Who we are
Reformer Connect is the controller of personal information collected through this website, the customer and engineer portals, public enquiries and our direct communications. This means we decide why and how that information is used for the Reformer Connect service.
An independent engineer becomes a separate controller for information they receive to prepare a quote, perform work, invoice a customer or meet their own legal obligations. Their privacy practices also apply to that separate use.
Optional public website analytics
With your consent, Google Analytics measures selected public page visits using pseudonymous cookie identifiers and general device information. Account screens, form answers and URL queries are excluded. You can withdraw through Cookie settings. See the analytics privacy notice for cookies, retention and Google international processing.
Information we collect
- Identity and contact details: name, email address, telephone number and account identifiers.
- Organisation and location details: studio or business name, service addresses, town, county and postcode.
- Customer equipment: make, model, serial number, age, location, photographs, documents and service history.
- Service activity: enquiries, symptoms, urgency, messages, engineer interests, quotes, assignments, completion records, reviews and dispute information.
- Engineer information: business and profile details, biography, photograph, skills, brands, qualifications, coverage, availability, insurance information and verification status.
- Referral relationships: referral codes and the customer–engineer connection created when a valid code is used.
- Communications and preferences: contact-form messages, support correspondence, consent records and marketing choices.
- Billing and payment records: commission invoices, amounts, due dates, payment method, payment status, provider references and bank-transfer reports. Payment-card and bank-login details are entered directly into the payment provider's checkout and are not stored by Reformer Connect.
- Studio listings and memberships: ownership claims and review notes, studio profile drafts, uploaded photos, published descriptions, class details, external links and subscription status. We use this information to verify listing access, provide your profile and administer membership payments.
- Used equipment sales: seller listings, condition descriptions, listing photos, asking prices, seller type, order messages, payment and fee references, seller payout status, collection confirmations and payment disputes. Private sellers publish their first name, town and postcode area. Business sellers also provide public business contact and returns details. Buyer and seller account contact details are shared after payment to arrange collection. Stripe collects seller identity and bank details directly. We use sale records to operate the marketplace, release seller funds after collection and handle payment enquiries.
- Technical and security data: IP address, browser or device information, authentication events, request logs and information used to prevent abuse or diagnose faults.
Please do not include health information, payment-card details or unrelated personal information in free-text fields, photographs or documents. If you include information about another person, you must have a lawful reason to do so and tell them where appropriate.
Where information comes from
Most information comes directly from you when you submit a form, create or update an account, upload material, send a message or use the portals. We may also receive information from:
- a customer or engineer involved in the same enquiry or service request;
- an organisation where you act as a staff member or representative;
- our hosting, authentication, email and security suppliers; and
- public sources where reasonably needed to check professional or business information.
Purposes and lawful bases
Optional service reminder emails are off until you choose them in Service history. If enabled, we use your email address and the recommended dates in your equipment service records to send a monthly reminder when equipment is due or due within 30 days. Equipment already included in an open service request is excluded. You can turn these reminders off in Service history at any time. A recommended date is not a confirmed booking.
Swipe the table sideways to see each lawful basis →
| What we do | UK GDPR lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Register accounts, receive enquiries, manage requests, quotes, preferred-engineer relationships and service records. | Contract, or steps requested before entering a contract. |
| Review enquiries and introduce potentially suitable independent engineers. | Contract and our legitimate interests in operating an effective introduction service. |
| Review engineer profiles, insurance information and platform conduct. | Contract and legitimate interests in safety, trust and network administration. |
| Provide support, investigate complaints, prevent fraud, secure accounts and diagnose technical problems. | Legitimate interests, contract and, where applicable, legal obligation. |
| Maintain business, tax, audit and legal records and respond to lawful authorities. | Legal obligation and legitimate interests in establishing or defending legal claims. |
| Issue, collect, reconcile and support payment of engineer commission invoices. | Contract, legal obligation and legitimate interests in administering amounts owed to us. |
| Send optional promotional updates. | Consent, where consent is required. You can withdraw it at any time. |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, those interests include operating and improving a secure specialist network, protecting users, administering introductions and keeping appropriate records. We balance those interests against your rights and reasonable expectations.
Who we share information with
We may share information with:
- customers and engineers involved in a potential or confirmed introduction, limited to what is reasonably needed for the quote or work;
- Supabase for authentication, database and file storage services;
- Cloudflare for website hosting, content delivery, request processing and security;
- Mailgun for transactional email delivery;
- Super Payments for secure hosted payment checkout and payment-status confirmation when an engineer chooses that payment method;
- Stripe for studio membership checkout, recurring billing, invoices and the billing portal. Stripe receives the information you enter at checkout and subscription identifiers linked to your account and studio. We receive payment and subscription status rather than full card details;
- professional advisers, insurers, auditors or service suppliers subject to appropriate duties of confidentiality;
- police, courts, regulators or public authorities where required by law or reasonably necessary to protect rights and safety; and
- a buyer, investor or successor if the service or its business assets are reorganised or transferred, subject to appropriate safeguards.
We do not sell personal information. We do not send one customer’s private equipment, address or contact information to the general engineer network.
Public and private information
Engineers can submit up to six work examples with their own photos and descriptions. Drafts, photo permission declarations and review feedback are restricted to the engineer and authorised administrators. Approved examples and their selected photos are public only while the engineer is active, approved and verified. Engineers must have permission to publish the material and remove private customer details. Saving edits removes an approved example from public view until it is approved again. Public material can be copied or saved by visitors.
Engineer activity cards and pass reasons are private to the engineer and authorised administrators. We use recorded views, responses, quotations, customer selections, confirmed completions and pass reasons to understand platform activity and suggest profile or coverage reviews. These counts are not public ratings and do not automatically change matching settings or decide access to the network.
Studio ownership evidence, review notes, draft profile content and membership records are restricted to the account holder and authorised administration. Uploaded studio media is private until selected in a published, current paid profile. Publishing makes the selected profile, images, class details and links public. Search engines and our public website chat may index published content. External booking platforms receive visitor information only when a visitor follows your link; their own privacy terms then apply.
Account contact details, street addresses, private messages, customer equipment records and service documents are not intended to be public. Engineers may choose profile information for use in a professional listing, and an approved review may be displayed with the reviewer details shown at the point of submission.
For general network requests, engineers may initially see limited job information needed to decide whether to express interest. Customer contact and street details are released only as part of a confirmed match or where otherwise explained. Requests linked to a preferred engineer are restricted to that customer, that engineer and Reformer Connect administrators.
International processing
Some suppliers may process information outside the United Kingdom. When personal information is transferred internationally, we require an applicable legal transfer mechanism, such as UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or an approved UK addendum to standard contractual clauses, together with appropriate security measures where required.
How long we keep information
We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably needed for the purpose collected. The period depends on whether an account or request is active, whether service history is expected to remain useful, and whether information is needed for safety, complaints, fraud prevention, accounting, insurance or legal claims.
- Account and profile information is normally kept while the account is active.
- Enquiries, quotes, messages and service records may be retained to maintain the equipment history and resolve later questions or disputes.
- Insurance and verification records may be retained to evidence the checks completed at a particular time.
- Technical and security logs are kept for shorter periods appropriate to security and troubleshooting.
- Device-side drafts remain on that device until submitted, removed by the service, or cleared through the browser.
When information is no longer needed, we delete or anonymise it. A deletion request may not cover information we must retain by law or need for legal claims, fraud prevention or the rights of another person.
Your rights
Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law gives you the right to request access, correction, deletion, restriction or portability of your personal information and to object to certain uses. Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time without affecting earlier lawful use.
Your right to object: you may object to processing based on our legitimate interests. We will stop unless we have compelling legitimate grounds to continue or the information is needed for legal claims. You can object to direct marketing at any time, and we will stop using your information for that purpose.
To exercise a right, email experts@reformerconnect.co.uk. We may ask for proportionate information to verify your identity. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Marketing
Service messages about an enquiry, quote, account, security event or policy change are not marketing. We send optional promotional email only where permitted, and each message will provide a way to opt out. You can also opt out by emailing us. Opting out does not prevent essential service communications.
Automated decisions
Reformer Connect does not currently make decisions with legal or similarly significant effects using solely automated processing. Matching and engineer approval involve human review. We may use rules to organise or filter requests—for example by coverage, skills or preferred-engineer relationship—but a rule does not itself award work.
Security
We use access controls, authenticated accounts, row-level database permissions, encrypted connections and supplier security controls appropriate to the service. No internet service can promise absolute security. Keep your password confidential, use a unique password and contact us promptly if you believe an account or message has been compromised.
Children
The service is intended for adults acting for themselves, a studio or a business. It is not directed at children, and people under 18 must not create an account or submit an enquiry.
Changes and contact
We may update this policy when the service, suppliers or law changes. The date at the top identifies the current version. We will provide suitable notice if a change materially affects how registered users’ information is handled.
Privacy questions, rights requests and legal notices can be sent to experts@reformerconnect.co.uk or through our contact page. Details about browser storage are in our cookie policy.