Privacy Policy
How we collect, use, and protect your personal information
This privacy policy complies with UK GDPR, Data Protection Act 2018, and latest 2025 data protection requirements.
Contents
1. Who we are
Council Tax Reduction Service is a free online calculator that helps UK residents check their eligibility for council tax reduction. We do not store your personal information.
Contact Details:
- Service: Council Tax Reduction Service
- Email: support@counciltaxreduction.uk
- Phone: 07354 990992
2. What data we collect
We collect minimal data to provide our service:
For Eligibility Calculation (Not Stored):
- • Your postcode (to determine council area)
- • Household size and composition
- • Income information
- • Current benefits received
- • Property council tax band
- Note: This information is processed in your browser and not stored on our servers
Website Analytics (Anonymous):
- • Pages visited
- • Time spent on site
- • Browser type
- • Device type (mobile/desktop)
- Note: All analytics data is anonymised and cannot identify individuals
Contact Form (If You Contact Us):
- • Name and email address
- • Your message/inquiry
- Note: Only stored temporarily to respond to your inquiry
3. How we use your data
We use data for these simple purposes:
Eligibility Calculator:
- • Process your information to calculate eligibility
- • Show you potential savings
- • Provide guidance on next steps
- Note: All calculations happen in your browser - we don't store this data
Website Improvement:
- • Understand how people use the site
- • Fix technical problems
- • Make the service better
- Note: All analytics are anonymous
Customer Support:
- • Respond to your questions
- • Help with technical issues
- Note: Only if you contact us directly
4. Legal basis for processing
We process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:
Consent:
For marketing communications, cookies, and optional services. You can withdraw consent at any time through your account settings or by contacting us.
Contractual Necessity:
To provide the eligibility assessment service and process applications as requested by you.
Legitimate Interest:
For website analytics (anonymised data), fraud prevention, and service improvement. Our legitimate interests do not override your privacy rights.
Legal Obligation:
To comply with tax, financial, and data protection laws, including record keeping requirements.
5. Who we share data with
We share very little data because we don't store much:
Nobody Gets Your Calculator Data:
Your eligibility information stays in your browser only. We don't send it anywhere or share it with anyone.
Website Analytics:
We use Google Analytics to see how people use the site, but all data is anonymous and can't identify individuals.
Email Service:
If you contact us, we use a standard email service to respond. Your message is only seen by us.
6. How long we keep data
We keep data for very short periods:
Eligibility Calculator Data:
Not stored at all - Your information is processed in your browser only and never saved to our servers.
Website Analytics:
Anonymous usage data kept for 26 months to help improve the service, then automatically deleted.
Contact Form Messages:
Kept for 30 days to respond to your inquiry, then deleted. You can ask us to delete sooner.
7. Your data protection rights
Under UK GDPR and the latest 2025 data protection requirements, you have the following rights:
Right of Access:
Request a copy of your personal data. We will respond within 30 days.
Right to Rectification:
Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data. We will respond within 30 days.
Right to Erasure:
Request deletion of your data. We will respond within 14 days (enhanced 2025 requirement).
Right to Restrict Processing:
Request temporary suspension of data processing.
Right to Data Portability:
Receive your data in a machine-readable format or transfer it to another service.
Right to Object:
Object to processing based on legitimate interest or for direct marketing.
Right to Withdraw Consent:
Withdraw consent at any time. This will not affect lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
How to Exercise Your Rights:
Contact us at dpo@counciltaxreduction.uk or call 0800 123 4567. We will verify your identity and process your request within the required timeframes.
9. Data security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data:
Technical Measures:
- • End-to-end encryption for data transmission
- • AES-256 encryption for data at rest
- • Regular security audits and penetration testing
- • Multi-factor authentication for staff access
- • Regular security updates and patches
Organisational Measures:
- • Staff training on data protection
- • Access controls and monitoring
- • Incident response procedures
- • Regular security assessments
- • Data processing agreements with third parties
Data Breach Notification:
In the event of a data breach, we will notify the ICO within 72 hours and affected individuals within 48 hours (where required by law).
10. International data transfers
Your data is primarily stored within the UK and EU. Where we transfer data outside the UK/EU, we ensure adequate protection through:
Standard Contractual Clauses:
EU-approved contracts that require the same level of data protection.
Adequacy Decisions:
Transfers only to countries recognised as providing adequate protection.
Data Sovereignty:
We maintain operational control within the UK/EU and resist unauthorised access from foreign governments.
11. Automated decision-making
We use automated systems to assess eligibility for council tax reduction. This includes:
Eligibility Calculator:
Automated assessment based on income, household size, and local council criteria. Results are indicative and subject to manual review.
Your Rights:
- • Request human review of automated decisions
- • Receive explanation of the logic used
- • Challenge decisions and provide additional information
- • Appeal through the relevant local council
12. Contact us
For questions about this privacy policy or your data protection rights:
Data Protection Officer:
Email: support@counciltaxreduction.uk
Phone: 07354 990992
Regulatory Authority:
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
Website: ico.org.uk
Phone: 0303 123 1113
You have the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by:
- • Updating the "last updated" date at the top of this policy
- • Sending you an email notification (if you have an account)
- • Displaying a notice on our website
- • Requesting new consent where required by law