Privacy & Cookie Policy

Introduction & who we are

The Bid Method is a bid-writing and tender-support consultancy run by Heather Warrender. We take the privacy of everyone who visits this website, or gets in touch about our services, seriously. This policy sets out what personal data we collect, why, how we use it, and the choices and rights you have.

For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, the data controller is:

Business name

The Bid Method (Full legal/trading name and company number, if applicable)

Contact

Heather Warrender

Registered / business address

Registered business address

Email

heather@thebidmethod.co.uk

Phone

07836 392377

What personal data we collect

We only collect the personal data we need in order to respond to you, provide our services, and run this website. This includes:

• Contact and enquiry details you submit through our contact form or by email/phone, such as your name, email address, phone number, company name, and details of your tender or enquiry.
• Client and engagement information shared with us in the course of a bid-writing or tender-support engagement, such as documents, tender content and correspondence relevant to that work.
• Standard website analytics data, such as pages visited, time on site, general location (country/region) and device/browser type, collected automatically via cookies and similar technologies (see the Cookies section below).
• Marketing preferences, where you have opted in to receive updates from us, such as your email address and your subscription/consent status.

We do not knowingly collect special category data (such as health or financial information) through this website. Please avoid including sensitive information in the contact form unless it is directly relevant to a tender enquiry and necessary for us to assist you.

How we use your data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

• To respond to enquiries submitted via the contact form, email or phone.
• To discuss, scope and provide our bid-writing, bid review, bid management, tender search and bid readiness services to clients.
• To administer and improve this website, including understanding how visitors use it.
• To send you updates, insights or marketing communications, but only where you have given your consent to receive these - you can withdraw this consent at any time (see Your rights).
• To comply with our legal, accounting and regulatory obligations.

Legal basis for processing

Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases, depending on the circumstances:

• Consent - for example, when you opt in to receive marketing emails or updates, or where non-essential cookies are set on this site.
• Legitimate interests - for example, responding to enquiries, keeping basic website analytics to understand and improve our service, and maintaining records for the sound running of our business, where this does not override your rights and interests.
• Contract - where processing your data is necessary to perform a service you have engaged us to provide, or to take steps at your request before entering into an engagement.
• Legal obligation - where we need to retain or share information to comply with the law (for example, tax and accounting requirements).

Data sharing

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal data. We may share limited personal data with trusted service providers who help us run our business and this website, only where necessary and under appropriate confidentiality and data protection safeguards. This may include:

• Website hosting and website form providers: Name of hosting/website platform, if used
• Email and communications providers: Name of email provider, if used
• Email marketing platform (where you have opted in to updates): Name of email marketing platform, if used
• Website analytics provider: Name of analytics tool, if used, e.g. Google Analytics
• Accounting/invoicing software used to administer client engagements: Name of accounting/invoicing tool, if used

We may also share information where required by law, for example in response to a valid request from a regulator, court or law enforcement body.

Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes it was collected, and to meet our legal and accounting obligations. As a general approach:

• Enquiry and contact form submissions that do not lead to a client engagement: Retention period - to be confirmed
• Client engagement records (including correspondence and tender-related documents): Retention period - to be confirmed
• Financial records (invoices, payment records) as required by UK tax law: Retention period - to be confirmed, typically at least 6 years
• Marketing consent records: kept until you withdraw consent, plus a short period afterwards to evidence that withdrawal, per retention period - to be confirmed

When personal data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymise it.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• Access - to ask us for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification - to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erasure - to ask us to delete your personal data, where applicable.
• Restriction - to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• Objection - to object to our processing of your data, including for direct marketing.
• Portability - to ask us to provide your data in a portable, machine-readable format, where applicable.
• Withdraw consent - where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time, for example by unsubscribing from marketing emails.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in How to contact us about privacy. We will respond within the timeframes required by law.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you also have the right to complain to the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), at ico.org.uk.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They help websites function properly, understand how they are used, and, in some cases, deliver relevant marketing. We use the following broad categories of cookies:

• Strictly necessary / session cookies - required for the website to function correctly, such as remembering your cookie consent choices. These cannot be switched off.
• Analytics cookies - help us understand how visitors use this website (for example, which pages are most popular) so we can improve it. These are only set with your consent.
• Marketing cookies - may be used to measure the effectiveness of our marketing or, where applicable, to show relevant content on other sites. These are only set with your consent.

Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), we will ask for your consent before setting any non-essential (analytics or marketing) cookies, via a cookie banner or preference tool. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time, usually through your cookie preference settings on this site or through your browser settings.

How to contact us about privacy

If you have any questions about this policy, or want to exercise any of your data protection rights, please contact us:

• Email: heather@thebidmethod.co.uk
• Phone: 07836 392377
• Post: Registered business address

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example to reflect changes in the law or in how we use tools and services. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date.