Compare Data Group Ltd is the controller for Compare Builders. This notice explains how we use your personal information when you use Compare Builders, and the rights you have. It is written so you can read the short version of any section and go deeper where you want to. If anything here is unclear, please contact us using the details at the end.
Your privacy at a glance
What we collect and check
The details you give us at sign-up and during verification. For builders this includes identity and right to work, company and registration details, insurance, trade-body memberships and references. For homeowners this includes identity, contact details and that the job relates to a property you are connected to.
Why we use it, and our legal basis
To verify accounts, match jobs to verified builders, run the sealed-bid auction, keep the marketplace safe and meet our legal duties. Our lawful bases are performing our contract with you and our legitimate interests in a trusted marketplace. Where a use is genuinely optional, such as marketing or optional add-ons, we ask for your consent separately and you can withdraw it at any time.
Future checks
We may add further checks in future where they help keep the marketplace safe and trustworthy. We will update this notice and tell you before we introduce any new check.
Who we share it with
Our verification partners, who act on our instructions; the verified counterparty you are matched with, and only them; and other Compare Data Group services or providers where we explain a separate basis for doing so. We do not sell your information.
How long we keep it
For as long as your account is active, and for a set period afterwards so we can meet our legal and audit duties. The periods are set out in our retention schedule, for example financial records kept for six years to meet tax and company-law duties.
Your rights and how to complain
You can ask for a copy of your information, ask us to correct it, object to some uses, and ask us to delete it where it applies. You can complain to us directly and we will respond, and you can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office. Contact us at privacy@comparedatagroup.com.
1. Who we are
Compare Builders is a service run by Compare Data Group Ltd, company number 16954162, registered at 20 Wenlock Road, London N1 7GU. Compare Data Group Ltd is the data controller for the personal information collected through Compare Builders, which means we decide how and why it is used.
We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a data controller, registration number ZC087597. You can contact us, or our data protection contact, at privacy@comparedatagroup.com.
2. The information we collect
The information we collect depends on whether you use Compare Builders as a builder or as a homeowner.
If you are a builder
Your identity and right to work, your company and registration details, your insurance details, your trade-body memberships, references, your contact details, and information about your account, bids and activity on the platform.
If you are a homeowner
Your identity, your contact details, information confirming that a job relates to a property you are connected to, the details of the jobs you post, and information about your account and activity on the platform.
For everyone
Technical information such as device and usage data, and any messages or feedback you send us.
3. Where we get it from
- From you, when you sign up, complete verification, post or bid on a job, or contact us.
- From our verification partners, who check the details you give us against trusted sources on our instructions.
- From public or official sources, such as company registers, where this is needed to verify an account.
4. How and why we use your information
We use your information for the purposes below. For each one we rely on a lawful basis under data protection law.
| What we do | Information used | Our lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Verify accounts and keep the marketplace verified-only | Identity, right to work, company, insurance, trade body and references (builders); identity, contact and property connection (homeowners) | Performing our contract with you, and our legitimate interests in a trusted marketplace |
| Run the sealed-bid auction and match jobs to a verified builder | Account, job and bid information | Performing our contract with you |
| Introduce a homeowner to the winning builder | Job details and homeowner contact details, shared with the one winning builder only | Performing our contract with you |
| Keep the marketplace safe and prevent fraud and misuse | Account, device and usage data, and verification results | Our legitimate interests in security and fraud prevention |
| Meet our legal and regulatory duties | Relevant account and transaction records | Complying with a legal obligation |
| Send you marketing, if you have opted in | Your contact details and preferences | Your consent |
| Improve our service | Usage and feedback data | Our legitimate interests in improving the service |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have weighed our interests against your rights and recorded that assessment. You can ask us about it at any time.
5. Future checks
We may add further checks in future where they help keep the marketplace safe and trustworthy. We will update this notice and tell you before we introduce any new check, and we will set out the specific legal basis and condition we rely on at that time.
6. Who we share it with
- Our verification partners, who check your details on our instructions and only for that purpose.
- The verified counterparty you are matched with, and only them. We do not share your details with any other builder or homeowner.
- Service providers who help us run the platform, such as hosting and communications. They act on our instructions.
- Other Compare Data Group services, where we explain a separate basis for doing so. See section 7.
- Authorities, advisers or other parties where the law requires or allows it.
We do not sell your information.
7. Using your information across Compare Data Group
Compare Data Group Ltd also runs other comparison services. Because they are run by the same company, using your information on another of our services is not sharing it with a separate organisation. It is the same controller using your information for a different purpose.
That does not mean we reuse it freely. If we want to use information collected through Compare Builders for a different purpose on another Compare Data Group service, we will make sure that use has its own lawful basis and that it is compatible with why we collected it, or we will ask for your consent, and we will tell you. We will not move your verification information into unrelated marketing without a proper basis and notice.
8. Sending information outside the UK
Most of your information is processed in the UK. Where a provider processes it outside the UK, we put appropriate safeguards in place, such as the UK approved transfer terms, and we check that the protection given is not materially lower than under UK law.
9. How long we keep it
We keep your information for as long as your account is active, and for a set period afterwards so we can meet our legal, audit and dispute-handling duties. After that we delete it or make it anonymous. Our retention schedule sets out how long we keep each type of information. For example, we keep financial records for six years to meet tax and company-law duties, and we keep account and verification records for a period after your account closes.
10. Your rights
You have the right to:
- Ask for a copy of the information we hold about you.
- Ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete.
- Ask us to delete your information, where that applies.
- Ask us to restrict or object to certain uses of your information.
- Ask us to transfer certain information to you or another provider.
- Withdraw your consent at any time for the uses that rely on consent, such as marketing or optional add-ons. This does not affect the verification checks, which rely on our contract with you and our legitimate interests.
To use any of these rights, contact us using the details below.
11. How to complain
If you are unhappy with how we have used your information, please tell us first using the contact details below. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days and respond as soon as we can. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.
12. Cookies and marketing
We use cookies and similar technologies on our website. You can manage these in our cookie settings, and our separate Cookie Notice explains them in full. We will only send you marketing if you have opted in, and you can opt out at any time using the link in any marketing message or by contacting us.
13. Changes to this notice
We may update this notice from time to time. If we make an important change, such as introducing a new type of check, we will tell you before it takes effect. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.
14. Contact us
Compare Data Group Ltd, 20 Wenlock Road, London N1 7GU.
Email: privacy@comparedatagroup.com.
ICO registration number: ZC087597.