Privacy policy
Last updated 10 October 2026
Who we are
Duly Paid is a Highfold Group brand. Address: Office 10125, 321-323 High Road, Chadwell Heath, Essex RM6 6AX, United Kingdom. The "controller" of the personal data described here ("we", "us") is Highfold Group.
Questions about your data? Email hello@dulypaid.co.uk. We read every message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
What we collect
- Details you give us - your name, email address, password (stored as a one-way hash) and business details; details of your customers that you enter (business and contact names, email addresses, phone numbers, postal addresses) and your invoices, payments and notes (for your customers' details you're the controller and we act only as your processor: see If a business has contacted you through Duly Paid below); invoice PDFs and logos you upload; a record of the emails we send on your behalf and your customers' responses (for example “I’ve paid” or a dispute).
- Payment details - handled entirely by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number.
- Messages - what you send us by email or through our contact forms.
- Basic usage data - we count page views without cookies. To count unique visitors we use a one-way, daily-changing hash of your IP address and browser; we can't use it to identify you and it resets every day.
- Security logs - like most websites, our web server and mail server keep logs of each request: your IP address, the date and time, the page or service requested and your browser details (and, for emails, the sender and recipient addresses). We use them only to keep our services secure and working.
- Live chat - the messages you type into our chat assistant and any details you choose to send through it (see Live chat below).
Why we use it, and our lawful basis
| Purpose | Lawful basis (UK GDPR Art. 6) |
|---|---|
| Providing what you've ordered or signed up for, and talking to you about it | Contract |
| Replying to your messages and enquiries | Legitimate interests (or steps you ask us to take before a contract) |
| Taking payment, keeping accounts and tax records | Legal obligation |
| Keeping our services secure and preventing fraud and abuse | Legitimate interests |
| Improving our website using cookieless statistics | Legitimate interests |
Who we share it with
We never sell your data. We share it only with the suppliers below, who help us run Duly Paid. Suppliers that act for us may use it only on our instructions, under contracts that require them to protect it. Where a supplier also uses data for its own purposes (as the table says), its own privacy policy covers that use.
| Supplier | What for |
|---|---|
| Contabo GmbH (servers in United Kingdom) | hosting: the server that runs this website and stores its database and files, and our own mail server on it, which sends and receives our emails |
| Stripe Payments UK Ltd | card payments and billing (Stripe is also an independent controller for fraud prevention and its own legal obligations) |
| Abacus.AI, Inc. (USA) | AI processing of live chat messages to write the assistant's replies |
Some of these suppliers may process data outside the UK (for example in the USA). Where they do, the transfer is protected by UK adequacy regulations (including the UK–US data bridge), or the ICO's International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses.
How long we keep it
- Account and order data: while you're a customer, then 6 years (UK tax and limitation rules).
- Enquiries that don't lead anywhere: 2 years.
- Emails to and from our hello@dulypaid.co.uk mailbox: deleted from our mail server 2 years after they arrive.
- Our log of the emails we send you (address, subject and whether it was delivered): 1 year.
- Security logs on our servers: 14 days.
- Cookieless page-view and visitor counts: about 13 months (400 days).
- Backups: anything we delete stays in our nightly backups for up to 14 days, then it's gone.
- Live chat conversations: 180 days after the last message; details you send through the chat, with the recent part of the conversation, are kept like other enquiries.
Live chat
Our website has a chat assistant. It is an automated AI assistant, not a person: it answers questions using Duly Paid's own web pages and information we've written for it, and it can make mistakes. If it can't help, it can take your details so our team can reply to you by email.
- What we keep - the messages you type, the assistant's replies, the page you started the chat on, when it happened, and a one-way hash of your IP address that changes every day (only to stop one connection using up the assistant - we don't use it to identify you). Please don't type card details or sensitive personal information into the chat; card numbers are removed automatically, from the chat and from details you send.
- AI processing - to write its replies, your messages and the relevant parts of our website are sent to Abacus.AI, Inc. in the United States, which acts as our processor under a contract that requires it to protect your data. The transfer is protected by UK adequacy regulations (including the UK–US data bridge), or the ICO's International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses.
- Details you send us - if you choose to leave your details (for example your name, email address and phone number) they reach the Duly Paid team in the same way as a message through our contact form, together with the recent part of your conversation (so the team has the context), we email you to confirm we've got them, and we reply by email. Nobody from the team joins the chat itself.
- Why (lawful basis) - legitimate interests (answering questions about our products), and steps you ask us to take before entering into a contract when you ask us to get back to you.
- How long - chat conversations are deleted 180 days after the last message. If you send your details, they and the recent part of the conversation that goes with them are kept like other enquiries (2 years).
- On your device - once you start a chat, your browser keeps the conversation (in local storage, not a cookie) so it stays open as you move between pages. It's cleared the next time you visit after 24 hours without using it, or straight away when you choose "Start a new chat" or clear this site's data. Once you've sent your details, your browser no longer keeps them.
If a business has contacted you through Duly Paid
If you've had a payment reminder, a payment page or a letter from a business that uses Duly Paid, this part is for you.
- Who's responsible for your details: the business that contacted you. Its name is on every email, page and letter, and it is the "controller" of your personal data. Duly Paid (Highfold Group) is its "processor": we store your details and send the reminders it has set up, only on its instructions and for no other purpose.
- What we hold: the name, contact name, email address, phone number, postal address and company number the business entered; the invoice and amounts; payments it has recorded; the emails we've sent and when; and anything you tell us on the payment page, such as the date you say you paid or why you dispute the invoice.
- Why: so the business can recover money it says you owe it. Its lawful basis is normally the contract between you, or its legitimate interest in being paid.
- Who sees it: the business and the suppliers listed above that run our service (hosting, email delivery and backups). We never sell your details, use them for marketing or share them with debt collectors or credit reference agencies.
- How long we keep it: for as long as the business keeps it on its account. When the business deletes your details or closes its account, we delete them straight away, and they drop out of our backups within 14 days.
- Your rights: to see a copy of your details, have them corrected, or object to the reminders, contact the business: just reply to any of its emails, as replies go straight to it (if a reply reaches our address instead, we forward it to the business). If the invoice is wrong, use the "Dispute this invoice" link in the email; it pauses the reminders and tells the business why. If you don't recognise the business at all, tick the box on that page and we'll also check the account that contacted you. If you can't reach the business, or you're unhappy with how we've handled your details, email hello@dulypaid.co.uk and we'll pass your request on and help the business respond. You can also complain to the ICO (details below).
Your rights
You can ask us for a copy of your data, to correct it, to delete it, to restrict or object to how we use it, or to receive it in a portable format. You can withdraw consent at any time. If you have an account you can delete it yourself from your account page. Email hello@dulypaid.co.uk for anything else - we'll respond within one month.
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113. We'd appreciate the chance to put things right first.
Changes
If we make important changes we'll update the date above and, where appropriate, tell you by email.