Privacy Policy

The Hire Site Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) operates thehiresite.co.uk. We are registered in England and Wales. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share and protect your personal data when you use our platform.

If you have questions about this policy, contact us at privacy@thehiresite.co.uk.

We collect the following categories of personal data:

• Account data: Name, email address, password (hashed), phone number
• Profile data: Location, bio, profile photo, trade credentials, insurance documents
• Transaction data: Booking history, payment records, Stripe payment tokens
• Communications: Messages sent between hirers and listers on the platform
• Usage data: Pages visited, searches performed, device type, IP address
• Verification data: Identity documents, insurance certificates (where provided voluntarily)

We use your data to:

• Provide and operate the platform and your account
• Process bookings and payments securely
• Verify credentials and award trust badges
• Send transactional emails (booking confirmations, payment receipts)
• Send marketing communications (only where you have opted in)
• Detect and prevent fraud or misuse
• Comply with legal obligations
• Improve the platform through anonymised analytics

We process your personal data under the following lawful bases (UK GDPR):

• Contract: To fulfil our agreement with you when you create an account or make a booking
• Legitimate interests: To improve our service, prevent fraud, and keep the platform safe
• Consent: For marketing emails and non-essential cookies
• Legal obligation: To comply with financial regulations and tax requirements

We share data only where necessary:

• Stripe: Payment processing. Governed by Stripe's Privacy Policy.
• Supabase: Database hosting. Data stored in EU/UK data centres.
• Resend: Transactional email delivery.
• Other users: Your public profile (name, rating, city, bio) is visible to other users. Your contact details are never shared without consent.
• Legal authorities: Where required by law or to protect against fraud.

We never sell your personal data to third parties.

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active, plus 6 years thereafter for legal and financial compliance purposes. You can request deletion at any time (see Your Rights below).

Booking and payment records are kept for 7 years to comply with HMRC requirements.

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of the data we hold about you
• Rectification: Correct inaccurate data
• Erasure: Request deletion of your data (subject to legal retention obligations)
• Portability: Receive your data in a machine-readable format
• Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Withdraw consent: At any time, for consent-based processing

To exercise any right, email privacy@thehiresite.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO at ico.org.uk.

We use cookies for authentication, analytics, and optional personalisation. See our Cookie Policy for full details and opt-out options.

We use industry-standard security measures including encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed passwords, and restricted database access. No system is 100% secure — if you suspect a breach, contact us immediately at security@thehiresite.co.uk.

We may update this policy periodically. We'll notify you of significant changes by email or by a notice on the platform. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.