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Privacy notice

Last updated: 14 October 2026

This notice explains what personal information we collect when you visit our website or get in touch about drilling work, why we collect it, who we share it with, how long we keep it and the rights you have. We collect only what we need to quote for and carry out your job.

Who we are

Direct Core Drilling is the trading name of DIRECT CORE LIMITED, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 06543791). Our registered office is Matrix House, 12-16 Lionel Road, Canvey Island, Essex, SS8 9DE.

We are the controller of the personal information described in this notice. This means we decide how and why it is used and we are responsible for looking after it. We don’t have a data protection officer. For any question about your information, contact us:

What we collect

When you send a quote request

Our quote form asks for:

  • your name, phone number and email address
  • what kind of customer you are (for example contractor, trade, homeowner or commercial client)
  • the postcode of the site. We only ask for the postcode at this stage, not the full address
  • details of the job, such as what needs drilling, the material, hole sizes, thickness, access notes and timing
  • up to six photos, if you choose to add them
  • any message you add

Photos are resized and re-encoded in your browser before they are sent. This removes hidden information stored in the file (metadata), including the location where the photo was taken. Please avoid including people, vehicle registration plates or documents in your photos. We only need to see the wall, floor or slab.

When you email, call or message us

If you email us, phone us or send us a WhatsApp message, we receive your name, phone number or email address and whatever you tell us or send us, such as photos, drawings or site details. We may keep notes of phone calls so we can quote accurately.

When you visit the website

  • Website analytics. We use Vercel Web Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights to see how many people visit each page, which actions are taken (for example sending a quote request or tapping our phone number) and how quickly pages load. These tools don’t use cookies and don’t store any identifier on your device. We only see aggregated figures, such as page counts, country, browser and device type. We can’t identify you from them.
  • Server logs. Our hosting provider, Vercel, automatically records technical information when your browser requests a page, such as your IP address, the page requested, the date and time, and your browser type. This is used to deliver the website, keep it secure and fix faults, and is kept for a limited period set by the hosting provider.

For more about cookies and similar technologies, see our cookies notice.

Why we use your information and our lawful bases

Under UK data protection law we must have a lawful basis for each use of your information. Ours are:

  • Steps before entering into a contract (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(b)): to answer your enquiry, assess the job, prepare a quote and arrange the work at your request. If you go ahead, we use the same information to carry out the contract.
  • Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)): to deal with enquiries that are not from the person who will be the customer (for example a contractor asking on behalf of a client), to keep a record of what was discussed and quoted, to run, measure and improve the website, and to keep it secure and prevent spam and misuse. We have considered your interests and believe these uses are expected and have little impact on you.
  • Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)): if you become a customer, we must keep invoices and accounting records to meet tax and company law requirements.

We don’t send marketing emails, we don’t sell your information and we don’t make decisions about you using solely automated means.

Who we share it with

We use the following service providers (“processors”) who handle information only on our instructions and under a written contract:

  • Vercel Inc. hosts the website and provides the cookieless analytics described above.
  • Resend delivers the email containing your quote request to our business mailbox, and sends you a confirmation email.
  • Our business email provider stores the emails we send and receive, including quote requests.
  • Sanity provides the system we use to manage the content of this website, such as project photos and case studies. It does not receive or hold your enquiry.

We may also share information with:

  • our accountants and professional advisers, such as lawyers and insurers, where needed
  • HMRC and other authorities where the law requires us to

WhatsApp. If you contact us using WhatsApp, your messages are handled by WhatsApp (part of Meta) under its own terms and privacy policy once you leave our website. We are responsible for how we use the messages we receive.

International transfers

Some of our service providers are based in, or use servers in, the United States or other countries outside the UK. Where your information is transferred outside the UK, we rely on the safeguards allowed by UK data protection law. These include UK “adequacy” regulations (such as the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, where the provider is certified) or contracts containing approved data protection terms (such as the UK International Data Transfer Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses). Contact us if you would like more information about these safeguards.

How long we keep it

Enquiries, including quote requests, photos and related emails: 12 months for enquiries that do not become work.

If you become a customer, we keep invoices and accounting records for as long as tax and company law requires. HMRC currently requires company records to be kept for six years from the end of the financial year they relate to.

Website server logs are kept for a limited period set by our hosting provider and then deleted.

Nothing stored on our website

When you send a quote request, it is emailed straight to our business mailbox. The website doesn’t keep a copy in a database. Our mailbox is our record of your enquiry and is subject to the retention periods above.

How we keep it to a minimum

  • We ask only for what we need to quote, and most job details are optional.
  • We ask for the site postcode only, not the full address, until you decide to book.
  • Photos are re-encoded in your browser, which strips location and other hidden metadata.
  • Enquiries are not stored on the website; they go straight to our mailbox.
  • Our analytics are cookieless and aggregated, and there are no advertising or social media trackers.
  • There are no pre-ticked boxes and we don’t ask for marketing consent, because we don’t send marketing.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

  • access the personal information we hold about you and receive a copy
  • ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete
  • ask us to delete your information
  • ask us to restrict how we use it
  • object to us using it where we rely on legitimate interests
  • ask us to transfer information you gave us to you or another organisation (data portability), where we use it to take steps before or perform a contract
  • withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on your consent. This doesn’t affect anything we did before you withdrew it

Some of these rights only apply in certain circumstances. To use any of them, contact us using the details above. We may need to check your identity. There is normally no charge, and we will respond within one month, or tell you if we need longer because the request is complex, as the law allows.

Complaints

Complaining to us

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please tell us first. You can complain by phone, email or post:

We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days of receiving it, look into it and tell you the outcome without undue delay.

Complaining to the ICO

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK regulator for data protection: visit the ICO’s website at ico.org.uk or call 0303 123 1113.

Children

Our services are for businesses and adults arranging building work. The website is not aimed at children and we don’t knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.

Changes to this notice

We may update this notice, for example if we start using a new service provider. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page shows when it last changed. If we make a significant change that affects how we use information you have already given us, we will tell you directly where we can.

See also our cookies notice, website terms of use and terms of business for quotes and bookings.