Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Urgent Plumbers, operated by The Signature Cheese Pty Ltd (ABN 36 689 421 314) ("we", "us", "our"). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website at https://urgentplumbers.com.au or interact with our services.

2. Information We Collect

Urgent Plumbers is a directory service. The type and amount of information we collect depends on how you interact with our website.

2.1 Information Collected from Directory Visitors

When you browse our directory without submitting any forms, we collect only:

• Anonymous analytics data (pages viewed, time on site, general geographic location)
• Browser and device type
• Referring website
• Cookie data for analytics and advertising purposes

This data is anonymised and aggregated. We do not track individual visitors or create personal profiles from browsing activity alone.

2.2 Information Collected via Business Claim Forms

When a business owner claims a listing, we collect:

• Full name
• Business email address
• Role within the business (owner, manager, etc.)
• Phone number (if provided)
• Business name and details as submitted

This information is used to verify the claimant's association with the business and to manage the listing on an ongoing basis. Email addresses are verified through a confirmation link process.

2.3 Information Collected via Contact and Lead Forms

When you submit a contact form or enquiry form, we collect:

• Name
• Email address
• Phone number (if provided)
• Message content
• The listing the enquiry relates to (if applicable)

2.4 Payment Information

If you purchase a featured listing, payment is processed by Stripe. We do not store credit card numbers or full payment details on our servers. Stripe's handling of your payment data is governed by Stripe's own privacy policy. We retain only transaction references, subscription status, and billing-related metadata.

3. How We Use Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Operate and maintain the directory website
• Process and manage business listing claims
• Respond to contact form enquiries
• Forward lead form enquiries to the relevant plumbing business
• Process payments for featured listings via Stripe
• Send verification emails for listing claims
• Improve website performance and user experience via analytics
• Display relevant advertising (if enabled)

We do not use personal information for unsolicited marketing. We will only contact you in relation to a specific enquiry, claim, or subscription you have initiated.

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies for:

• Analytics (Google Analytics): To understand aggregate website usage patterns. Google Analytics uses cookies to collect anonymised data about page views, session duration, and general user behaviour.
• Advertising (Google AdSense): If enabled, Google AdSense may use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our site and other websites. You can opt out of personalised advertising through Google's Ad Settings.
• Third-party analytics (Ahrefs): We use Ahrefs analytics to monitor website performance and search visibility.

You can disable cookies in your browser settings. Disabling cookies will not affect your ability to browse our directory, but may affect advertising and analytics functionality.

5. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We may share your information with:

• Plumbing businesses: If you submit a lead form or enquiry about a specific listing, your name, email, phone number, and message will be forwarded to that business so they can respond to you.
• Payment processor (Stripe): Payment and billing information for featured listing subscriptions.
• Email service provider (Resend): For sending transactional emails such as claim verifications and contact form notifications.
• Analytics providers (Google, Ahrefs): Anonymised usage data.
• Advertising providers (Google AdSense): Cookie-based data for ad personalisation, if enabled.
• Hosting provider (Firebase/Google Cloud): All website data is stored on Google's Firebase platform in Australian data centres where available.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

6. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information, including:

• HTTPS encryption for all website traffic
• Firebase security rules to restrict data access
• Secure email verification tokens with time-limited expiry
• Stripe PCI-compliant payment processing

However, no method of internet transmission or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

7. Your Rights Under Australian Privacy Law

Under the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, you have the right to:

• Access: Request access to the personal information we hold about you
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or outdated personal information
• Complaint: Lodge a complaint about our handling of your personal information
• Opt-out: Opt out of direct marketing communications at any time

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@urgentplumbers.com.au. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.

8. Data Retention

We retain personal information as follows:

• Claim data: Retained for as long as the listing claim is active, plus 12 months after cancellation
• Contact form submissions: Retained for 12 months
• Lead form submissions: Forwarded to the relevant business and retained for 6 months
• Payment records: Retained for 7 years as required by Australian tax law
• Analytics data: Retained in aggregated, anonymised form indefinitely

You may request deletion of your personal information at any time by contacting us. We will delete your data within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.

9. Third-Party Services

Our website integrates with the following third-party services:

Each third-party service has its own privacy policy governing its use of your data. We encourage you to review their respective policies.

10. Children's Privacy

Our website is a public directory primarily intended for adults seeking plumbing services. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16 years of age. If we become aware that we have collected information from a child under 16, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.

11. Cross-Border Data Transfers

Some of the third-party services we use (such as Google, Stripe, and Resend) may store or process data outside of Australia, including in the United States. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure that your information is treated in accordance with Australian privacy standards. By using our website, you consent to the transfer of your information to these overseas recipients as described in this policy.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will post any changes on this page and update the "Last Updated" date. Material changes will be highlighted at the top of this page. Your continued use of the website after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this privacy policy, wish to exercise your privacy rights, or want to make a complaint about our handling of your personal information, please contact us:

If you are not satisfied with our response to a privacy complaint, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au or by phone on 1300 363 992.