Privacy Policy

Introduction

VettedExperts.co.uk is operated by CHIMERATECH LIMITED ("we", "us", "our"). We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose and safeguard your personal information when you visit vettedexperts.co.uk or submit a trade enquiry through our website. Please read this policy carefully. If you disagree with its terms, please stop using our site.

We are regulated under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. For the purposes of these laws, we are the data controller of your personal information.

Who We Are

CHIMERATECH LIMITED
Office 34, 67-68 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8JY

Email: privacy@vettedexperts.co.uk

If you have any questions about how we handle your personal information, please contact us using the details above.

Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following personal information about you:

• Contact details: your name, email address, phone number and postcode;
• Enquiry details: the type of trade service you are looking for and any description you provide;
• Technical data: your IP address, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access our website;
• Usage data: information about how you use our website, including pages visited, time spent on pages and links clicked;
• Marketing preferences: your preferences in receiving marketing from us.

We collect this information when you:

• Complete and submit a trade enquiry form on VettedExperts.co.uk;
• Browse our website (automatically, via cookies and analytics tools);
• Contact us directly by email or other means.

How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• To process your trade enquiry and pass it to our partner, Rated People, so that local tradespeople can contact you with quotes;
• To communicate with you about your enquiry or our services;
• To improve and optimise our website and user experience;
• To measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns;
• To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations;
• To send you marketing communications where you have consented or where we have a legitimate interest in doing so.

Our Legal Basis for Processing

We rely on the following legal bases to process your personal information:

• Contract / pre-contractual steps: processing your trade enquiry so we can connect you with relevant tradespeople;
• Legitimate interests: improving our website, fraud prevention, direct marketing to existing users;
• Consent: for analytics and advertising cookies, and where we explicitly ask for your permission;
• Legal obligation: where we are required to process data to comply with the law.

Sharing Your Information

We share your personal information with the following third parties:

• Rated People — our primary partner service provider. When you submit a trade enquiry on VettedExperts.co.uk, your contact details and enquiry information are passed to Rated People so they can match your request with local tradespeople. Rated People will process your data in accordance with their own Privacy Policy.
• Google — we use Google Analytics to analyse website traffic and Google Ads for advertising. Google may process your data as described in their Privacy Policy.
• Microsoft — we use Microsoft Advertising (UET) for conversion tracking and remarketing. Microsoft processes data in accordance with their Privacy Statement.
• IT service providers — companies that provide hosting, technical infrastructure and business operations support, who are bound by confidentiality obligations.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We will not share your data with any other party without your consent, except where required by law.

Transfers Outside the UK

Some of our third-party service providers (including Google and Microsoft) may process your data outside the UK or European Economic Area. Where this occurs, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), to protect your information in accordance with UK GDPR.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy, or as required by law. Specifically:

• Enquiry data is retained for up to 24 months from the date of submission;
• Analytics and technical data is retained in accordance with the retention policies of the respective tools (e.g. Google Analytics default retention periods);
• Marketing preference records are retained until you withdraw consent or unsubscribe.

Cookies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies on VettedExperts.co.uk. For full details of the cookies we use and how to manage your preferences, please see our Cookie Policy.

Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right of access: you may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• Right to rectification: you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data;
• Right to erasure: you may request deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances;
• Right to restrict processing: you may ask us to limit how we use your data;
• Right to data portability: you may request a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format;
• Right to object: you may object to us processing your data for direct marketing or on the basis of our legitimate interests;
• Rights related to automated decision-making: you have rights in relation to any automated processing or profiling.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@vettedexperts.co.uk. We will respond to all legitimate requests within one month.

How to Complain

If you have a complaint about our use of your personal information, we ask that you contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):

• Website: ico.org.uk
• Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Keeping Your Data Secure

We have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost, used, accessed, altered or disclosed without authorisation. We limit access to your personal information to those with a genuine business need.

We also have procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and the ICO where we are legally required to do so.

Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any website you visit.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. Where changes are significant, we will take reasonable steps to bring them to your attention.