UKHow we look after your information.
This policy explains what personal information Real Receptionist collects, why, where it is kept and the rights you have under UK data protection law.
1. Who we are
Real Receptionist UK is run by Real Receptionist (Pty) Ltd, a company registered in South Africa with registration number 2017/507757/07. Our registered address is 7A The Ridge Office Park, Door De Kraal Avenue, Kenridge, 7550, Western Cape, South Africa. Our receptionists work from Cape Town.
Our UK representative under Article 27 of the UK GDPR is Belinda Postma. You can contact her instead of us about anything in this policy by emailing [email protected] and marking your message for her attention.
For any privacy question, contact our data protection lead, Chenara Coetzee, at [email protected] or on +44 20 3807 4898.
We follow the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). Because our team is in South Africa, we also follow South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
2. Real people, not AI
Every call is answered by a real person. We do not use AI receptionists, voice bots, automated answering or call-centre scripts. A person takes every message and makes every booking.
We do not use AI tools anywhere in our standard service, including transcription. We do not put callers' details or call content into AI tools, we do not use your information to train AI systems, and we do not make decisions about anyone by automated means.
The only exception is when a client expressly asks for transcription-based reporting, such as a sentiment rating for each call. We only switch this on for that client, in writing, and it is covered by that client's own data plan.
3. Our two roles
UK law treats us differently depending on whose information it is.
When the information is ours to look after (we are the "controller")
This covers people who visit this website, people who enquire or book a call with us, the contact people at our client businesses, suppliers and job applicants. This policy applies in full to that information.
When we answer calls for a client (we are a "processor")
When we answer calls in a client's business name, the client decides how their callers' information is used. The client is the controller and we act only on their written instructions, under a data processing agreement. If you called one of our clients, that business's own privacy policy applies to you. If you contact us about it, we will pass your request on to them straight away.
4. How we handle our clients' customers: we work inside your systems
We work as an extension of your team. You give each receptionist their own user login to your booking system, diary, CRM, helpdesk or ERP, and we record callers' details directly in your system, just as an in-house receptionist would.
- Your customers' details stay in your systems. We do not copy them into our own systems or keep them on our side.
- Your rules apply. Your security settings, access controls, retention periods and privacy policy cover everything we record.
- Call forms live with you too. If you want us to log every call on a form, we recommend you set the form up in your own Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace account, or in your own CRM. Our receptionists fill it in there, and the answers go straight into your systems.
- You stay in control. You can see what we do, change our access at any time and switch our logins off the day our service ends.
What we do hold
- Call records for billing. To bill you by the second and give you an itemised call log, our phone system keeps the date, time, length of each call and the number it came from. We keep call logs for 1 year.
- Message emails. If you ask us to send messages by email, they are sent from our business email to the address you choose. We keep copies for 2 years so we can answer any questions about a message, then delete them.
- Call recordings. Call recording is optional. You decide whether it is switched on or off for your calls, and you can change this at any time. If you switch it on, you choose how long recordings are kept and you are responsible for telling your callers that calls may be recorded.
If you want us to keep data for you
If you would rather we kept information on our side, for example in our own helpdesk or forms, we only do this when you ask in writing. We then agree a data plan for you that sets out exactly what we keep, where it is stored, who can see it, how long we keep it and how we delete it.
5. Information we collect about you
- When you book a call or enquire: your name, business name, email address, phone number, type of business, rough call volume, best time to call and anything you choose to tell us.
- When you become a client: contact and billing details, the call script and instructions you give us, invoices, payments and our emails and calls with you.
- When you visit this website: technical information such as your IP address and browser type, which our hosting provider uses to deliver and protect the site.
- For business marketing: business contact details we get from public sources such as company websites and LinkedIn, or from business data providers.
6. Why we use it and our lawful basis
| What we do | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Reply to your enquiry and arrange your 15-minute call | Steps you asked for before a contract, and our legitimate interest in answering enquiries |
| Set up and run your service, send messages, book appointments, bill you | Contract |
| Keep accounting and tax records | Legal obligation |
| Tell businesses about our service | Legitimate interests. For sole traders and partnerships we only email with consent or where you are an existing customer. You can opt out at any time. |
| Keep our website and systems secure | Legitimate interests |
| Handle callers' details for our clients | The client's instructions. The client chooses its own lawful basis. |
We never sell personal information.
8. Information that leaves the UK
Our team works from South Africa. The UK has not made adequacy regulations for South Africa, so we protect any personal information that reaches us from the UK with the Information Commissioner's International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA), or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, backed by a transfer risk assessment.
For clients: even when your data stays on your own systems, our receptionists see it from South Africa, which UK law counts as a transfer. Our data processing agreement includes the IDTA so you are covered.
Some of our suppliers also process information in the UK, the EU, the United States or other countries. They use their own approved safeguards, such as the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or standard contract clauses.
9. How long we keep it
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Enquiries that don't become clients | 24 months after we last spoke |
| Client contracts, invoices and payment records | 5 years after the service ends |
| Call logs | 1 year, then kept only as totals with no phone numbers |
| Message emails | 2 years |
| Call recordings (only if you switch recording on) | For the period you choose |
| Marketing opt-outs | As long as needed, so we never contact you again |
| Data we hold for a client under a data plan | As agreed in that client's data plan |
10. How we keep it safe
- Every receptionist has their own login. We never share logins.
- Multi-factor authentication on our own systems, and we use it on yours when you have it switched on.
- Staff only see what they need for the client they are helping.
- Every team member signs a confidentiality agreement and is trained in data protection.
- Access is removed on the day someone leaves.
- If something goes wrong with a client's data, we tell that client within 24 hours of becoming aware of it so they can meet their own duty to report to the ICO within 72 hours.
11. Your rights
You can ask us to:
- give you a copy of the personal information we hold about you
- correct anything that is wrong
- delete your information, or limit how we use it
- stop using it for marketing, at any time
- object to how we use it under legitimate interests
- send your information to you or another organisation in a usable format
- withdraw your consent, where we rely on it
Email [email protected]. It is free and we will reply within one month. If you called one of our clients, please contact that business, or contact us and we will pass your request to them.
12. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first at [email protected]. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days and give you a full answer as quickly as we can.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.
14. Changes to this policy
We will update this page if anything changes and show the new date at the top. Last updated 12 October 2026.