Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are and Data Controller

This Privacy Policy explains how Lead Technologies (Europe) Limited, trading as Local Financial Advice, collects, uses, stores, and discloses your personal data when you use our website at localfinancialadvice.io and our adviser matching service.

Data Controller: Lead Technologies (Europe) Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales (company number 6574342), authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registration number 947409), VAT number 940 1155 60.

Contact: If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or about how we handle your personal data, please contact our Data Protection Officer at: info@localfinancialadvice.io or by telephone on 0800 008 6169.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as required by the UK GDPR. We take our data protection obligations seriously and are committed to protecting your privacy.

2. Information We Collect

We collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Information you provide directly:

• Contact details: Your first name, phone number, and email address, collected when you submit an enquiry through our website;
• Location data: Your postcode, to identify financial advisers in your geographic area;
• Service preferences: The types of financial advice you are seeking (e.g. pensions, investments, mortgages);
• Communications: Records of any emails, telephone calls, or messages you send to us.

Information collected automatically:

• Technical data: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, and screen resolution;
• Usage data: Pages visited, links clicked, time spent on pages, and your navigation path through our website;
• Cookie data: Information stored in cookies and similar tracking technologies (see Section 7 below).

We do not collect or process special categories of personal data (sensitive data such as health information, financial account details, or biometric data) unless you voluntarily disclose such information in a message to us.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

• Providing our matching service: To match you with suitable FCA-regulated financial advisers and to share your contact details and enquiry information with matched advisers so they can contact you;
• Communication: To respond to your enquiries, to provide updates about your request, and to communicate with you regarding our Service;
• Service improvement: To analyse usage patterns on our website, identify areas for improvement, and enhance the user experience;
• Legal and regulatory compliance: To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, including our obligations under FCA rules and UK data protection legislation;
• Marketing communications: To send you relevant information about our services and related financial topics, subject to your consent and opt-out preferences (see Section 10);
• Fraud prevention and security: To detect and prevent fraudulent activity, misuse of our Service, and security threats.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (UK GDPR)

We rely on the following legal bases under Article 6 of the UK GDPR for processing your personal data:

• Consent (Article 6(1)(a)): Where you have given your explicit consent to receive marketing communications or to have your data shared with financial advisers for the purpose of fulfilling your enquiry;
• Contract (Article 6(1)(b)): Where processing is necessary to perform the matching service you have requested, or to take pre-contractual steps at your request;
• Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)): Where we are required to process your data to comply with our legal or regulatory obligations, including our obligations under FCA rules;
• Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)): Where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, including improving our service, preventing fraud, ensuring website security, and conducting analytics, provided such interests are not overridden by your interests, rights, or freedoms.

Where we rely on consent as the legal basis for processing, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out prior to withdrawal.

5. Sharing Your Data with Third Parties

We share your personal data with the following categories of third parties:

• Matched financial advisers: When you submit an enquiry, your name, phone number, email address, postcode, and stated service preferences will be shared with up to three matched FCA-regulated financial advisers from our network, solely for the purpose of responding to your enquiry. This sharing is the core function of our Service;
• Technology providers: We use reputable third-party technology providers (including cloud hosting, email delivery, and analytics services) who process personal data on our behalf under strict data processing agreements;
• Regulatory authorities: We may disclose your data to the FCA, ICO, or other regulatory authorities where required to do so by law or to comply with a legal obligation;
• Law enforcement: We may disclose your data to law enforcement agencies or courts where required by law or in connection with the prevention or detection of crime.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties for their own marketing purposes. We do not share your data with third parties beyond those described in this section without your explicit consent.

6. International Data Transfers

Where we share your personal data with third-party technology providers who operate outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area (EEA), we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with UK GDPR requirements.

Such safeguards include the use of UK International Data Transfer Agreements (IDTAs) or UK addenda to EU Standard Contractual Clauses, adequacy decisions issued by the UK Secretary of State, or other approved transfer mechanisms under UK data protection law.

The financial advisers we match you with are all based in the United Kingdom. Your data shared with matched advisers will therefore remain in the UK.

If you would like further information about international transfers or wish to obtain a copy of the relevant safeguards, please contact us at info@localfinancialadvice.io.

7. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to improve your experience and to help us understand how our website is used. Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit our website.

We use the following types of cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies: Essential for the website to function correctly. These cannot be disabled;
• Performance and analytics cookies: Allow us to measure and analyse how visitors use our website, including which pages are most visited and how visitors navigate the site. We use Google Analytics for this purpose;
• Functional cookies: Enable enhanced functionality and personalisation, such as remembering your preferences;
• Marketing and targeting cookies: Used to deliver relevant advertisements and to track the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns. These are only placed with your consent.

When you first visit our website, you will be presented with a cookie consent banner. You can manage your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the "Cookie Settings" link in our website footer. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

8. How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and to comply with our legal obligations. Our standard retention periods are as follows:

• Enquiry data (name, phone, email, postcode, service preferences): Retained for 12 months from the date of submission, after which it is securely deleted;
• Marketing consent records: Retained for 3 years from the date of consent, or until consent is withdrawn;
• Correspondence records (emails, call logs): Retained for 6 years for regulatory and compliance purposes;
• Website analytics data: Retained for 26 months (as per Google Analytics standard settings);
• Complaints records: Retained for 6 years to comply with FCA requirements.

You may request early deletion of your data at any time by contacting us, subject to any legal or regulatory obligations that may require us to retain certain data.

9. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@localfinancialadvice.io or by telephone on 0800 008 6169. We will respond to your request within one calendar month. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

10. Marketing and Commercial Communications

We may send you marketing communications about our services and relevant financial topics where you have given us your consent to do so. You can opt in to marketing communications by ticking the relevant checkbox on our enquiry form.

You can withdraw your consent to receive marketing communications at any time by:

• Clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing email we send;
• Emailing us at info@localfinancialadvice.io with the subject line "Unsubscribe";
• Calling us on 0800 008 6169.

We will not share your personal data with third parties for their own marketing purposes without your explicit consent. The financial advisers we match you with may contact you in relation to your enquiry, but this does not constitute marketing on their part; it is a direct response to your request for an introduction.

We may send you transactional communications (such as confirmation of your enquiry submission) without requiring your separate marketing consent, as these are necessary for the performance of our Service.

11. Security of Your Personal Data

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, alteration, or disclosure. These measures include:

• Encryption of data in transit using TLS (Transport Layer Security);
• Encryption of data at rest on our servers;
• Access controls limiting data access to authorised personnel only;
• Regular security testing and vulnerability assessments;
• Staff training on data protection and information security;
• Incident response procedures for managing data breaches.

In the event of a personal data breach that is likely to result in a high risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as required by UK GDPR without undue delay.

While we take data security very seriously, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee the absolute security of your personal data.

12. Children's Data

Our Service is not directed at or intended for use by individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 18.

If you are under 18, please do not submit any personal data through our website. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has submitted personal data to us without your consent, please contact us immediately at info@localfinancialadvice.io and we will take steps to delete such data as soon as practicable.

13. Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including the websites of financial advisers in our network, financial regulatory bodies (such as the FCA and FOS), and other external resources. These links are provided for your convenience and information.

We have no control over the content, privacy practices, or security of third-party websites. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any third-party websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit.

A link from our website to a third-party website does not constitute an endorsement of that website or its content.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, our Service, or applicable law. We will notify you of any material changes by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this policy and, where appropriate, by posting a notice on our website or contacting you directly.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your personal data. Your continued use of our Service following any changes constitutes your acknowledgement of the updated policy.

If you object to any changes to this Privacy Policy, please stop using our Service and contact us at info@localfinancialadvice.io.

15. How to Contact Us and Raise a Complaint

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data processing activities, please contact us using the details below:

If you are not satisfied with our response to your privacy-related concerns, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's supervisory authority for data protection.

The ICO can be contacted at:

• Website: ico.org.uk
• Telephone: 0303 123 1113
• Post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

We always welcome the opportunity to address your concerns directly before you escalate a complaint to the ICO, so please contact us in the first instance.