Definitions
 

• Users - refers collectively to homeowners, contractors, prospective users and any individuals who interact with Bid4MyJob services.

• Homeowners - Means individuals who provide Bid4MyJob with details of a home improvement, renovation or property-related project for the purpose of obtaining contractor services through the Bid4MyJob reverse-auction process.

• Contractors (“Bidders”) – Means tradespeople, sole traders, partnerships, companies or other service providers approved by Bid4MyJob to participate in the reverse-auction process and submit bids to carry out projects on behalf of homeowners.

• B4MJ – Bid4MyJob
   

1. Introduction and scope

This Privacy Policy explains how Poetic Innovations Limited, trading as Bid4MyJob, collects, uses, stores and shares personal information when you use our website, reverse-auction platform, payment services, contract administration tools and related services.

 

Bid4MyJob is an online marketplace that enables approved contractors to competitively bid for home improvement and renovation projects through a reverse-auction process. Project information is collected directly from homeowners and auction listings are created and administered by Bid4MyJob on their behalf. Bid4MyJob manages the auction process and, once the auction has concluded, presents homeowners with the final project cost and details of the successful contractor.

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Bid4MyJob acts as an intermediary that facilitates the reverse-auction process between homeowners and contractors. Contractors submit bids through the platform without initially receiving the homeowner's personal details. Personal contact information is generally only shared with the successful contractor and homeowner once the bidding process has concluded and a project has been awarded. Unless otherwise stated in our Terms and Conditions, Bid4MyJob is not a party to the contract for services entered into between the homeowner and contractor.
 

2. Who we are

Controller: Poetic Innovations Limited, trading as Bid4MyJob.

Registered office: Suite 8b First Floor, Aw House, 6-8 Stuart Street, Luton, United Kingdom, LU1 2SJ

Companies House Number: 15172259

Contact Email: info@bid4myjob.co.uk.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Poetic Innovations Limited is the controller of personal information that we decide to collect and use in connection with Bid4MyJob. Some third parties, such as payment providers, may act as separate controllers for their own processing activities. Details of the third-party service providers currently used by Bid4MyJob are set out in Section 12 of this Privacy Policy.
 

3. What personal information means

Personal information means information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual. It can include obvious information such as your name, address, email address and telephone number, and less obvious information such as account identifiers, IP addresses, device data, platform activity, messages, bids and transaction records.

Certain categories of personal information receive additional protection under data protection laws because they are considered particularly sensitive. These categories, known as Special Category Personal Data, include information relating to an individual's racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data used for identification purposes, health, sex life or sexual orientation. Bid4MyJob does not intentionally request or collect Special Category Personal Data as part of its normal operations unless this is necessary for a specific lawful purpose and appropriate safeguards are in place. Users should avoid including unnecessary sensitive information in listings, bids, messages, reviews or attachments.
 

4. Personal information we collect
 

Bid4MyJob will collect the following information from the following users:

Homeowners

• Account and profile data:

  • Name,

  • Address,

  • Email address,

  • Telephone number,

  • Communication Preferences.

Contractors (“Bidders”)

• Account and profile data:

  • Name,

  • Email address,

  • Telephone number,

  • Username,

  • Account authentication information and login records maintained by the iRostrum platform.

  • Service area,

  • Skills and Experience,

  • Business Name and Address,

  • Communication Preferences,

  • Public liability insurance details and employer's liability insurance details (where applicable),

  • Trade accreditations, memberships and qualifications voluntarily provided by contractors.

  • Company registration details,

  • VAT number where applicable

  • Reports relating to suspected fraud, misuse of the platform, complaints, disputes or legal claims

Bid4MyJob does not currently conduct identity verification checks. If identity verification services are introduced in the future, this Privacy Policy will be updated to explain the additional information that may be collected.

 

Reverse-auction and platform activity data:

Bidder historical bidding data such as bid amounts, bid history, and transaction records.

 

Payment and transaction data:

Homeowners

We do not actively collect bank details or information from homeowners. However, on occasion your project may not be successful in our reverse auction software at which point we may need to refund your service fee paid to Bid4MyJob. At this point we will request the following data directly from you:

Bank Account Details:

• Account Number,

• Account Sort Code

• Account Name

Contractor (“Bidders”)

As part of our process, Bid4MyJob is paid a service fee which we pass on directly to the contractor who wins the project via the reverse auction platform. As such B4MJ will collect the following details from contractors:

 

Bank Account Details:

• Account Number,

• Account Sort Code

• Account Name
   

Additional data that will be held consists of:

• Invoice Payment status,

• Invoice and Payment amount,

• transaction reference.
   

Bid4MyJob does not collect or store debit or credit card details.
 

Technical and usage data:

IP address, device type, browser, operating system, log-in activity, pages visited, referral source, cookies, security logs and analytics data.
 

Marketing preference data:

• Newsletter subscriptions,

• Opt-in and opt-out records,

• Consent records and communication preferences.
   

5. Special Category Data and Criminal Convictions Data

Bid4MyJob does not intentionally collect, require or process Special Category Personal Data as part of the normal operations of the platform. This includes information revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data used for identification purposes, health information, information concerning a person’s sex life, or sexual orientation.  Users should not submit such information through the platform unless specifically requested and required for a lawful purpose.

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Bid4MyJob does not currently collect or process Criminal Convictions Data. Criminal Convictions Data is not classified as Special Category Personal Data under UK data protection law, but it is subject to separate legal protections and safeguards. If Bid4MyJob intends to collect or process Criminal Convictions Data in the future, this Privacy Policy will be updated before any such information is collected or processed.
 

6. How we collect personal information
 

We collect personal information:

• directly from users when they contact us, request our services, provide project information, register for an account, participate in the auction process, submit bids, complete contracts or otherwise interact with Bid4MyJob;

• during the administration of projects, reverse auctions and related contractual arrangements;

• from payment providers and other third-party service providers involved in delivering our services;

• automatically through website technologies such as cookies, analytics tools, security monitoring systems and server logs; and

• from publicly available sources where this is lawful and necessary for business verification, fraud prevention, dispute resolution or compliance purposes.
   

The categories of personal information we collect are described in Section 4.
 

7. How and why we use personal information
 

We use personal information to:

• operate and administer the Bid4MyJob platform;

• create and manage auctions on behalf of homeowners;

• facilitate contractor bidding and contractor selection;

• administer contracts and project-related communications;

• process payments, refunds and contractor payouts;

• maintain records of contractor qualifications, insurance and business information;

• communicate with users regarding projects, auctions, services and support requests;

• investigate complaints, disputes and suspected misuse of the platform;

• prevent fraud and protect the security of our services;

• comply with legal, tax, regulatory and accounting obligations;

• enforce our Terms and Conditions and protect our legal rights; and

• where permitted by law, send marketing communications and service updates.

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8. Lawful bases for processing

 

The table below links the main processing purposes to the lawful bases we expect to rely on under UK data protection law. The actual basis may depend on the circumstances.

Purpose

Examples of personal information

Likely lawful basis

Providing the platform

Account, profile, listings, bids, messages, accepted offers

Contract; legitimate interests

Reverse-auction administration

Bid history, auction timing, status, communications

Contract; legitimate interests

Payments, refunds and payouts

Billing, payment status, transaction references, payout data

Contract; legal obligation; legitimate interests

Trust, safety and fraud prevention

Identity checks, reports, dispute records, security logs

Legitimate interests; legal obligation

Legal, tax, accounting and claims

Transaction records, audit logs, dispute materials

Legal obligation; legitimate interests

Service messages

Account notices, security alerts, policy updates

Contract; legitimate interests

Marketing

Contact details, preferences, marketing engagement

Consent or legitimate interests, depending on the channel and law

Cookies and analytics

Device, cookie and usage data

Consent for non-essential cookies; legitimate interests for essential security and functionality
 

9. Reverse auctions, bids and user generated content
 

Because Bid4MyJob is a reverse-auction marketplace, information you submit may need to be shown to other users so that bids can be assessed, jobs can be awarded and services can be delivered. Depending on your account role and platform settings, this may include profile details, job descriptions, bid information, accepted offers, messages, ratings, reviews and transaction-related details.

You should not include personal information in public listings, bids, messages or reviews unless it is necessary for the job or communication. We may access, moderate or retain user content where necessary to operate the platform, prevent misuse, resolve disputes, enforce our rules, protect users or comply with legal requirements.

To protect user privacy, Bid4MyJob limits the personal information shared during the auction process. Contractors will generally only be shown information necessary to evaluate a project, such as the project description, project value range and the county or general geographic area in which the work is located.

Homeowner names, precise addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and other direct contact details will not normally be shared during the bidding process.

Once an auction has concluded and a contractor has been selected, Bid4MyJob may share relevant personal information with the successful contractor and homeowner to enable contract administration, project delivery and ongoing communication.

Unsuccessful contractors will not receive the homeowner's personal contact information.
 

10. Square Payments

Bid4MyJob uses Square to collect payments from homeowners for the use of the Bid4MyJob auction service. Square may collect and process personal and financial information for payment processing, fraud prevention, compliance, reporting and regulatory purposes.

Square may act as an independent data controller for certain payment processing activities. You should review Square's own privacy notice for further information about how Square collects, uses and protects your personal information.

Bid4MyJob does not normally store full debit or credit card details. Payment card information is collected and processed directly by Square or its payment infrastructure. Bid4MyJob may receive limited information relating to a transaction, including payment status, transaction reference numbers, payment amounts and refund information where applicable.

In certain circumstances, where a refund is required, Bid4MyJob may collect bank account details or other payment information from you for the sole purpose of processing the refund. Such information will only be used for refund administration and related record-keeping purposes.

Payments collected through Square are used to pay for access to and use of the Bid4MyJob auction service and associated platform functionality.

11. Sharing personal information
 

We do not sell your personal information. We may share it where necessary to operate Bid4MyJob, provide our services, support transactions, comply with law, investigate fraud, resolve disputes, protect the security of the platform and enforce our legal rights.

We may share information with other users; payment providers such as Square; hosting, cloud and IT providers; email, analytics and support tools; professional advisers; insurers; regulators; courts; law enforcement; HMRC; government bodies; and a buyer, investor or successor if our business is sold or reorganised.

Where a third-party processes personal information on our behalf, we remain responsible for ensuring appropriate protections are in place. Some third parties process information as separate controllers and are responsible for their own use of personal information.

12. Third-Party Service Providers, Platform Tools, and Links
 

Bid4MyJob uses a number of third-party service providers and software platforms to operate, administer, secure and improve its services. Depending on the purpose for which personal information is processed, these providers may process personal information on our behalf as data processors or may act as independent data controllers in relation to their own services.

 

We currently use the following third-party service providers to operate and administer Bid4MyJob:

 

• Microsoft for email communications, business operations, document management, collaboration and related technology services.

• Jotform to collect information from homeowners, contractors and other users through online forms and questionnaires.

• iRostrum to support the operation and administration of the auction platform and bidding processes.

• Wix for website hosting, website management, website analytics and related website services.

• DocuSign to facilitate the electronic signing and management of contracts and related documentation.

• Square for payment processing

We may also use third-party providers for:

• Website hosting and cloud infrastructure;

• security monitoring and fraud prevention;

• analytics and performance monitoring;

• legal, accounting, insurance and other professional advisory services.

We require service providers acting on our behalf to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information and to process personal information only in accordance with applicable data protection laws and our instructions.

Our website or platform may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content or security of third-party websites. You should read their privacy notices before providing personal information to them.

13. Cookies and marketing
 

We may use cookies and similar technologies to enable website functionality, keep users logged in, remember preferences, analyse platform usage, improve performance, support security and, where applicable, support marketing.

Some cookies are necessary for the website or platform to work. Non-essential cookies may require consent. You can manage cookies through your browser settings and any cookie management tool made available on the website.

You can unsubscribe, opt in or opt out from marketing emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link or contacting info@bid4myjob.co.uk. We may still send important service, account, transaction, security or policy messages.

14. Security, profiling and automated decision making
 

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information, including access controls, password protection, secure hosting, encryption where appropriate, security monitoring, confidentiality obligations and periodic review of security practices.

No online service can guarantee complete security. You are responsible for keeping your login details secure and confidential.

Bid4MyJob may use rules, risk signals and fraud prevention tools to support platform safety. We do not currently make decisions with legal or similarly significant effects about users solely by automated means. If this changes, we will update this policy.

15. Retention

Bid4MyJob retains personal information only for as long as necessary to operate the platform, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, maintain business records and protect our legal rights. When information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or anonymised.

In general:

• Account information is retained while an account remains active.

• Financial and transaction records may be retained for up to six years to comply with tax and accounting requirements.

• Marketing preferences are retained until consent is withdrawn or an unsubscribe request is received.

• Security and fraud-prevention records are retained for as long as reasonably necessary to investigate or prevent misuse of the platform.

16. International transfers
 

Some service providers may store or process personal information outside the United Kingdom. Where this happens, we will use appropriate safeguards, such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, an international data transfer agreement or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

17. Your rights
 

Under UK data protection law, you may have rights to access your personal information, ask us to correct it, ask us to delete it, restrict how we use it, object to certain processing, receive information in a portable format, withdraw consent where we rely on consent and complain to the regulator.

To exercise your rights, contact info@bid4myjob.co.uk. We may need to verify your identity before responding. Some rights are subject to conditions and exemptions.

18. Complaints
 

If you are unhappy with how we use your personal information, please contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk.

19. Children
 

Bid4MyJob is not intended for users under 18. Users must not create an account or use the platform if they are under 18. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child, we may delete the information and close the account.

20. Changes to this policy
 

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we may notify users by email, through the platform or by placing a notice on our website. The latest version will be available on Bid4MyJob.

21. Contact us
 

Poetic Innovations Limited trading as Bid4MyJob. Email: info@bid4myjob.co.uk. Registered office: Suite 8b First Floor, Aw House, 6-8 Stuart Street, Luton, United Kingdom, LU1 2SJ. Companies House number: 15172259.