Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Merricot Advisory Ltd ("Merricot", "we", "us", "our") is a UK-based advisory firm specialising in cryptocurrency security, ERC-20 token management, cold wallet architecture, and exchange listing strategy. We are registered in England and Wales.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect and process personal data when you visit our website at merricot.co.uk, enquire about our services, download resources, or otherwise engage with us. It applies in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Our Data Protection contact is: privacy@merricot.co.uk

2. What Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

• Identity data — first name, last name, job title, and company name.
• Contact data — email address, telephone number, and postal address.
• Technical data — IP address, browser type and version, time zone, browser plug-in types, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access our site.
• Usage data — information about how you use our website, products, and services.
• Marketing and communications data — your preferences in receiving marketing from us and your communication preferences.

We do not collect any special categories of personal data (such as health, religious, or political data) and we do not collect data relating to criminal convictions.

3. How We Collect Your Data

• Direct interactions — when you fill in a form on our website (such as our resource download form), contact us by email or telephone, or request a consultation.
• Automated technologies — as you interact with our website, we may automatically collect technical data about your equipment and browsing actions via cookies and similar technologies. Please see our Cookie Policy for details.
• Third parties — we may receive technical or analytics data from providers such as Google Analytics.

4. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data only where we have a lawful basis to do so. The purposes and legal bases are:

• To provide our services — fulfilling contracts and service agreements (legal basis: contract).
• To respond to enquiries — responding to requests, questions, or consultations you initiate (legal basis: legitimate interests).
• To deliver requested resources — sending you documents, guides, or other materials you have requested via our website (legal basis: consent / contract).
• To improve our website — using aggregated analytics to understand usage patterns and improve user experience (legal basis: legitimate interests).
• To send marketing communications — only where you have given consent or where we have a legitimate interest and you have not opted out (legal basis: consent / legitimate interests).
• To comply with legal obligations — where required by applicable law or regulation (legal basis: legal obligation).

5. Data Sharing and Third Parties

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your data with trusted third parties in the following circumstances:

• Service providers — IT and hosting providers, analytics providers (e.g. Google Analytics), and email service providers who process data on our behalf under data processing agreements.
• Professional advisers — lawyers, accountants, and insurers who require access to data to provide professional services.
• Regulators and authorities — where required by law, court order, or regulatory obligation.

All third parties are required to respect the security of your data and to treat it in accordance with applicable data protection law.

6. International Transfers

Some of our third-party service providers (such as Google) may be based outside the UK. Where we transfer personal data internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), or transfers to countries with UK adequacy decisions.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. In general:

• Client and engagement data is retained for up to 7 years following the end of the engagement, in line with UK legal and tax requirements.
• Marketing contact data is retained until you withdraw consent or opt out.
• Website enquiry data is retained for up to 2 years from the date of the enquiry.
• Analytics data is retained in aggregated, anonymised form for up to 26 months.

8. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• Right of access — to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification — to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure — to request deletion of your data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing.
• Right to restrict processing — to request that we suspend processing of your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability — to receive your data in a structured, commonly used format.
• Right to object — to object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
• Rights relating to automated decision-making — we do not make automated decisions that produce significant effects on you.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@merricot.co.uk. We will respond within one calendar month. There is no charge for exercising your rights.

9. Security

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal data to those who have a genuine business need. We have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

10. Cookies

Our website uses cookies. For full details of the cookies we use and how to manage them, please see our Cookie Policy.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. If we make material changes, we will take reasonable steps to bring them to your attention.

12. Complaints