Effective date: 25.06.2026

VerifiedPlumbers.co.uk (“**VerifiedPlumbers**”, “**we**”, “**us**”, “**our**”) takes your privacy seriously. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and your rights. It covers customers who use the directory, people who leave reviews, and the plumbers listed with us.

1. Who is responsible for your data

The data controller is **[VerifiedPlumbers operating entity — insert registered company name]**, registered in England and Wales under number **[company number]**, registered office **[registered address]**. Our registration with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is **[ICO registration number]**. You can contact us about privacy at **[contact/privacy email]**.

2. The information we collect, and why

### 2.1 If you request a quote (customers)

When you use our “Get Quotes” tool or otherwise enquire through the Site, we collect the details you provide — typically your **name, phone number, email address, the work you need, and your area**.

The main purpose of this information is to **pass your enquiry directly to the plumber(s) you choose** so they can contact you. We share these details with those plumber(s) only. We do not charge for this and we do not sell your enquiry to anyone.

We also keep a record of the enquiry to operate and protect the Site. By default this record is **metadata only** — for example which plumbers an enquiry was sent to, and when. We do **not** retain the raw contents of your enquiry (such as your name and number) beyond passing it to the plumber unless that retention is switched on for operational reasons, and where it is, we tell you and limit how long we keep it.

To support our “Verified enquiry” feature on reviews (see section 2.2), we also store a **one-way cryptographic hash** of the phone number used in an enquiry. A hash is a scrambled, non-reversible value: we cannot turn it back into your phone number, and it is not displayed to anyone. It exists only so that, if you later leave a review, we can confirm the review came from someone who genuinely enquired through the Site.

**Lawful basis:** performing the service you asked for (sending your enquiry), and our legitimate interests in running, securing, and improving a trustworthy directory.

### 2.2 If you leave a review (reviewers)

When you leave a VerifiedPlumbers Review, we collect the **ratings and comment** you provide, **your name**, **your email address**, **a contact phone number**, optionally **one photo**, and **roughly when the work was done**. We also record a hashed version of your IP address (see section 2.4).

– Your **name** and **comment** are shown publicly with the review.
– Your **email address** is used to contact you about the review if needed (for example if it is queried) and is **not shown publicly**.
– Your **phone number is collected for validation only**. It is **never shown publicly**, and it is **never shared with the plumber you reviewed**. We do not use it for marketing. We use it only to check that a review is genuine — for example if a review is reported or disputed — so that we can keep fake reviews (positive or negative) off the Site as the law requires. This is our evidence that a review is real.
– We keep your review phone number for **[60] days** and then permanently anonymise it (we delete the number and the phone hash). The rest of your review remains published.
– The optional **photo** is shown with your review.
– If you enquired through our “Get Quotes” tool before reviewing, our system may automatically match your review to that enquiry (using the phone hash described in section 2.1) and add a permanent **”Verified enquiry”** label to your review. This label shows only that an enquiry was made through the Site; it does not reveal your details.

**Lawful basis:** providing the review service you asked to use, and our legitimate interests in maintaining accurate, trustworthy reviews and in detecting and removing fake reviews (a duty under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024).

### 2.3 If you are a listed plumber

To set up and run your listing we collect business and contact details and verification information, which may include: **business name, contact name(s), business and contact address, phone number, email address, trade categories and service areas, Gas Safe registration details, proof of identity, insurance details, photographs of your work, your review information, and the payment details needed to collect your listing fee** (handled by our payment provider).

We use this to create and manage your listing, carry out and display verification, collect listing fees, communicate with you about your account, and protect the Site and the public.

**Lawful basis:** performing our contract with you (your listing), and our legitimate interests in operating a verified directory and protecting customers and the Site from fraud or harm.

### 2.4 Everyone who visits the Site

Like most websites, our servers automatically record basic technical information about visits — such as IP address, browser and device type, and the pages requested — to keep the Site secure, diagnose problems, and filter out automated abuse.

Where we store an IP address in connection with reviews or enquiries (for example to prevent the same person flooding a plumber with reviews), we store it as a **hashed value**, not in the clear, and use it only for rate-limiting and abuse prevention.

We use cookies and similar technologies as described in our **[Cookie Policy](#)**.

**Lawful basis:** our legitimate interests in the security, integrity, and proper functioning of the Site.

3. Who we share information with

We share information only as needed to run the service:

– **With listed plumbers** — the contents of an enquiry you choose to send them. This is the core purpose of the directory.
– **With our service providers** — for example website hosting, and the payment provider that collects plumbers’ listing fees. These providers act on our instructions.
– **With verification sources** — where needed to confirm a plumber’s registration or details.
– **Where required by law** — for example to comply with a legal obligation, or to respond to a lawful request from a regulator, the courts, or law enforcement, or to prevent fraud or harm.

**We do not sell your personal information**, and we do not share it for third-party marketing without your consent.

4. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only as long as we need it:

– **Review phone numbers** — anonymised after **[60] days**, as described above.
– **Enquiry contents** — not retained beyond passing the enquiry to the plumber, except where retention is switched on for operational reasons, in which case it is limited and disclosed.
– **Enquiry metadata and hashes** — kept while needed to operate the Site, support the “Verified enquiry” feature, and prevent abuse.
– **Plumber account and verification records** — kept for the duration of the listing and for a reasonable period afterwards to meet our legal, tax, and record-keeping obligations, and to handle any later complaint or dispute.
– **Server logs** — kept for a limited period (currently around **[90] days**) for security and diagnostics.

Where we are required by law to keep certain records for longer, we will do so.

5. Where your information is held

We store information using appropriate safeguards. **[If any data is processed or stored outside the UK — for example by a hosting or service provider — say so here and describe the safeguard used, e.g. the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. If everything is held in the UK, state that.]**

6. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to: access the personal information we hold about you; ask us to correct it; ask us to delete it (in certain circumstances); ask us to restrict or object to how we use it; and ask us to transfer it. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at **[contact/privacy email]**. We will respond within one month. We may need to confirm your identity first. You can also complain to the ICO (ico.org.uk), though we’d appreciate the chance to put things right first.

7. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be posted on the Site, with the effective date shown above.