Privacy Policy & Data Protection

SOS Group Services Ltd (“we”, “us”, or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy, confidentiality, and security of all personal data entrusted to us. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, store, process, and safeguard personal information obtained through our website (sosgroupservices.co.uk), emergency telephone operations, tender submissions, and on-site contracting operations.

We operate strictly in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Please read this notice carefully to understand our practices regarding your data.

The data controller responsible for the processing of your personal information is:

If you have any questions regarding this policy or wish to exercise your statutory rights, please contact our Data Compliance Team in writing at the address above.

Depending on your interaction with SOS Group Services, we may collect and process the following categories of personal information:

• Contact & Identity Data: Full name, company/organisation name, job title, email address, telephone numbers, and site billing address.
• Project & Technical Site Data: Site location, property specifications, drainage schematics, defect logs, structural drawings, and CCTV survey video footage/photographs captured during visual drain or aerial UAV drone inspections.
• Transaction & Contract Data: Payment details, invoicing history, quotation files, framework procurement records, and signed job sheets.
• Technical Web Data: IP address, browser type and version, time zone setting, operating system, and anonymous usage telemetry collected via secure cookies.

We do not routinely collect any Special Category Data (e.g. medical, ethnic, or religious data) from website users or commercial clients.

Under UK GDPR Article 6, we process your personal information only when a recognised legal basis exists:

• Performance of a Contract: Necessary to provide quotations, dispatch emergency engineers, execute groundworks, water mains, drainage, or facilities projects, and manage ongoing framework agreements.
• Legitimate Interests: Necessary for our legitimate business interests in responding to online enquiries, preventing fraud, maintaining network security, and improving our multi-disciplinary contracting operations.
• Legal & Regulatory Compliance: Required to comply with statutory UK health and safety obligations (HSE, CDM Regulations), Building Regulations sign-offs, and HMRC tax record retention.
• Consent: Where you have expressly consented to receive technical newsletters or marketing communications.

As part of our specialist services, SOS Group Services operates robotic CCTV drain inspection cameras and CAA-approved aerial survey quadcopters (UAVs):

• CCTV Drain Inspections: Footage is recorded exclusively for identifying structural defects, root intrusion, fractures, and blockages. Reports and video clips are stored in secure, password-protected portals and shared only with the contracting client.
• Aerial Drone Surveys: Flights comply strictly with Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulations. High-resolution imagery is captured strictly focused on the commissioning client's roof, tower, or land parcel. Incidental capture of adjacent public spaces or private property is pixelated or discarded where practical.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data. We disclose personal information only to trusted third parties strictly necessary to deliver our services:

• Statutory & Water Authorities: Regional water undertakers (e.g. Severn Trent Water, Thames Water) and municipal building control authorities for self-certification, Section 106 connections, and WaterMark compliance.
• Specialist Cloud Providers: Secure UK/EEA-hosted cloud databases, email dispatchers (e.g. Resend), and accounting platforms operating under strict Data Processing Agreements.
• Law Enforcement & Regulators: If required by law, court order, or to protect the safety of our workforce, clients, or the general public.

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected. For commercial contracts and completed engineering works, records are securely retained for a minimum of 6 to 7 years to comply with UK limitation periods, tax law, and insurance warranty requirements.

We implement industry-standard physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards, including SSL/TLS encryption for all website communications, role-based database permissions, and secure on-premise hardware storage.

Under UK data protection laws, you possess comprehensive rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you (Subject Access Request).
• Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal records.
• Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your data where no overriding legal or contractual requirement exists.
• Right to Restrict or Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests or request temporary restriction of processing.
• Right to Data Portability: Request transfer of your data to another service provider in a structured format.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at sos@sosgroupservices.co.uk. We respond to all verified requests within one calendar month at no charge.

If you have concerns regarding our data handling, we encourage you to contact our Solihull office first so we can resolve the issue promptly.

You also have the right to lodge a formal complaint with the UK data supervisory authority: