SumUp. Card details are processed by SumUp and are not stored by us.
Why we process your data
- Performance of a contract — to take instructions, carry out repairs, invoice and communicate about the work.
- Legal obligation — to retain financial and transactional records for HMRC.
- Legitimate interests — to retain technical repair history (after personal identifiers have been anonymised) so that continuity of service is possible if the same item returns; and to maintain a break-glass business continuity arrangement.
How long we keep data
Active customer records are retained while you remain a customer and for the HMRC period relating to the last tax year in which an invoice was raised (at least five years from 31 January following the end of that tax year).
After that period, personal identifiers (name, address, telephone, email) are anonymised. Technical job history and non-identifying photographs remain linked to an anonymised ID.
If you enquired but did not instruct work, the customer record in our shop system may be anonymised after one year. The correspondence is kept as a business record for the HMRC period.
Technical history will be deleted or fully anonymised on request after the HMRC period has expired, or if you object to its continued retention.
If you return after anonymisation and instruct further work, current contact details are entered against the existing customer ID. This creates a new accurate record linked to historical technical data; it is not a re-identification of deleted personal data.
When an item changes ownership
If a clock or watch previously repaired is brought in by a new owner, the technical repair history linked to the item may be made available for the new job. Previous invoices and any commercial details belonging to the earlier customer remain under the previous (anonymised) record and are not treated as belonging to the new customer. They would not be disclosed to the new owner in response to a subject access request.
Who we share data with
We do not sell data and we do not use it for marketing. Services that may process personal data in order to do the job: The SMS Works (job SMS), our UK web and mail host, Cloudflare (website security), SumUp (card payments), and any embed or messaging provider you choose to use (YouTube, Google Maps, Vimeo, WhatsApp). HMRC may receive financial records if required.
Your rights
- Access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, and portability (where applicable).
- Erasure of personal data that we are legally obliged to keep for HMRC cannot be granted until the statutory period ends.
- You may object to continued retention of technical history; we will delete or fully anonymise it on valid objection.
Contact [email protected] or write to the shop address above.
Effective: 2 September 2026
