Our Privacy Policy

1. Who is responsible for PlumbingProblem.co.uk?

PlumbingProblem.co.uk is maintained by Prudent Plus Limited of Booths Hall, Booths Park, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 8GS.

Prudent Plus Limited is registered in England, company number 10104295.

Prudent Plus Limited is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office under the GDPR/Data Protection Act 2018. Reference number ZB208127.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Prudent Plus Limited is responsible for personal information that it collects and controls through this website.

2. What information may we collect?

The information we collect depends on how you use the website.

If you simply read articles on PlumbingProblem.co.uk, we may receive ordinary technical information generated when your browser connects to the website.

If you contact us or submit an enquiry, we may collect information such as:

• your name;
• your email address;
• your telephone number;
• your postcode or general location;
• details of the plumbing problem;
• information about the property relevant to the enquiry;
• photographs you choose to provide;
• the date and time of your enquiry; and
• any other information you include in your message.

Please only provide information that is reasonably necessary for us or a contractor to understand your enquiry.

3. Information collected automatically

Our website hosting systems may automatically record basic technical information when somebody visits PlumbingProblem.co.uk.

This can include:

• IP address;
• browser type;
• device type;
• operating system;
• pages visited;
• the date and time of a request;
• referring website or page; and
• technical information needed to operate and protect the website.

This information may be used for website security, detecting misuse, diagnosing technical faults and understanding how the website is operating.

4. Why we use personal information

We may use personal information for the following purposes:

• to respond when you contact us;
• to understand the plumbing problem you have described;
• to process a request for plumbing quotations or contractor contact;
• to pass relevant enquiry information to a contractor or service provider where you have asked us to help arrange contact;
• to answer questions about the website;
• to deal with complaints or disputes;
• to maintain records relating to enquiries;
• to protect the website against fraud, spam and misuse;
• to maintain and improve the operation of the website; and
• to meet legal, regulatory or accounting obligations where applicable.

We will not use personal information for an unrelated purpose without considering whether we have an appropriate lawful basis and whether further information should first be provided to you.

5. Our lawful basis for using information

UK data protection law requires an appropriate lawful basis for processing personal information.

The basis we rely upon will depend on why the information is being used.

In different circumstances this may include:

Taking steps at your request

Where you ask us to help arrange contact or quotations in connection with a plumbing problem, information may need to be processed in order to respond to that request.

Legitimate interests

We may use personal information where this is reasonably necessary for legitimate business purposes and those interests are not overridden by your rights.

Examples can include maintaining website security, preventing abuse, keeping reasonable records of enquiries, responding to correspondence and administering the website.

Legal obligations

We may need to retain or disclose information where this is necessary to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.

Consent

Where consent is the appropriate basis, for example for certain optional cookies or marketing communications, we will seek consent where required.

Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.

6. Plumbing enquiries and requests for quotations

PlumbingProblem.co.uk is designed to help people understand plumbing problems and, where appropriate, obtain professional help.

If you use a quotation or contractor-enquiry service, information you submit may need to be provided to a relevant plumber, contractor or service provider so that they can consider the work and contact you.

The information shared should be limited to what is reasonably relevant to the enquiry.

This may include your:

• name;
• contact details;
• postcode or location;
• description of the plumbing problem; and
• photographs or other relevant information that you have chosen to provide.

Before the live quotation facility is activated, any form or button used to collect this information should clearly explain what will happen to the enquiry and identify the relevant third-party service where appropriate.

7. Who we may share personal information with

We do not make personal information generally available to other organisations.

Depending on how you use the website, relevant information may be shared with:

• plumbers or other contractors where you have asked for help or quotations;
• a quotation or lead-processing service used to handle your enquiry;
• website hosting and technical service providers;
• professional advisers where reasonably necessary;
• regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or public authorities where disclosure is legally required; and
• other organisations where disclosure is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal rights.

Where another organisation processes personal information on our behalf, appropriate arrangements should be used to protect that information.

8. Contractors who contact you

A plumber or other contractor who receives an enquiry and then deals directly with you may become independently responsible for the personal information they hold about you.

Their own privacy arrangements may apply to information they subsequently collect or retain.

You should contact the contractor directly if you have questions about how they use information once you are dealing with them independently.

9. Photographs

Photographs can be useful when explaining a plumbing problem, but please consider what else is visible before sending them.

Where possible, avoid unnecessarily including:

• people who are not relevant to the enquiry;
• letters or documents;
• bank or payment information;
• computer or television screens showing personal information;
• vehicle registration numbers;
• family photographs; or
• other private information unrelated to the plumbing problem.

Photographs submitted as part of an enquiry may be used to understand the fault and may be provided to an appropriate contractor where this is necessary to deal with the request.

10. Email and correspondence

If you email us, we will receive the information contained in your message together with your email address and any information included in your email signature or attachments.

We may keep correspondence where reasonably necessary to respond to you, maintain a record of the matter, resolve a complaint or meet legal obligations.

11. Cookies

Cookies are small pieces of information stored on or accessed from your device when you use a website.

Some cookies may be necessary for the website to operate correctly.

If PlumbingProblem.co.uk uses optional cookies, analytics or similar technologies that are not strictly necessary, visitors should be given appropriate information and, where required, a choice before those technologies are used.

The ICO states that visitors should be told when cookies are used and that non-essential cookies generally require agreement before they are set.

This Privacy Policy should be updated if additional analytics, advertising, tracking or marketing technologies are introduced.

12. Website analytics

We may use website statistics to understand matters such as which pages are being visited and whether the website is working properly.

If a third-party analytics service is introduced that collects personal information or places non-essential cookies, the relevant service should be identified and the appropriate consent arrangements put in place before it is used.

13. Marketing

Submitting a plumbing enquiry does not automatically mean that you have agreed to receive unrelated marketing communications.

If we wish to send electronic marketing that requires consent, we will seek the necessary permission.

Where applicable, marketing communications should provide a straightforward way to unsubscribe.

14. How long we keep personal information

We do not intend to keep personal information indefinitely.

How long information is retained will depend on what it is and why it was collected.

Factors considered may include:

• how long an enquiry remains active;
• whether follow-up communication is reasonably expected;
• whether records are needed to deal with complaints or disputes;
• legal or accounting requirements;
• fraud and security considerations; and
• the limitation periods that may apply to legal claims.

Information that is no longer reasonably required should be deleted, anonymised or otherwise disposed of appropriately.

15. Keeping information secure

Reasonable technical and organisational measures should be used to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

No internet service can provide an absolute guarantee of security, so please avoid sending unnecessary sensitive information through ordinary website forms or email.

16. International transfers

Some website, email, hosting or technical service providers may process information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, the transfer should only take place where an appropriate legal mechanism or safeguard is available under UK data protection law.

Where a particular third-party service results in international transfers, this Privacy Policy should be updated with more specific information where required.

17. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law may give you rights including:

• the right to ask for access to personal information held about you;
• the right to ask for inaccurate information to be corrected;
• the right to request deletion of information in certain circumstances;
• the right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances;
• the right to object to certain uses of personal information;
• the right to data portability where applicable; and
• the right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

These rights are not absolute in every situation. The ICO explains that privacy notices should tell individuals about the rights available to them and any right to withdraw consent.

18. Asking for a copy of your information

If you wish to exercise a data protection right, please contact us using the details at the end of this policy.

We may need enough information to confirm your identity and locate the information concerned.

We will not ask for more identification information than is reasonably necessary.

19. Complaining about the use of your information

If you are concerned about how we have used your personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to investigate the matter.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK supervisory authority for data protection.

Further information about making a complaint is available from the Information Commissioner's Office.

20. Information about other people

If you provide personal information about another person, you should only do so where you have an appropriate reason and authority to provide it.

For example, a landlord, managing agent or family member may sometimes submit an enquiry relating to another person's property.

Do not provide unnecessary personal details about tenants, neighbours, family members or other individuals.

21. Children

PlumbingProblem.co.uk is intended for adults dealing with household and property maintenance matters.

The website is not designed to collect personal information from children.

If you believe a child has submitted personal information unnecessarily, please contact us so that the matter can be reviewed.

22. Automated decision-making

We do not currently intend to make decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects about visitors solely by automated processing through PlumbingProblem.co.uk.

If that changes, this policy should be updated to explain the process and the rights that apply.

23. External websites

PlumbingProblem.co.uk may contain links to websites run by other organisations.

Their privacy practices are outside our control.

You should read the privacy information on another website before submitting personal information to it.

24. Changes to this Privacy Policy

This policy may be updated when the website changes, new services are introduced or data protection requirements develop.

The current version will be published on this page.

Where a new use of personal information materially affects people, appropriate information should be provided before that new processing begins.

The ICO recommends reviewing privacy information regularly and updating it where necessary.

25. Contact us about privacy

Questions about this Privacy Policy, personal information or your data protection rights can be sent to Prudent Plus Limited.

Please enable JavaScript to view our email address.

You can also write to:

Prudent Plus Limited
Booths Hall
Booths Park
Knutsford
Cheshire
WA16 8GS

Prudent Plus Limited is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office under the GDPR/Data Protection Act 2018. Reference number ZB208127.