Privacy
Privacy notice
This notice covers this website, bbsltd.ke, and anything you send us through it. It explains what we collect, why, who sees it, how long we keep it and what you can ask us to do with it. It follows Kenya’s Data Protection Act, 2019.
Who we are
Benchmark Building Solutions Ltd is a building contractor based at Room F10, 1st Floor, Residential Wing, K-Unity Building, Kiambu Town, Kenya. We decide how the details you give us are used, which makes us the data controller for them.
We are a small company of fewer than ten people, and we do not have a separate data protection department. Questions and requests about your details are handled by the same team that answers enquiries. Write to info@bbsltd.ke or call +254 722 333 324.
What we collect
Most of this website can be used without telling us anything about yourself. We collect personal details only when you choose to send them, plus a small amount of technical information when you visit.
When you visit
- Google Analytics records the pages you view, roughly where you are (country and town), your device and your browser, using cookies. It does not tell us your name.
- Our hosting provider keeps standard server logs, which include your IP address and the time of each request.
- Two settings are kept in your own browser: whether you chose the light or dark look, and whether you prefer a list or a grid on Learn pages. They stay on your device and are never sent to us.
When you fill in a form
- An enquiry: your name, email address, phone number, how you prefer to be contacted, your county or country, the product you asked about and anything you write in the notes.
- A design pack request: your first name, your email address, your phone number if you choose to give it, and which design you asked for.
- A question on a Learn page: the question, your email address, your name if you give it, and the stage of building you say you are at.
- With each form: the page you sent it from, the page you came from, and any campaign tag in the link you followed, so we know what brought you.
When you contact us another way
- Phone, email and WhatsApp. If you call, email or use the WhatsApp button, we receive what you send us and the number or address it comes from, and we use it to reply.
- Social media. Our Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and YouTube pages are run on those platforms, and what you do there is covered by their own privacy policies.
What we do not collect
- Calculators. The figures you type into the mortgage calculator and the repayment table stay in your browser. Nothing is stored or sent unless you then open the enquiry form.
- We do not ask for national ID numbers, KRA PINs, bank details, payslips or card details anywhere on this website.
Why we use it
| What we do | The lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Replying to an enquiry, sending a design pack you asked for, or telling you a question has been answered | Your consent, and because you asked us to do it |
| Following up with you about the enquiry or design you contacted us about | Your consent, given on the form. You can withdraw it at any time |
| Preparing a quotation, a contract or a financing application, if you go ahead | Taking steps you asked for before entering a contract, and then the contract itself |
| Seeing which pages and campaigns bring people to the site, so we can improve it | Our legitimate interest in running a useful website |
| Keeping the site secure: spam checks on forms, limits on repeated submissions, server logs | Our legitimate interest in protecting the site and the people who use it |
| Meeting a legal duty, for example tax records or a lawful request from a regulator or a court | Legal obligation |
We do not sell your details. We do not pass them to anyone for their own marketing. We only follow up with people who have agreed to it, and only about what they contacted us about.
What you agree to on each form
Every form on this site has a box that is never ticked for you. These are the exact words beside it.
- “I agree that Benchmark Building Solutions may use these details to respond to my enquiry and to contact me about it.”
- “I agree that Benchmark Building Solutions may use these details to send me this design pack and to follow up with me about building it.”
- “I agree that Benchmark Building Solutions may use my email address to tell me when my question has been answered.”
We keep a record of the sentence you agreed to and the time you agreed to it, with your details.
Who sees it
- Our own staff who answer enquiries and prepare designs and quotations.
- Microsoft. Form submissions are stored in our Microsoft 365 account, and our email is sent through it.
- Google. Google Analytics measures visits. Videos on the site are YouTube videos and the maps are Google Maps, and each loads from Google.
- Vercel, which hosts this website.
- WhatsApp, if you choose to message us there.
- A lender, only if you decide to apply for construction financing through us, and only with your knowledge at the time you apply.
- Regulators or courts, where the law requires it.
Clients who use our Client Portal sign a separate data privacy agreement, which covers their project records. This notice covers the public website.
Where it is held
Microsoft, Google and Vercel store data on servers outside Kenya, including in the European Union and the United States. We use them under their standard data protection terms. When you send us a form, you agree to your details being transferred and stored there for the purposes in this notice.
How long we keep it
- Enquiries and design pack requests: 24 months after our last contact with you, then deleted.
- Questions from Learn pages: 12 months after the question is answered, then deleted.
- If you become a client: your details move into your project records and are kept for as long as contract and tax law require.
- Analytics: Google Analytics keeps visit data for up to 14 months.
If you ask us to delete your details sooner, we will, unless the law requires us to keep them.
Your rights
Under the Data Protection Act you have the right to:
- be told how your details are being used, which is what this notice is for;
- see the details we hold about you, and have a copy;
- have details that are wrong or misleading corrected;
- have your details deleted;
- object to us using your details, in whole or in part;
- withdraw a consent you have given, at any time.
To use any of these, write to info@bbsltd.ke with “Data request” in the subject line. It costs nothing. We may ask you to confirm it is you, so nobody else can obtain your details, and we will act on the request within 7 days.
Stopping follow-up
If you agreed to follow-up and no longer want it, reply STOP to any email from us, tell the person who calls you, or write to info@bbsltd.ke. We will stop, and it will not affect anything you have already received.
Cookies and your browser
Google Analytics sets cookies that let it tell one visit from another. They do not tell us who you are. You can block them in your browser settings, or with Google’s Analytics opt-out add-on, and the site will work the same.
Videos use YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode, so YouTube sets no cookie until you press play. The maps on the contact page and in the footer load from Google Maps, which may set its own cookies.
The light or dark look and the Learn list or grid choice are kept in your browser’s own storage, not in a cookie, and never leave your device. Clearing your browser data removes them.
Children
This website is for adults. We do not knowingly collect details from anyone under 18, and if we learn that we have, we delete them.
Keeping it safe
Forms are sent over an encrypted connection. Submissions are stored in our Microsoft 365 account, where access is limited to the staff who need it. If a breach ever put your details at risk, we would tell you and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, as the Act requires.
If you are not satisfied
Tell us first and we will try to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner:
Office of the Data Protection CommissionerP.O. Box 30920-00100, Nairobi
info@odpc.go.ke
www.odpc.go.ke
Changes to this notice
When what we collect or how we use it changes, this page changes and the date at the top moves. The version you agreed to is recorded with your details.
