This policy explains how SME Shack (a trading name of Hoodieverse Limited) collects, uses, and protects your personal data when you use our website at sme-shack.co.uk or engage our services.
Who we are
SME Shack is a trading name of Hoodieverse Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (Company No. 15208911).
- Data controller: Ali Shiwani
- Email: ali@sme-shack.co.uk
- ICO registration: Registered with the Information Commissioner's Office
What data do we collect?
We collect the following personal data:
- Contact form submissions: your name, email address, business name, which service you are interested in, and your message.
- Calendly bookings: your name, email, and any information you provide in the booking form (e.g. about your business).
- Payment data: if you become a client, payment information is collected and processed by Stripe. We never see or store your full card details.
- Website usage data: if you consent to analytics cookies, we may collect anonymised data about how you use the site (pages visited, time on site). See our Cookie Policy for details.
How do we use your data?
- To respond to your enquiry and provide the service you requested.
- To send you a proposal or quote if you ask for one.
- To process payments and manage your subscription (via Stripe).
- To improve our website and services based on anonymised usage data.
We will never sell your data to third parties. We will never send you marketing emails unless you explicitly opt in.
What is our lawful basis for processing?
- Contact form data: legitimate interests — you contacted us and reasonably expect a reply.
- Client/payment data: contractual necessity — we need it to deliver the service you paid for.
- Analytics data: consent — only collected after you opt in via the cookie banner.
Who do we share your data with?
We use a small number of trusted third-party services to run our business. Your data may be processed by:
- Resend — sends the email when you submit our contact form.
- Stripe — processes payments and manages subscriptions.
- Calendly — manages the booking widget on our contact page.
- Cloud hosting provider — hosts our website (GDPR-compliant EU/UK infrastructure).
- Sanity — our content management system (blog and case studies only, no personal data).
Some of these services are based outside the UK. Where data is transferred internationally, it is protected by Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent safeguards.
How long do we keep your data?
- Contact form enquiries: 12 months, then deleted.
- Client data: for the duration of our working relationship, plus 6 years afterwards (HMRC requirement for financial records).
- Analytics data: as per Google Analytics default retention settings (currently 14 months).
What are your rights?
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:
- Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate data.
- Erasure — ask us to delete your data (subject to legal obligations).
- Restriction — ask us to limit how we use your data.
- Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests.
- Portability — request your data in a machine-readable format.
To exercise any of these rights, email ali@sme-shack.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days.
Cookies
For details on how we use cookies, see our Cookie Policy. You can manage your cookie preferences at any time using the "Cookie settings" link in the footer.
Children's data
Our services are aimed at business owners. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 16. If you believe we have collected such data, please contact us immediately.
How to complain
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, please email us first at ali@sme-shack.co.uk. If we cannot resolve your concern, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Any changes will be published on this page with an updated date below.
Last updated: 6 April 2026