1. About this Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy explains how Smart Maintenance+ (“we”, “us”, “our”) uses cookies and similar technologies on our website, smartmaintenanceplus.co.uk. It tells you what these technologies are, why we use them, the specific cookies we set, and how you can control them.

This policy should be read together with our Privacy Policy, which explains how we handle personal data more generally, and who to contact with any questions.

2. What are cookies and similar technologies?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer, tablet or mobile when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work, to make them more efficient, and to provide information to the site owner. “Similar technologies” include pixels, tags, local storage and software development kits, which work in a comparable way. In this policy we refer to all of them as “cookies”.

Cookies may be “session” cookies, which are deleted when you close your browser, or “persistent” cookies, which stay on your device until they expire or you delete them. They may be set by us (“first-party” cookies) or by third parties whose services appear on our site (“third-party” cookies).

3. The rules that apply to cookies

The use of cookies in the UK is governed by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (“PECR”) and, where cookies involve personal data, by the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. These rules were updated by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, key parts of which took effect on 5 February 2026.

Under these rules we must:

• tell you clearly what cookies we use and why;
• obtain your consent before setting any cookie that is not strictly necessary or otherwise exempt;
• make it as easy to refuse or withdraw consent as it is to give it.

What changed in 2026. The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 introduced a limited set of new exemptions from the consent requirement – including cookies used solely for first-party statistical/analytics purposes to improve our own website, cookies that remember your display or accessibility preferences, and certain functional cookies. Even where a cookie is exempt from consent, we must still tell you about it and give you a simple, free way to opt out. Cookies used for advertising or for sharing data with third parties continue to require your prior consent.

4. How we ask for your consent

When you first visit our website, our cookie-consent banner gives you clear information and lets you accept or
reject non-essential cookies, or choose which categories to allow. Strictly necessary cookies are always active because the site cannot work properly without them. Non-essential cookies that require consent, including our analytics cookies, are not set until you agree.

You can change or withdraw your choices at any time by clicking the “Cookie settings” / “Manage cookies” link
on our website, or by clearing cookies in your browser (see section 8). Withdrawing consent will not affect the
lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdrew it.

5. The categories of cookies we use

We group the cookies on our website into the following categories:

• Strictly necessary cookies – these are essential for the website to function – for example page navigation, security, load balancing and remembering your cookie choices. The site cannot work properly without them, so they are always active and do not require your consent.
• Functional / preference cookies – these remember choices you make, such as display or accessibility settings, to give you a better experience.
• Analytics / statistical cookies – these help us understand how visitors use our site – pages viewed, time on site and any errors – so we can improve it. We use Google Analytics for this purpose. Because Google Analytics is a third-party tool, these cookies are only set after you give your consent.

We do not currently use advertising, retargeting or cross-site tracking cookies. If this changes, we will update
this policy and ask for your consent before setting any such cookies.

6. The specific cookies on our website

Our website is built on WordPress using the Elementor page builder and Google Fonts, and we use Google Analytics to measure how the site is used. The cookies we set are set out below.

6.1 Strictly necessary cookies

• wordpress_test_cookie (WordPress, first-party) – checks that your browser accepts cookies. Expiry: Session.
• wordpress_logged_in_* (WordPress, first-party) – manages secure login for site administrators. Expiry: Session.
• elementor (Elementor, first-party) – stores which page templates have loaded so pages display correctly. Expiry: Persistent.
• cookie-consent (Smart Maintenance+ consent tool, first-party) – remembers your cookie preferences so the banner is not shown on every visit. Expiry: Up to 12 months.

6.2 Analytics cookies (set only with your consent)

• _ga (Google Analytics, third-party) – distinguishes unique users to measure site usage. Expiry: Up to 2 years.
• ga* (Google Analytics, third-party) – maintains session state for analytics. Expiry: Up to 2 years.
• _gid (Google Analytics, third-party) – distinguishes users over a 24-hour period. Expiry: 24 hours.

7. Third-party cookies and services

Some cookies and services on our website are provided by third parties. We do not control these cookies, and you should review the relevant provider’s own cookie and privacy policies. These include:

• Google – Google Fonts (to display the site’s typography) and, once you consent, Google Analytics to measure site usage. See policies.google.com.
• Social media platforms – if you follow the links to, or interact with content from, our Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn pages, those platforms may set their own cookies. This happens on their services and is governed by their own policies.

8. How to manage or delete cookies

You have several ways to control cookies:

• On our website – use the “Cookie settings” / “Manage cookies” link to change your preferences at any time.
• In your browser – most browsers let you see what cookies you have, block or delete them, and set preferences for certain sites. Look under Settings / Preferences → Privacy.
• Opting out of analytics – you can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on (tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout).

Guidance for the most common browsers is available here:

• Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari all provide cookie controls in their Privacy or Security settings, with step-by-step help on each provider’s support website.
• For mobile devices, cookie and tracking controls are usually found in the device or browser privacy settings.

Please note: if you block or delete strictly necessary cookies, parts of our website may not work properly. Blocking non-essential cookies will not affect your ability to browse the site or request a quote.

9. “Do Not Track” and browser signals

Some browsers offer a “Do Not Track” (DNT) setting or send automated opt-out signals. There is not yet a single agreed standard for how websites should respond to these signals. Where a recognised opt-out signal applies, we will aim to honour it; otherwise, please use the cookie settings on our site to manage your preferences.

10. Changes to this Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes to the cookies we use or for legal or operational reasons. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

11. Contact us

If you have any questions about our use of cookies, please contact us:

Email: info@smartmaintenanceplus.co.uk

Telephone: 020 3601 2356 / 07415 682276

Post: Smart Maintenance+, 3 Crayke Hill, Chessington, Surrey, KT9 2JY

You can find more information about cookies and your privacy rights at the Information Commissioner’s Office website, ico.org.uk.