Data controller
Local Trades Direct is the controller for the personal data processed through this website.
Legal & Privacy
Privacy Policy
How Local Trades Direct collects, uses, shares, and protects personal data when you use the website, submit enquiries, or access portal features.
UK GDPR aligned
Cookies and analytics explained
Clear data-sharing summary
Summary
How Local Trades Direct handles personal data
Local Trades Direct is a UK trades marketplace and lead-generation website. This notice explains what personal data we collect, why we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and the rights you may have under UK data protection law.
We have written this page to be clear and easy to use. If anything in this notice is unclear, please contact us at privacy@localtradesdirect.co.uk.
Privacy contact
privacy@localtradesdirect.co.uk
We aim to respond within 1 business day.
Main uses
Handling enquiries, operating the tradesperson portal, protecting the service, and improving the website responsibly.
1. Who controls your personal data
Local Trades Direct operates the website at https://localtradesdirect.co.uk and acts as the data controller for the personal data described in this notice.
If you have a privacy question, want to exercise your rights, or need this notice in another format, contact privacy@localtradesdirect.co.uk or visit our contact page.
2. The personal data we collect
We only ask for personal data that is reasonably needed to run the website, manage enquiries, support tradesperson accounts, and protect the service.
Homeowner enquiry data
- Name, email address, and phone number.
- Postcode, town, region, and job location details.
- Job description, job category, budget choice, preferred start timing, and contact preference.
- Technical details we use to reduce spam or abuse, such as IP address and submission metadata.
Tradesperson account data
- Business name, contact details, postcode, and service-area information.
- Trades selected, profile text, website URL, and any logo or media uploaded.
- Account status, login-related information, and profile update history needed to operate the portal.
Website and technical data
- Browser, device, and usage information generated when you use the website.
- Search and postcode lookup inputs where you choose to use those tools.
- Lead-attribution context such as landing page, submission page, route type, referrer host, and campaign tags where they are present.
- Analytics and session-insight data from tools such as Google Analytics 4 and Microsoft Clarity where those tools are enabled and used lawfully.
- Cookie and similar technology data as described in our Cookie Policy.
Please do not include unnecessary sensitive information in free-text forms. For example, do not include health, criminal, or other special category data unless it is genuinely necessary for your request.
3. How we use personal data and our lawful bases
Under UK GDPR, we need a lawful basis for each main use of personal data. The table below summarises the main reasons we process data through this website.
| Purpose | Typical data involved | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Receive and process a homeowner enquiry | Contact details, location, job details, timing and preference data | Taking steps at your request before entering into a service relationship, and our legitimate interests in operating a lead-matching service |
| Pass an enquiry to relevant tradespeople and, where enabled, approved partner matching routes | Name, contact details, location, and job description | Taking steps at your request and our legitimate interests in matching enquiries efficiently |
| Run the tradesperson portal and manage accounts | Account details, trade selections, postcode, service-area data, profile content, uploads | Performance of a contract or steps related to providing the portal service |
| Prevent fraud, spam, misuse, and security incidents | IP address, account metadata, device or usage information, submission history | Our legitimate interests in keeping the website secure and, where applicable, complying with legal obligations |
| Respond to legal requests, rights requests, complaints, or compliance issues | Relevant account, enquiry, and correspondence records | Compliance with legal obligations and our legitimate interests in handling complaints and disputes properly |
| Measure and improve website performance and user experience | Technical and usage data, attribution data, analytics data, and session-insight data where enabled | Our legitimate interests, and consent where consent is required for non-essential cookies or analytics or session-recording tools |
By submitting this form, Local Trades Direct will securely pass your enquiry details to our matching network so your request can be matched with the right tradespeople.
5. International transfers
Some service providers may store or process data outside the UK. Where that happens, we aim to ensure that any restricted transfer is covered by an appropriate legal mechanism, such as UK adequacy regulations or other suitable safeguards required by UK GDPR.
6. How long we keep personal data
We keep personal data for no longer than is reasonably necessary for the purpose it was collected for, including security, dispute handling, compliance, and record-keeping needs.
- Homeowner enquiries: usually up to 24 months from submission, unless we need to keep them longer for a complaint, dispute, or legal reason.
- Lead-attribution data stored with an enquiry: normally kept for the same period as that enquiry so we can understand which pages, routes, or campaigns are generating leads.
- Tradesperson account records: while the account remains active and then for a limited period afterwards where needed for admin, compliance, or dispute resolution.
- Security and server logs: normally for a shorter operational period, such as up to 90 days, unless a longer retention is needed for investigation or protection of the service. We do not use raw IP logs as our main long-term lead attribution dataset.
8. Security
We use appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal data against unauthorised access, misuse, loss, or disclosure. These measures can include account controls, password hashing, access restrictions, security monitoring, and provider-level safeguards.
9. Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you may have the right to:
Access and correction
Ask for a copy of your personal data and ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Erasure and restriction
Ask us to delete your data or limit how we use it in certain situations.
Objection and portability
Object to some processing, including some legitimate-interests processing, and request portable data where the law gives you that right.
Withdraw consent
If we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time. This will not affect processing already carried out lawfully before withdrawal.
To exercise your rights, email privacy@localtradesdirect.co.uk. We may need to verify your identity before completing a request.
10. Other important points
- Automated decisions: we may use automated rules to help route or prioritise enquiries, but we do not currently make solely automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you.
- Children: this website is intended for adults. We do not knowingly target children with our services.
- Search performance and verification: where enabled, we may use services such as Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools to verify site ownership and review search performance in aggregate.
- Third-party links: if you follow a link to another website, that website will have its own privacy practices and notice.
- Policy updates: we may update this notice from time to time. The "last updated" date at the top shows the latest revision.
11. Contact and complaints
If you have questions about this notice or how we handle personal data, contact us at privacy@localtradesdirect.co.uk or hello@localtradesdirect.co.uk.
If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, we would welcome the chance to address it first. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.