How we look after your details.

1.Who we are

EcoCompare is a Hampshire-based solar comparison and lead-generation service. We are not a solar installer. Our job is to connect homeowners and businesses interested in solar with trusted, vetted local installers.

2.What information we collect

When you fill in our quote form, we collect:

• Contact details: name, phone number, email address
• Location: postcode and full address
• Property details: property type (house, bungalow, business premises, etc.), roof type, roof size, current energy setup
• Your enquiry: interest level (just browsing, ready to go, etc.) and any notes you add
• Verification: a 4-digit code sent by SMS to confirm you own the phone number you gave us

We also automatically capture some technical information when you submit the form:

• How you found us: the page you came from (referrer) and any campaign tracking links (UTM parameters)
• Device info: a basic record of the browser and device type used to submit, for security and quality purposes
• Time of enquiry: when you submitted

When you visit the site, our server also records a few basic events (viewing a page, starting the quote form, and submitting an enquiry) along with your IP address and browser details. We use these to measure how well our adverts work. See Section 9 for how this works.

We do not collect special category data (such as health, religion, ethnicity, etc.) and we do not need it to provide our service.

3.Our lawful basis for using it

Under UK GDPR, every bit of data we process has to have a lawful basis. Ours are:

Consent

When you tick the consent box on our quote form, you’re giving us permission to share your details with up to 3 vetted Hampshire installers so they can contact you with quotes. You can withdraw this consent any time (see Section 7).

Legitimate interests

We use basic technical information (referrer, device type, time of enquiry) to keep our service secure, prevent abuse, and improve how the site works. We’ve assessed this and we don’t think it overrides your privacy interests, because none of it is sensitive and we don’t use it to profile you.

We also rely on legitimate interests to measure our own advertising, by sharing a limited set of data with Meta (the company behind Facebook and Instagram) so we can tell whether our ads are reaching people who actually want solar quotes. We’ve kept this to the minimum Meta needs, your contact details are scrambled (hashed) before they leave our server, and you can object at any time. Section 9 explains exactly what’s shared.

Legal obligation

If we’re ever legally required to retain or disclose information (for example, by HMRC, the Information Commissioner’s Office, or a court order), we will do so.

4.Who we share your details with

We share your details with vetted local solar installers in Hampshire so they can prepare a quote for you. Depending on how busy a postcode is, this may be:

• An exclusive lead: your details go to one installer only
• A shared lead: your details go to up to 3 installers, who each contact you separately

We tell you which type of arrangement applies before you submit, on the consent screen.

The installers we work with are vetted businesses (companies registered in the UK, with appropriate trade accreditations such as MCS where relevant). We require them to handle your data lawfully and use it only for the purpose of quoting you.

We also use a small number of trusted technical providers to run the service. They process data on our behalf under written contracts and are not allowed to use it for anything else:

• Netlify. Hosts our website and runs the form-handling functions
• Twilio. Sends the SMS verification code to your phone
• Google. Stores leads in a private Google Sheet (Workspace)
• Cloudflare. Runs the spam check on our quote form (Turnstile)

We also share a limited amount of data with Meta to measure how our Facebook and Instagram adverts perform. This is explained in full in Section 9.

We do not sell your data to data brokers, advertisers, or anyone else. Apart from the ad measurement with Meta described in Section 9, your details only go to the installers you’ve agreed to and the providers listed above.

5.How long we keep your information

We keep your enquiry details for 12 months from the date you submitted, so we can follow up if needed and resolve any disputes between you and an installer. After that, we delete or anonymise them.

If you ask us to delete your data sooner, we will (see Section 7).

Once we’ve passed your details to an installer, that installer becomes a separate data controller for the quote they prepare for you. Their retention policy is their own. You’re welcome to ask them directly.

6.Where your data is stored

Your data is stored on systems based in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom. Some of our providers (Twilio, Google, Cloudflare, Meta) are headquartered in the United States but the data we process is held under standard contractual clauses and other safeguards that mean it’s protected to UK GDPR standards wherever it sits.

7.Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have a set of rights over your personal data. You can:

• Ask for a copy of the data we hold on you (right of access)
• Correct anything inaccurate we hold (right to rectification)
• Ask us to delete it (right to erasure)
• Withdraw your consent at any time. We’ll stop sharing your details with installers
• Object to or restrict how we process your data
• Ask for your data in a portable format (right to data portability)

If you’ve already had contact from an installer we passed your details to, you may also need to ask them directly to delete what they hold.

8.SMS verification

When you submit the quote form, we send a one-time 4-digit code to the mobile number you gave us. This is to make sure the number is real and yours. It protects installers from fake leads and keeps the service trustworthy.

We use Twilio to send the SMS. Standard mobile network charges from your provider may apply for receiving the message. We don’t use this number for marketing texts and we don’t share it with anyone other than the installer(s) you’ve consented to receive quotes from.

9.Cookies and tracking

We use a small number of cookies and similar technologies to make the site work and understand how people are using it. You’ll see a cookie banner the first time you visit, where you can accept, reject, or pick and choose what’s on.

The main categories are:

• Strictly necessary. Things that make the site function: form submission, SMS verification, security (always on, no consent needed)
• Functional. Remembers helpful things like your postcode if you navigate away and come back, so you don’t have to retype (only on if you say yes)
• Analytics (anonymous usage data to help us improve the site) which pages help, where people get stuck (only on if you say yes)
• Marketing. Tracking from advertising platforms (Meta, Google) so we know which ads brought you to us and can tailor the ones you see (only on if you say yes)

You can change your mind any time by clicking the cookie settings link in the footer.

Ad measurement without cookies

Separately from cookies, our server tells Meta when certain things happen on our site, so we can see which adverts lead to genuine enquiries. This happens server to server. It doesn’t place anything on your device, which is why it isn’t controlled by the cookie banner.

What we send:

• The event: viewing a page, starting the quote form, or submitting a verified enquiry, plus the page it happened on
• Technical details: your IP address and browser information
• From the quote form: your postcode once you’ve entered it, and your email address, phone number and name when you submit, but only in hashed form. Hashing turns them into a scrambled code before they leave our server, so Meta can check whether they match a Facebook or Instagram account without us sending the details themselves
• If you accepted marketing cookies: Meta’s own browser identifiers as well, which help match the event to the advert you clicked

We use this only to measure and improve our own adverts. We don’t send the details of your enquiry, your property or your address, and Meta doesn’t pass anything about you back to us. Meta handles this data under its own privacy policy, which you can read at facebook.com/privacy/policy.

If you’d rather we didn’t include you, email enquire@ecocompare.co.uk and we’ll stop. You can also control how Meta uses data from other websites in your Facebook or Instagram settings, under “Your activity off Meta technologies”.

10.Adults only

Our service is for adults aged 18 and over. We don’t accept enquiries from anyone under 18 and we don’t knowingly collect their data. If you spot a submission that shouldn’t be there, drop us a line at enquire@ecocompare.co.uk and we’ll delete it straight away.

11.How we keep your data safe

We take security seriously. Some of the measures in place:

• HTTPS encryption across the entire site
• Strict access controls on the systems where leads are stored
• SMS verification before any details are shared with installers
• Strong passwords and two-factor authentication on internal accounts
• Regular review of who has access to what

No system is 100% secure, but if anything goes wrong that affects your data, we’ll let you know and report it to the ICO within 72 hours where required.

12.Changes to this policy

If we make significant changes to this policy, we’ll update the “last updated” date at the top and, where the change is material, let you know directly if we have your email address. Smaller changes (fixes, clarifications) may happen without notice.

13.Complaints

If you’re not happy with how we’ve handled your data, please email us first at enquire@ecocompare.co.uk and give us the chance to put it right.

If you’d rather go straight to the regulator, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

• Website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
• Phone: 0303 123 1113
• Address: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF

14.Contact us

Any questions about this policy or how we handle your data? Drop us a line: