Privacy Policy
1. About This Privacy Policy
This website (the "Website") is operated by National Tool Hire Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 08904335.
11th Floor, The Plaza, Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L3 9QJ
Throughout this Policy, "National Tool Hire Ltd","National Tool Hire", and"National Tool Hire Shops" refer to the same entity.
This Privacy Policy ("Policy") explains:
- What personal data we collect
- How we process and store it
- Your rights under UK GDPR and EU GDPR
- How you can exercise your rights
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Information You Provide Directly
- Contact Details: Name, email, phone number, postal address
- Booking & Order Information: Payment details, order history, hire preferences
- Communication Records: Emails, phone calls, and messages
2.2 Information We Collect Automatically
- Device & Browser Information: Operating system, browser type, version
- Usage Data: Pages visited, time spent, interactions
- IP Address & Location Data: For security and fraud prevention
- Cookies & Tracking: See our Cookie Policy for details
3. Use of Artificial Intelligence in Customer Service
3.1 AI Voice Assistant Overview
National Tool Hire uses an AI-powered voice assistant to handle incoming customer service calls. This system provides 24/7 support and helps us respond to your enquiries more efficiently.
You will always be notified at the start of a call that you are speaking with our AI assistant, and you can request to speak with a human agent at any point during your call.
3.2 What Our AI Assistant Does
Our AI assistant can help with:
- General enquiries about our services and products
- Basic troubleshooting and support
- Logging complaints and support tickets
- Providing information from our knowledge base
The AI will transfer you to a human agent for:
- Booking and order processing
- Payment enquiries
- Complex or sensitive complaints
- Account changes requiring verification
- Any request you make to speak with a person
3.3 Technology and Third-Party Processors
Our AI system is built in-house and uses the following technologies:
| Service | Provider | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Conversational Model | OpenAI (ChatGPT) | Natural language processing | US (UK GDPR compliant) |
| Call Transcription | Anthropic | Speech-to-text conversion | US (UK GDPR compliant) |
| Voice Infrastructure | Twilio | Call handling and routing | UK data centres |
| Knowledge Base | Zendesk | Information retrieval | UK servers |
All third-party processors operate under Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) and comply with UK GDPR requirements. Where providers are US-based, we ensure compliance through standard contractual clauses and adequacy decisions.
3.4 Data Processing During AI Calls
What data the AI accesses:
- Information you provide during the call (name, contact details, order numbers, enquiry details)
- Read-only access to our knowledge base for providing accurate information
- The AI does NOT automatically access your account history, payment details, or personal records unless you provide them during the conversation
Call Recording and Transcription:
- All inbound calls are recorded (both audio and transcribed to text)
- Recordings are used for quality assurance, dispute resolution, training, and improving our AI system
- Call data is stored on secure UK-based servers (Google Cloud Platform London region)
- All data is encrypted in transit and at rest
3.5 AI Learning and Improvement
We use call data to improve our AI system's accuracy and effectiveness. This process works as follows:
- Call data is anonymised (all personal identifiers removed)
- Anonymised data is used quarterly to fine-tune the AI models
- This improves response accuracy, intent recognition, and natural language understanding
- No real-time learning occurs during individual calls
- All AI training is supervised by our data and technology teams
You can opt-out of your data being used for AI training by requesting this during your call or by contacting us at help@nationaltoolhire.co.uk
3.6 Data Retention for AI Calls
Call recordings and transcripts are retained as follows:
- Standard retention: 6 months from the date of the call
- If a support ticket is created: Retained with the booking/order record for 7 years (legal requirement)
- Legal hold: Retained longer if required for complaints, audits, or legal proceedings
- After the retention period, recordings and transcripts are automatically deleted
You can request early deletion of your call recordings through our Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) process (see Section 8).
3.7 Human Oversight and Transfer
Our AI system is designed with robust human oversight:
- Immediate transfer: You can request to speak with a human agent at any point during your call
- Automatic escalation: Sensitive issues (bookings, payments, complex complaints) are automatically transferred to human agents
- Business hours: Transfers occur within 30 minutes on average (Monday-Friday, 8 AM - 6 PM GMT)
- Out-of-hours: A support ticket is logged in our system and picked up by a human agent during working hours
- Quality monitoring: Our customer service and technology teams conduct weekly audits of 10% of AI-handled calls
- AI oversight committee: A dedicated team including our AI Consultant, Head of Technology, and senior customer service managers monitors AI performance and compliance
3.8 Automated Decision-Making
Our AI does NOT make automated decisions that significantly affect you.
The AI assistant:
- Does NOT automatically approve or decline orders
- Does NOT set prices or make pricing decisions
- Does NOT make credit or payment decisions
- Does NOT make decisions about refunds or disputes
All decisions that affect your orders, bookings, or account are made by human staff members. The AI serves only as an information and support tool.
3.9 Your Rights Regarding AI Processing
You have the right to:
- Request a human agent at any time during an AI call
- Opt-out of your call data being used for AI training purposes
- Request access to recordings and transcripts of your calls
- Request early deletion of your call data
- Object to AI processing of your calls
- Receive an explanation of how the AI processed your enquiry
To exercise these rights, contact us at help@nationaltoolhire.co.uk or see Section 8 for full details of your data protection rights.
3.10 Legal Basis for AI Processing
We process your data through our AI system based on the following lawful grounds under UK GDPR:
- Legitimate Interest: To provide efficient 24/7 customer service and improve our support quality
- Contractual Necessity: To respond to your enquiries and fulfil our service obligations
- Consent: For using your call data to train and improve our AI system (which you can opt-out of)
4. Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data
Under the UK GDPR and EU GDPR, we process your data based on the following lawful grounds:
| Purpose | Legal Basis |
|---|---|
| To provide our services, process bookings, and deliver orders | Contractual necessity |
| To respond to your enquiries and customer service requests | Legitimate interest |
| To provide AI-powered customer service and improve our AI system | Legitimate interest / Consent (for AI training) |
| To send marketing communications | Consent |
| To improve our website and user experience | Legitimate interest |
| To comply with legal or regulatory obligations | Legal obligation |
5. How We Use Your Information
We process your personal data for the following purposes:
- To fulfil your orders and provide our services
- To communicate with you regarding bookings, enquiries, or complaints
- To improve our Website, services, and user experience
- For fraud prevention, security monitoring, and risk management
- For marketing purposes (if you have provided consent)
6. Data Retention & Storage
We retain personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes outlined above or as required by law.
- Customer account and booking history: 6 years (legal requirement)
- AI call recordings and transcripts: 6 months (7 years if support ticket created)
- Marketing communications: Until you unsubscribe
- Website analytics: 2 years
- Security and fraud prevention: 6 years
7. Data Sharing and Disclosure
We do not share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.
We may share your data with:
- Service providers who assist with order fulfilment, customer support (including AI technology providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Twilio, and Zendesk), and business operations
- Law enforcement or regulatory authorities if required by law
- Third parties in the event of a corporate sale or merger
8. Your Rights
You have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Access your data
- Rectify inaccurate data
- Request data deletion
- Object to or restrict data processing
- Receive data in a structured format
- Withdraw consent
9. Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data.
All data, including AI call recordings, is encrypted in transit and at rest on secure UK-based servers.
However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure.
10. Data Breach Notification
We will notify you if we discover a breach of your data.
11. Cookies and Tracking
We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience on our Website.