Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Midwest Chimney Specialists, LLC is a chimney, fireplace and masonry company based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, serving Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. This policy explains how we handle personal information collected through our website at midwestchimneyspecialists.com and in the course of providing our services.

Any questions about this policy can go to info@mcschicago.com or (630) 280-8285.

2. What we collect

2.1 Information you give us

When you contact us by phone, email, or through a form on our website, we may collect:

• Your name
• Phone number and email address
• Service address, city or ZIP code
• The service you are enquiring about
• Details you tell us about your property, chimney, fireplace or appliance
• Photographs you send us of the problem
• Any other information you choose to include in a message

For commercial and managed property clients, we may also collect a company or property name, unit counts, and a billing contact.

2.2 Information collected automatically

When you visit our website, our systems and analytics tools may record:

• IP address and general geographic location (city level)
• Browser type, device type and operating system
• Pages visited, time spent on the site and links clicked
• The website or search that referred you to us

This is used to understand how the site is being used and to improve it. It is not used to identify you personally.

2.3 Information created during our work

When we carry out work at your property we produce records including inspection reports, photographs of the chimney or appliance, video footage of flue interiors, written scopes, invoices and warranty documentation. These are attached to your customer record.

2.4 What we do not collect

We do not collect Social Security numbers. We do not store full credit card numbers on our systems — card payments are processed by a third-party payment processor and we retain only what is needed to identify the transaction.

3. How we use your information

We use the information we collect to:

• Respond to your enquiry and provide a free estimate
• Schedule and carry out work at your property
• Produce inspection reports, written scopes and job documentation
• Invoice you and process payment
• Contact you about work in progress or completed work
• Handle warranty claims
• Send seasonal maintenance reminders, if you have opted in
• Keep records required for insurance, warranty and legal purposes
• Improve our website and understand how people find us

We will only send you marketing communications if you have opted in, and every one of them includes a way to unsubscribe.

4. Who we share it with

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share it with lead generation companies, lead brokers, or other contractors.

We share information only in these limited circumstances:

4.1 Service providers. We use third parties who help us run the business, such as payment processors, our scheduling and invoicing software, email providers and website analytics services. They can access only what they need to perform their function and are not permitted to use it for their own purposes.

4.2 At your direction. If you ask us to send a report or documentation to your insurer, your attorney, your realtor, a property manager, or an HOA board, we will send it to them.

4.3 Subcontractors. Where a job requires a specialist subcontractor, we share only the information needed to complete that portion of the work.

4.4 Legal requirements. We will disclose information where required by law, court order or subpoena, or where reasonably necessary to protect the safety of a person or property, or to establish or defend a legal claim.

4.5 Business transfer. If the business is sold or merged, customer records may transfer as part of that transaction. You would be notified of any change in who controls your information.

5. Photographs of completed work

We photograph our work for quality records, warranty documentation and to show examples of what we do. Photographs used publicly on our website or in marketing show the chimney, fireplace or masonry only. They do not include your name, address, or anything identifying your property.

If you would prefer photographs from your property not be used publicly at all, tell us and we will honour that. It does not affect our internal job records.

6. Cookies and tracking

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to:

• Keep the site functioning correctly
• Remember your preferences
• Understand which pages people visit and how they arrived
• Measure the performance of our advertising, where we run any

Most browsers let you refuse or delete cookies through their settings. Blocking cookies may affect how parts of the site work.

We may use third-party analytics and advertising tools, which set their own cookies and are governed by their own privacy policies.

7. How we protect it

Access to customer information is limited to the people in our business who need it to do their job. Our systems are password protected, and payment information is handled by processors using encryption.

We take reasonable measures to keep information secure, but no system connected to the internet can be guaranteed completely secure. We cannot warrant that a breach will never occur.

8. How long we keep it

We keep customer records for as long as needed to provide the service, honour warranties, meet legal and insurance obligations, and resolve any dispute. In practice that means job records and inspection reports are retained for several years after the work, because they are frequently needed later for insurance claims, warranty questions and property sales.

Enquiries that do not result in work are kept for a shorter period and then deleted.

9. Your choices and rights

9.1 Opt out of marketing. Every marketing email contains an unsubscribe link. You can also email or call us and we will remove you.

9.2 Access your information. You can ask what personal information we hold about you by emailing info@mcschicago.com.

9.3 Correct your information. If anything we hold is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will correct it.

9.4 Delete your information. You can ask us to delete your personal information. We will do so unless we are required to retain it for legal, warranty, insurance or accounting reasons, in which case we will tell you what we are keeping and why. Some residual data may remain in backups for a period before being overwritten.

9.5 How to make a request. Email info@mcschicago.com or write to us at 17W421 Eisenhower Rd, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181. We will respond within a reasonable period, and we may need to verify your identity first.

Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under state privacy law. We will honour any rights that apply to you.

10. Children

Our services and website are directed at adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with information, contact us and we will delete it.

11. Links to other sites

Our website contains links to other websites, including manufacturers, certification bodies and safety organisations. Those sites are not under our control and this policy does not cover them. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of any site you visit.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes take effect when posted here with a revised “Last updated” date. If we make a change that materially affects how we use information already collected from you, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you directly.

13. Contact us

Questions, requests or concerns about privacy can go to:

Midwest Chimney Specialists, LLC 17W421 Eisenhower Rd Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181

Phone: (630) 280-8285
Email: info@mcschicago.com
Business hours: Monday – Friday 7:00am – 5:00pm, Saturday 7:00am – 3:00pm