Privacy Policy

This notice describes how Clickatrades.com (‘we’, ‘our’, or ‘us’) collects, stores, transfers and uses personal information.

In the context of the law and this notice, ‘personal information’ is information that clearly identifies you as an individual or which, if combined with other information, could be used to identify you. Acting in any way on personal information is referred to as ‘processing’.

This notice also tells you what personal information we process, your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

Personal information we process

1. How we obtain personal information

The information we process about you includes information:

  • you have directly provided to us
  • from third party databases
  • as a result of monitoring how you use our website or our services

2. Types of personal information we collect directly

When you use our services, for example, when you create an account on our website, we ask you to provide personal information. This can be categorised into the following groups:

  • basic personal information, such as your first and last names, your title and your date of birth
  • contact information, such as your email address, your telephone number and your postal address
  • account information, including your username and password
  • payment information, such as a debit or credit card number and expiry date
  • records of communication between us including messages sent through our website, email messages and telephone conversations
  • marketing preferences that tell us what types of marketing you would like to receive

In addition, if you are a tradesperson, we may also process:

  • documentation that confirms your identity, such as an image of your passport or driver’s licence
  • an image that shows your face, such as a passport photograph
  • documentation that confirms the qualifications you advertise as holding

3. Types of personal information we collect from third parties

We confirm some of the information you provide to us directly using information from other sources. We also add to the information we hold about you, sometimes to remove the need for you to provide it to us and sometimes in order to be able to assess the quality of the services you offer.

The additional information we collect can be categorised as follows:

  • information that confirms your identity
  • business information, including your business trading name and address, your company number (if incorporated), and your VAT number (if registered)
  • information that confirms your contact information
  • reviews and feedback about your business on other websites through which you sell your services
  • unsolicited complaints by other users

4. Types of personal information we collect from your use of our services

By using our website and our services, we process:

  • information about jobs you offer or apply to take
  • information you contribute to our community, including reviews
  • your replies to polls and surveys
  • technical information about the hardware and the software you use to access our website and use our services, including your internet protocol (IP) address, your browser type and version and your device’s operating system
  • usage information, including the frequency you use our services, the pages of our website that you visit, whether you receive messages from us and whether you reply to those messages
  • transaction information that includes the details of the services you have bought from us and payments made to us for those services

5. Our use of aggregated information

We may aggregate anonymous information such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. Anonymous information is that which does not identify you as an individual. Aggregated information may be derived from your personal information but is not considered as such in law because it does not reveal your identity.

For example, we may aggregate usage information to assess whether a feature of our website is useful.

However, if we combine or connect aggregated information with your personal information so that it can identify you in any way, we treat the combined information as personal information, and it will be used in accordance with this privacy notice.

6. Special personal information

Special personal information is information about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health and genetic and biometric data.

We only process special personal information that you provide directly to us and only if there is a lawful basis on which to do so.

7. If you do not provide personal information we need

Where we need to process personal information by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you, and you fail to provide that information when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract.

In that case, we may have to stop providing our services to you. If so, we will notify you of this at the time.

The bases on which we process information about you

The law requires us to determine under which of six defined bases we process different categories of your personal information, and to notify you of the basis for each category.

If a basis on which we process your personal information is no longer relevant then we shall immediately stop processing your data.

If the basis changes then if required by law we shall notify you of the change and of any new basis under which we have determined that we can continue to process your information.

8. Information we process because we have a contractual obligation with you

When you create an account on our website or otherwise agree to our terms and conditions, a contract is formed between you and us.

In order to carry out our obligations under that contract it may be necessary to process your personal information.

We may use it in order to:

  • verify your identity for security purposes when you use our services
  • provide you with our services
  • provide you with suggestions and advice on how to obtain the most from using our services

We process this information on the basis there is a contract between us, or that you have requested we use the information before we enter into a legal contract.

We shall continue to process this information until the contract between us ends or is terminated by either party under the terms of the contract.

9. Information we process with your consent

Through certain actions when otherwise there is no contractual relationship between us we may ask you to provide your consent to us to process personal information.

For example, we ask you to agree to our use of non-essential cookies when you access our website.

We continue to process your information on this basis until you withdraw your consent, or it can be reasonably assumed that your consent no longer exists.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by instructing us. However, if you do so, you may not be able to use our website or our services further.

10. Information we process for the purposes of legitimate interests

We may process information on the basis there is a legitimate interest, either to you or to us, of doing so.

Where we process your information on this basis, we do after having given careful consideration to:

  • whether the same objective could be achieved through other means
  • whether processing (or not processing) might cause you harm
  • whether you would expect us to process your data, and whether you would, in the round, consider it reasonable to do so

For example, we may process your data on this basis for the purposes of:

  • improving our services
  • responding with appropriate and personalised replies to communication that you have initiated
  • preventing fraudulent use of our services
  • exercising our legal rights, including to detect and prevent fraud and to protect our intellectual property
  • insuring against or obtaining professional advice that is required to manage risk within our business
  • protecting your interests where we believe we have a duty to do so

11. Information we process because we have a legal obligation

Sometimes, we must process your information in order to comply with a legal obligation.

For example, we may be required to give information to legal authorities if they so request or if they have the proper authorisation such as a search warrant or court order.

This may include your personal information.

How and when we share your personal information

12. Posting a Job

Our website allows you to post a Job that any of our users may see. You may also post a Job to specific tradespeople.

However, information about a Job may not be personal information.

13. When an invitation to a Job post is made

We share your name and contact information with the tradespeople that you request that we invite to tender for your Job.

When you post a message with the intention that it should be seen by others

When you leave a review or post a message on our website, we reasonably assume that you consent for the message to be seen by others. We may include your username with your message, and your message may contain information that is personal information.

Once your information enters the public domain, we have no control over what any individual third party may do with it. We accept no responsibility for their actions at any time. It is up to you to satisfy yourself about the privacy level of every person who might use it.

We reserve a right to use information you make available to others in the future in any way we decide. However, provided your request is reasonable and there is no legal requirement for us to retain such information, then at our discretion we may agree to your request to delete personal information that you have posted. You can make a request by contacting us.

14. Disputes between users

In the event of a dispute between a tradesperson and another user, provided that the tradesperson agrees, we may share basic personal information, business information and contact information of the tradesperson with the user.

At our discretion, we may share other information to enable the dispute to be resolved if we are allowed by law.

15. Public profiles

A tradesperson is given a public profile page, the information on which may be indexed by search engines or used by third parties. We ask tradespeople to check that they consent to the information on that profile page being made available to the public.

16. Service providers and business partners

We may share your personal information with businesses that provide services to us, or with business partners.

As examples:

  • we may pass your payment information to our payment service provider to take payments from you
  • we may use fraud prevention agencies and credit reference agencies to verify your identity and we may pass your information to those agencies if we strongly suspect fraud on our website
  • we may pass your contact information to advertising agencies to use to promote our services to you

Cookies and similar technologies

17. Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer's hard drive by your web browser when you visit a website that uses them. They allow information gathered on one web page to be stored until it is needed for use at a later date.

They are commonly used to provide you with a personalised experience while you browse a website, for example, allowing your preferences to be remembered.

They can also provide core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility; record how you interact with the website so that the owner can understand how to improve the experience of other visitors; and serve you advertisements that are relevant to your browsing history.

Some cookies may last for a defined period of time, such as one visit (known as a session), one day or until you close your browser. Others last indefinitely until you delete them.

Your web browser should allow you to delete any cookie you choose. It should also allow you to prevent or limit their use. Your web browser may support a plug-in or add-on that helps you manage which cookies you wish to allow to operate.

The law requires you to give explicit consent for use of any cookies that are not strictly necessary for the operation of a website.

We use cookies in the following ways:

  • to track how you use our website
  • to record whether you have seen specific messages we display on our website
  • to keep you signed in to our website
  • to record and remember choices you make while browsing our website
  • to record your answers to surveys and questionnaires on our website while you complete them

18. Remarketing

Re-marketing involves placing a ‘tracking technology’ such as a cookie, a ‘web beacon’ (also known as an ‘action tag’ or a ‘single-pixel GIF’) to track which pages you visit and to serve you relevant adverts for our services when you visit some other website.

The benefit of re-marketing technology is that we can provide you with more useful and relevant adverts, and not show you ones repeatedly that you may have already seen.

We may use a third-party advertising service to provide us with re-marketing services from time to time. If you have consented to our use of such tracking technologies, you may see advertisements for our products and services on other websites.

We do not provide your personal information to advertisers or to third-party re-marketing service providers. However, if you are already a member of a website whose affiliated business provides such services, that affiliated business may learn of your preferences in relation to your use of our website.

Other matters

19. Your rights

The law requires us to tell you about your rights and our obligations to you in regard to the processing and control of your personal information.

We do this now, by requesting that you read the information provided at http://www.knowyourprivacyrights.org

20. Data may be processed outside the European Union

Our business is based in the UK and our website is hosted in the UK.

However, from time to time, personal information obtained within the UK or any other country could be processed outside the European Union.

Where this occurs, we use one of the following safeguards:

  • either the processor is within the same corporate group as our business or organisation and abides by the same binding corporate rules regarding data processing; or
  • we have a contract with the data processor that includes transfer clauses that oblige the data processor to process the data to the same standards as to which we are obliged.

21. Control over your own information

It is important that the personal information we hold about you is accurate and up to date. Please inform us if your personal information changes.

At any time, you may contact us to request that we provide you with the personal information we hold about you.

When we receive any request to access, edit or delete personal information we first take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting you access or otherwise taking any action. This is important to safeguard your information.

Please be aware that we are not obliged by law to provide you with all personal information we hold about you, and that if we do provide you with information, the law allows us to charge for such provision if doing so incurs costs for us. After receiving your request, we will tell you when we expect to provide you with the information, and whether we require any fee for providing it to you.

Likewise, we are not obliged by law to delete your personal information or to stop processing it simply because you do not consent to us doing so. While having your consent is an important consideration as to whether to process it, if there is another legitimate basis on which we may process it, we may do so on that basis.

22. Complaining

If you are not happy with our privacy policy, or if you have any complaint, then you should tell us.

When we receive a complaint, we record the information you have given to us on the basis of consent. We use that information to resolve your complaint.

If a dispute is not settled then we hope you will agree to attempt to resolve it by engaging in good faith with us in a process of mediation or arbitration.

If you are in any way dissatisfied about how we process your personal information, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). This can be done at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/. We would, however, appreciate the opportunity to talk to you about your concern before you approach the ICO.

23. Retention period

Except as otherwise mentioned in this privacy notice, we keep your personal information only for as long as required by us:

  • to provide you with the services you have requested
  • to comply with other law, including for the period demanded by our tax authorities
  • to support a claim or defence in court

24. Compliance with the law

Our privacy policy has been compiled so as to comply with the law of every country or legal jurisdiction in which we aim to do business, including the Data Protection Act 2018 (the ‘Act’) accordingly incorporating the EU General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) and the Electronic Communications Act 2000.

25. Review of this privacy policy

We may update this privacy notice from time to time as necessary.