Business Contact Privacy Notice

BUSINESS CONTACT PRIVACY NOTICE

Last updated: 15 October 2026

1. Who I am

Thorough Solutions is operated by Maria Hoare, a sole trader providing business operations and executive support services.

I am the data controller responsible for the personal information described in this Privacy Notice.

For privacy enquiries or to exercise your data protection rights, please contact:

Email: maria@thoroughsolutions.co.uk
Website: www.thoroughsolutions.co.uk

2. What this Privacy Notice covers

This Privacy Notice explains how I collect, use, store and protect personal information when you:

• Visit my website.

• Complete my Business Efficiency Scorecard™.

• Enquire about or book a Power Session™.

• Arrange a Discovery Call or contact me directly.

• Engage my services as a client.

• Communicate with me in a professional capacity.

• Are identified as a potential business contact through publicly available professional information.

Where I process personal information on a client's instructions while delivering services, the client may be the data controller and I may act as a data processor. Such processing is governed by the relevant client arrangements.

3. Information I collect

Depending on how you interact with Thorough Solutions, I may collect:

• Your name, business name and job title.

• Your email address, telephone number and professional contact details.

• Information provided through Google Forms, enquiries and appointment bookings.

• Responses to the Business Efficiency Scorecard™ and Power Session™ enquiry forms.

• Information about your business, operational challenges and requirements.

• Correspondence and relevant records of our discussions.

• Information needed for providing services, invoicing and maintaining business records.

• Website usage information collected through Google Analytics, subject to applicable consent requirements.

For business development, I may also collect professional information from publicly available sources, including LinkedIn, business websites, Companies House, business news and publications.

This may include professional profile links, relevant public business information, research sources and dates, and records of contact preferences.

I do not intentionally request sensitive personal information through my general website forms. Please avoid including such information unless specifically necessary.

4. How I use your information

I use personal information to:

• Respond to enquiries and arrange appointments.

• Understand business requirements and discuss potential services.

• Prepare and deliver Business Efficiency Scorecard™ reports.

• Respond to Power Session™ enquiries and deliver agreed services.

• Manage client relationships and provide operational support.

• Prepare invoices, maintain business records and manage payments.

• Identify businesses that may benefit from my services and make appropriate professional introductions.

• Maintain records of correspondence and contact preferences.

• Understand website usage and improve the visitor experience.

• Meet applicable legal and regulatory obligations.

I do not sell personal information to third parties.

5. Lawful basis for processing

Under UK data protection law, I rely on the following lawful bases, depending on the circumstances:

Contract

Where processing is necessary to provide agreed services or take steps requested before entering into a contract.

Legitimate interests

Where processing is necessary and proportionate for operating and developing my business, managing professional relationships, responding to relevant enquiries and conducting appropriate business development.

For business research and professional introductions, my legitimate interest is identifying businesses that may benefit from operational support and making relevant introductions.

I consider the necessity and potential impact of this processing and balance my interests against individuals' rights and reasonable expectations.

Legal obligation

Where processing is necessary to comply with applicable legal requirements, including tax and accounting obligations.

Consent

Where required, including for non-essential analytics cookies.

Where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing lawfully carried out before withdrawal.

6. Business contacts and professional outreach

I may research businesses and identify relevant professional contacts using publicly available information.

I obtain information from sources such as business websites, LinkedIn, Companies House, professional publications and business announcements, as well as directly from individuals who respond to me.

I use this information to assess whether my services may be relevant, make individual business introductions where legally permitted, respond to enquiries and manage resulting conversations.

I may retain limited records to avoid duplicate contact and respect requests not to be contacted.

For this personal-data processing, I rely on legitimate interests, subject to appropriate assessment. This does not override the separate rules governing electronic marketing. Where those rules require consent or another applicable permission, I must meet those requirements before sending marketing communications.

Your right to stop marketing

You can object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing at any time.

Simply reply to my email or contact maria@thoroughsolutions.co.uk.

I will stop using your information for direct marketing. You do not need to provide a reason.

I may retain limited information, such as your email address and the date of your objection, solely to prevent further unwanted contact.

You can also ask where I obtained your professional contact information.

7. Website analytics and cookies

My website is hosted using Google Sites and uses Google Analytics to help me understand how visitors interact with the website.

Google Analytics may collect information including:

• Pages visited and interactions with website content.

• Approximate geographic location.

• Browser and device information.

• Referral sources and website usage patterns.

Google Analytics uses cookies and related technologies.

Where consent is required, non-essential analytics cookies should only be used after visitors have provided consent.

Google Sites provides a cookie consent mechanism for eligible visitors, allowing them to accept or reject non-essential cookies.

You can also manage or delete cookies through your browser settings.

Further information about Google's privacy practices is available at:

https://policies.google.com/privacy

8. Google Forms, Scorecard and Power Session enquiries

I use Google Forms to collect information submitted through the Business Efficiency Scorecard™ and Power Session™ enquiry processes.

This may include your name, business contact details, information about your business and responses relating to operational challenges or requirements.

I use this information to:

• Review your submission.

• Prepare and deliver relevant reports.

• Respond to enquiries.

• Discuss potential services where appropriate.

• Maintain records of relevant business correspondence.

Submitting a form does not automatically mean you have agreed to receive unrelated marketing communications.

Information is stored using Google Workspace services, including Google Drive and associated spreadsheets.

9. Appointment bookings and communications

When you arrange a Discovery Call or another appointment, I process the information necessary to manage your booking and communicate with you.

This may include your name, email address, appointment details and any information you voluntarily provide.

I use Google Workspace for business email, calendar management, contact records and related correspondence.

10. Client information

Where you engage Thorough Solutions, I may process information needed to manage the engagement, provide agreed services, communicate with you, prepare invoices and maintain appropriate business records.

Depending on the engagement, I may also handle information on a client's instructions.

Where the client determines the purposes and means of processing, the client may act as data controller and I may act as data processor under the relevant contractual arrangements.

11. How information is stored and shared

I use Google Workspace, including Gmail, Google Drive, Google Contacts, Google Forms and calendar services, to manage business information.

I also use OpenAI's ChatGPT to assist with public business research and preparing business development materials.

These providers may process information in providing their services, subject to the applicable contractual terms and account settings.

I do not sell personal information.

Information may also be disclosed where legally required or where necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

12. International data transfers

Some service providers operate internationally, meaning information may be stored or processed outside the United Kingdom, including in the United States.

Where applicable, international transfers are subject to recognised adequacy arrangements or appropriate contractual safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses and applicable UK transfer provisions.

Further information about relevant arrangements is available through the providers' published privacy and data processing terms.

You may contact me for further information about arrangements relevant to your personal information.

13. How long information is kept

I retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including applicable legal, tax and contractual requirements.

Retention depends on the nature of the information and whether there is an ongoing business relationship.

Business prospect records

My intended policy is to review prospect records six months after collection or the last meaningful two-way business conversation, whichever is later.

Where there is no ongoing discussion or other documented reason to retain the information, detailed prospect records will be deleted.

Sending another unanswered introduction or follow-up does not restart this review period.

Marketing objections

Limited suppression information may be retained for as long as necessary to prevent further unwanted marketing contact.

Client and financial records

These are retained for applicable legal, tax and contractual requirements.

Enquiries and form submissions

These are retained according to their purpose, whether they result in an ongoing business relationship, and any applicable legal requirements.

Website analytics

Analytics information is subject to the retention settings and consent controls applicable to Google Analytics.

I periodically review personal information and delete it when it is no longer required.

14. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

• Request access to personal information held about you.

• Request correction of inaccurate information.

• Request deletion of your information.

• Request restriction of processing.

• Object to processing based on legitimate interests.

• Request data portability where applicable.

• Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.

You have an absolute right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing.

To exercise your rights, contact maria@thoroughsolutions.co.uk.

I do not make decisions about individuals based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

15. Complaints

If you have concerns about how your information is handled, please contact me so that I can investigate.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator.

Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

16. Changes to this Privacy Notice

I may update this Privacy Notice to reflect changes in my services, systems or legal obligations.

The date at the top of this page indicates when the notice was last updated.