Privacy at Birmingham Plug-in Solar
Last updated: 4 November 2026
This notice explains what we do with your details when you join our kit list, send us your garden, ask a question or buy a kit. We only ask for what we need, and we never sell your details.
Who we are
Birmingham Plug-In Solar, trading as Birmingham Plug-In Solar, is responsible for your personal details (the "controller").
- Address: Unit 3 Britannia House, Brunswick Industrial Estate, Newcastle upon Tyne NE13 7BA
- Email: through our contact form
What details do we keep?
When you order
- name, email address and mobile number
- delivery address and postcode
- the kit you order, the price, and the pre-order dates if it's a pre-order
- delivery notes (for example steps or parking)
- that you ticked to accept our terms, and when
When you pay Square handles your card details on its own secure page. We don't see or store them. Square tells us whether the payment worked and gives us a payment reference.
When you join the kit list
- your email address
- your first name and the kit you're interested in, if you give them
- when and where you signed up, and the wording you agreed to
When you contact us Your name, email and whatever you tell us. If you send us your garden, that's covered in the next section.
When you browse Only if you allow analytics cookies: how you use the site, through Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity. See our cookie policy.
We don't need any sensitive information about you, such as health details. Please don't send it.
Garden sketches and photos
When you send us your garden, we keep your name and email, your postcode if you give it, your answers about the sunny spot, its length and your socket, your message, and any sketches or photos you email us afterwards.
We use them only to suggest a spot and a kit for you. We don't publish them or share them with anyone, and we don't use them in adverts. Please leave people, car number plates and house numbers out of photos where you can.
We keep them for 12 months after our last message, unless you go on to order, then delete them. Ask us through the contact form and we'll delete them sooner.
How we use it, and why we're allowed to
| What we do | Our legal reason |
|---|---|
| Take payment, deliver your kit and send your confirmation and delivery updates | To carry out our contract with you |
| Deal with cancellations, returns, refunds and faults | To carry out our contract, and to meet our legal duties |
| Check that only one kit goes to each household | Our legitimate interest in following the grid connection rules for plug-in solar |
| Contact you about a safety notice or recall for your kit | Our legal duties on product safety, and our legitimate interest in keeping customers safe |
| Keep sales and VAT records | Our legal duties (tax law) |
| Keep records of electrical items we take back for recycling | Our legal duties (WEEE rules) |
| Prevent fraud and misuse of the site | Our legitimate interest in protecting our business and customers |
| Send kit list emails | Your consent |
| Analytics | Your consent (through the cookie banner) |
| Suggest a spot and a kit from the garden details you send | Steps you ask us to take before you buy |
| Answer your questions | Our legitimate interest in replying to you, or steps you ask us to take before you buy |
The kit list
The kit list is our email list for:
- stock arrivals and dispatch dates;
- when pre-orders open;
- new kits and offers from Birmingham Plug-In Solar.
We only add you if you tick the box to join. The box is never ticked for you.
Every email has an unsubscribe link. You can also use our contact form to leave. Once you leave, we stop straight away and keep only your email address on a "do not email" list, so we don't add you back by mistake.
Emails about an order you've placed, such as your confirmation and dispatch updates, aren't marketing. You'll get them even if you're not on the kit list.
Who we share it with
We use trusted services to run the shop. They only use your details to do their job for us.
| Who | What for | What they see |
|---|---|---|
| Square | Taking payments and refunds | Payment details, name, email, order total |
| Zoho (Zoho CRM and Zoho Flow) | Our order and customer records, and the kit list | Your order and contact details; kit list sign-ups |
| Cloudflare | Hosting this website, security, and a backup copy of orders and enquiries | Website traffic; order and enquiry details |
| Our delivery courier (we'll name them when ordering opens) | Delivering your kit | Name, delivery address, phone number, delivery notes |
| The kits' maker, if they send your kit straight to you | Sending your kit to you | Name, delivery address, phone number |
| Zoho Mail | Sending and receiving email | Your emails to and from us |
| Zoho | Sending kit list emails | Your email address and name |
| Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity | Site analytics, only if you allow cookies | How the site is used (not your order or contact details) |
| Our accountant | Our accounts and VAT | Sales records |
| The kit's manufacturer | Handling a warranty claim, only with your agreement | What's needed for the claim |
Square also uses some of your details for its own purposes, such as fraud checks, under its own privacy notice.
We'd only share your details with anyone else if the law requires it, for example with HMRC or the police.
Where your details are held
Most of our services store data in the UK or the EU. Some, such as Cloudflare, Google and Microsoft, may process data in the USA or elsewhere. Where that happens, the transfer is covered by UK adequacy rules or by approved contract terms. Zoho, which holds our customer records and email, stores them in its EU data centre.
Birmingham Plug-In Solar sometimes works from Spain. When that happens, your details may be viewed from there. The UK recognises the EU and EEA as giving your data adequate protection.
How long we keep it
- Orders, payments and refunds: 6 years, for tax and accounting records.
- Messages that don't lead to an order: 12 months.
- Kit list: until you unsubscribe, or after 24 months without opening any of our emails.
- Records of electrical items taken back for recycling: 4 years, as the WEEE rules require.
- Proof of your kit list consent: for as long as we email you, and for 6 years after you leave, in case we need to show you agreed.
After that, we delete your details or make them anonymous.
What can you ask us to do?
You can ask us to:
- give you a copy of your details;
- correct anything that's wrong;
- delete your details;
- stop or limit how we use them;
- move them to another organisation, where that applies.
You can also object to us using your details for our legitimate interests, and withdraw consent at any time (for example, by unsubscribing).
Some rights have limits. For example, we must keep sales records for tax. We'll explain if a limit applies.
To use any of these rights, use our contact form. We'll reply within one month. It's free.
Complaints
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your details, please tell us first through our contact form so we can try to put it right.
You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO): ico.org.uk, or 0303 123 1113.
Other things to know
- We don't make decisions about you using fully automated systems.
- Our shop is for adults. We don't knowingly collect details from anyone under 18.
- Giving your details is needed to place an order, because we can't deliver without them. Joining the kit list is optional.
Changes to this notice
We'll update this page if anything changes and show the date at the top.
Birmingham Plug-In Solar is a trading name of Adam Foy, Unit 3 Britannia House, Brunswick Industrial Estate, Newcastle upon Tyne NE13 7BA.