Privacy Policy

Who we are

Emergency Debt Line Ltd provides general information and can introduce you, with your consent, to an FCA-authorised debt advice provider. We do not give personalised debt advice on this website.

The callback form collects basic enquiry information: your name, phone number, email, and any optional debt figure or callback time you choose to give. With a separate tick box, we may share those details with an FCA-authorised debt advice provider so that provider can contact you. That firm gives any advice. Marketing is a further separate tick box.

Emergency Debt Line Ltd is the data controller responsible for your personal information.

• Company Name: Emergency Debt Line Ltd
• Company Registration Number: 17372573
• Privacy Contact Email: privacy@emergencydebtline.co.uk

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

Emergency Debt Line Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

ICO Registration Number: ZC226043

The personal information we collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal information.

Personal information

• Full name
• Previous names
• Date of birth
• Address history
• Telephone numbers
• Email addresses

Household information

• Marital status
• Number of dependants
• Household composition
• Housing arrangements
• Property ownership details

Employment information

• Current employment details
• Employment history
• Self-employment information
• Business interests

Financial information

• Income details
• Expenditure details
• Benefit information
• Bank account details
• Bank statements
• Transaction histories
• Asset information
• Savings and investments
• Debt and creditor information
• Credit commitments
• Financial circumstances

Credit information

• Credit reports
• Credit reference data
• Information received from credit reference agencies where permitted

Communications information

• Emails
• Letters
• Telephone conversations
• Website enquiries
• Online forms
• Webchat communications
• Call recordings
• Notes our team add while dealing with your enquiry

Special category data

In some circumstances we may collect information relating to:

• Physical or mental health
• Disabilities
• Vulnerabilities
• Other sensitive personal information relevant to your financial circumstances

We only process this information where permitted by law and where there is a valid lawful basis to do so.

We do not ask for payment card details on this website.

How we collect your information

We may collect personal information directly from you through:

• Telephone calls
• Email correspondence
• Website enquiry forms
• Online applications
• Live chat services
• Written correspondence
• Documents you provide

We may also collect information from:

• Credit reference agencies
• Publicly available sources
• Third parties you authorise to act on your behalf
• Referral partners
• Open Banking providers where consent has been given

When you use our website contact / callback form, we typically also record:

• Optional information you choose to give (for example a rough debt amount, preferred callback time, and where you heard about us). The form does not ask for income or expenditure
• If you arrived via a staff member’s personal website link, which link was used
• Whether you agreed to our Terms
• Whether you agreed to be contacted about this enquiry
• Whether you agreed that we may share the form details with an FCA-authorised debt advice provider
• Whether you agreed to marketing, which is asked separately
• The date and time of those choices
• Technical data such as IP address and basic browser information (server logs), where collected by our hosting provider

How we use your personal information

We use your personal information to:

• Respond to your enquiry and follow up with you
• Respond to enquiries and complaints
• Improve our services
• Comply with legal and regulatory requirements
• Monitor service quality
• Introduce you to an FCA-authorised debt advice provider where you have ticked the introduction box
• Communicate with creditors where you have authorised us to do so
• Create and manage a customer / enquiry record in our internal CRM used by our team
• Keep notes of our conversations and your enquiry, including the consent choices you made
• Improve and secure our website

Income, expenditure and the wider financial information listed above are not collected on the website form. If you later give documents to an FCA-authorised debt advice provider, that firm assesses them. This website does not use those documents to recommend a debt option.

CRM and website enquiries

Details you submit on this website are transferred into our CRM so our team can follow up. Your CRM record may include the information you typed into the form, emails or calls, documents you provide, and notes our team add while dealing with your enquiry.

Access to the CRM is limited to authorised staff and systems that support our work. Remote access tools used by our team connect to our systems under our control; your data is not sold and is not held as a separate consumer product by those tools.

Call recording

Telephone calls may be recorded for:

• Training and staff development
• Quality assurance
• Service improvement
• Compliance monitoring
• Regulatory requirements
• Fraud prevention
• Resolving complaints and disputes
• Protecting our customers and staff

Where calls are recorded, callers may be notified at the start of the call.

Recordings are stored securely and are only accessible to authorised personnel where there is a legitimate business need.

Our legal basis for processing your information

We process personal information under one or more of the following lawful bases:

• Your consent — separate tick boxes on the callback form for contact about your enquiry, sharing your form details with an FCA-authorised debt advice provider, and marketing
• Performance of a contract
• Compliance with legal obligations
• Legitimate business interests — including running and securing our website and CRM, and responding to enquiries in a way you would reasonably expect
• Protection of your vital interests

Where we process special category data, we will rely on the additional lawful grounds available under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Who we share your information with

We may share your personal information with:

• Credit reference agencies
• An FCA-authorised debt advice provider — only if you tick the introduction box, and only the details you submitted on the form
• Insolvency practitioners where you have asked an authorised provider to consider a formal solution
• Creditors
• Solicitors and legal representatives
• Regulatory authorities
• Law enforcement agencies where legally required
• Professional advisers
• Auditors
• Insurance providers
• Software and technology providers (including hosting, email, and CRM support), under appropriate agreements
• Third parties you authorise us to communicate with
• Referral partners — only where you have agreed

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

All third parties are required to respect the security of your personal information and process it lawfully.

Marketing communications

Where you have provided your consent, we may contact you by:

• Telephone
• Email
• SMS
• Post

You can withdraw your consent or opt out of marketing communications at any time by contacting: privacy@emergencydebtline.co.uk

How long we keep your information

We retain your personal information for six (6) years from the date of our last meaningful contact with you or the completion of our services, whichever is later. This includes website enquiries and CRM customer records.

This retention period allows us to:

• Comply with legal obligations
• Meet regulatory requirements
• Resolve disputes
• Handle complaints
• Protect our legal interests
• Handle follow-up questions and introductions to partners

In some cases we may keep information for a shorter or longer period if the law requires it, if a complaint or claim is ongoing, or if you ask us to delete data earlier and we are able to do so.

Once the retention period expires, personal data will be securely deleted, destroyed, or anonymised unless we are required by law to keep it longer.

International data transfers

We do not routinely transfer personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where international transfers are necessary, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with UK data protection laws.

Keeping your information secure

We implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures designed to protect your information from:

• Unauthorised access
• Accidental loss
• Misuse
• Disclosure
• Alteration
• Destruction

Access to personal information is restricted to authorised employees, contractors, and service providers who require access for legitimate business purposes.

Your rights under UK GDPR

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the following rights.

To exercise any of your rights, contact: privacy@emergencydebtline.co.uk

We may request proof of identity before fulfilling your request.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to:

• Ensure website functionality
• Improve website performance
• Analyse visitor behaviour
• Enhance user experience
• Support our advertising and marketing activities

Essential cookies keep the site working (for example remembering your cookie choice). We also record aggregate page-visit counts (day and page path totals only — not IP addresses or other personal identifiers). Optional analytics cookies are used only if you accept them on the cookie banner; those may include page path, referrer and interaction events to help us improve the site.

You can control cookies through your browser settings.

Google advertising and remarketing

We may use Google Ads and related advertising services.

These services may place cookies on your device to help us understand website usage and display relevant advertising.

You can manage your advertising preferences through your Google account settings.

How to complain

If you have any concerns about how we process your personal information, please contact our Privacy Team first.

Email: privacy@emergencydebtline.co.uk

We will investigate your concerns and aim to resolve them promptly.

If you remain dissatisfied, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office.

ICO Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

ICO Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business practices, legal requirements, or regulatory obligations.

The latest version will always be available on our website. The "Last updated" date at the top will change when we revise this Policy.

Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us:

• Emergency Debt Line Ltd
• Company Registration Number: 17372573
• ICO Registration Number: ZC226043
• Registered Office Address: 20, Swan Buildings, Swan Street, Manchester, M4 5JW
• General email: info@emergencydebtline.co.uk
• Privacy Email: privacy@emergencydebtline.co.uk

Accessibility

If you require this Privacy Policy in an alternative format, including large print or another accessible format, please contact privacy@emergencydebtline.co.uk and we will do our best to accommodate your requirements.