Privacy notice

Who we are

Council Credit Check is a UK service that checks whether a limited company, LLP or plc could be owed a business rates credit on a council's published list, and claims it if the company asks us to. It is operated by Rikard Radmussen, a sole trader, trading as Owed Interest. A limited company has not been formed.

The controller is Rikard Radmussen, a sole trader, trading as Owed Interest.

Contact: rikard@councilcreditcheck.co.uk, WhatsApp +44 7984 098516, councilcreditcheck.co.uk.

ICO application C2087832; the registration number is pending.

The data we use

For prospecting we typically hold:

• the company's name, website, Companies House number and status;
• the company name, property, account reference and credit amount as shown on a council's own published list of business rates accounts in credit; and
• a business email address published on the company's own website (for example sales@ or enquiries@).

We do not buy marketing lists. We do not use personal staff inboxes for a first email where a generic company address is available.

For clients who instruct us we also hold the authority you give (including the online form, when you tick yes, and a signed letter of authority), correspondence with you and with the council about the credit, and the payment records needed to invoice our fee. We do not collect bank or payment-card details through this website, and we never collect your company's bank details for the refund: you give those to the council directly.

Where the data comes from

• lists of business rates accounts in credit that councils publish themselves (for example under the Open Government Licence or in answer to Freedom of Information requests);
• Companies House public records;
• the company's own website;
• you, if you become a client, reply to us, or complete the online form;
• the council named in a Council Credit Check letter of authority, which we ask to copy us on its correspondence and refund confirmation.

We only contact limited companies, LLPs and plcs, and you can opt out at any time by replying "no".

Why we use it, and the lawful basis

We use this data to tell relevant limited companies, LLPs and plcs that a council has published a business rates credit in their name, and to provide the service if they ask us to.

The lawful basis under UK GDPR is legitimate interests: it is in a company's interest to know it could be owed a published credit, and in ours to offer that check, provided the email is accurate, restrained and easy to stop.

We only send unsolicited marketing email to corporate subscribers (limited companies, LLPs and plcs), as PECR allows. We do not send marketing email to sole traders or to other individual traders.

You can object at any time. A reply of "no", or any other clear opt-out, is enough. We will not email you again for this purpose.

How long we keep it

Prospect records are kept for as long as they are needed for a possible follow-up, and in any event are reviewed at least once a year. If you opt out, we keep just enough information to honour that request. Client files are kept for as long as needed to complete the work and to meet tax and accounting requirements, then deleted or anonymised.

Access from outside the UK

The service is run for UK businesses. The operator may at times access email and files from outside the UK, including Thailand. Where that happens, we take steps to keep the data secure.

Sharing

We do not sell your data. We share it only with the tools we use to run the service, with the council you have authorised us to write to, or if the law requires it.

The online form is sent to us by email through Formsubmit, a form-delivery service. Formsubmit receives the company name, your name and email, any council name you choose to give, your yes authorisation and the compact authority wording, and forwards them to us. We do not collect bank or payment details, and you should not enter them on the form. See Formsubmit's own privacy information as well as this notice.

Once a director has signed our letter of authority, we share the company's name, number, property and account reference, and the signatory's name, with the council named, and ask it to copy us on its correspondence and its refund confirmation so we know when the refund is made. To invoice our fee we keep the refund amount and date. If you choose to pay by card or set up the optional "lock in 10%" payment authority, a payment provider (Stripe or GoCardless, once live) processes those details; we never see full card or bank numbers.

Your rights

You can ask for a copy of the data we hold, ask us to correct it, object to our using it, or ask us to delete it, subject to the usual legal limits. To do that, or to opt out of emails, write to rikard@councilcreditcheck.co.uk or reply "no" to our message.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk. Our ICO application number is C2087832; the registration number is pending.

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