This policy explains what personal information The Business Adviser Network collects, why, who we share it with, how long we keep it and the rights you have. It applies to businesses using the directory, to consultants who list with us, and to anyone who contacts us.
Who we are
adviser-net.com (“The Business Adviser Network”, “we”, “us”) is owned and operated by Training Course Broker Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (no. 10855487) with its registered office at 8 The Fieldings, Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, NG17 2TF. We are the data controller for the information described here and are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (registration no. 10606425).
Contact us about anything in this policy at admin@adviser-net.com or via our contact form.
Information we collect and why
| When | What we collect | What we use it for | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| You message an adviser from their profile | Name, email, phone and website (optional), subject, message, IP address | Passing your message to that adviser; keeping a record in case of problems or abuse | Legitimate interests (connecting you with the adviser you chose) |
| You use our contact form | Name, email, phone and website (optional), subject, message, IP address | Replying to you | Legitimate interests |
| You book a meeting with an adviser | Name, email, phone, company (optional), what you’d like to discuss (optional), the time and type of meeting, IP address | Holding and confirming the time, creating the Teams or Zoom meeting and calendar entry, sending you the details, a reminder and a cancellation link | Legitimate interests (arranging the meeting you asked for); you agree to your details being shared with the adviser |
| You request quotes | Name, email, phone, company name, postcode, your answers about the help you need, IP address | Sharing your request with the advisers listed on the site once you have confirmed it by email, so they can contact you | Consent (you tick a box to agree before anything is shared) |
| You register as a consultant | Name, company, address, email, phone, website, username, password (stored only as a one-way hash), and anything you add to your profile (photo, logo, LinkedIn link, biography, experience, specialities) | Providing your membership and listing; contacting you about your account | Contract |
| You pay a membership fee | Name, email, amount, date, and Stripe payment references. We never see or store your card details — they are entered on Stripe’s secure page. | Taking payment, issuing receipts and VAT invoices, keeping accounting records | Contract; legal obligation (tax and accounting records) |
| You use the website | IP address, pages visited, referring page and browser type; login attempts and form submissions | Keeping the site secure (for example, blocking repeated failed logins and spam), and understanding which pages are used | Legitimate interests |
We don’t use your information for automated decision-making, we don’t sell it, and we don’t send marketing emails. The emails we send are about your enquiry, request, account or membership.
Consultants who connect a calendar
If you connect Microsoft 365 / Outlook or Zoom to your diary, we use that access only to read when you are busy (start and end times — not the titles or details of your appointments), to add meetings people book with you through this site, and to create and cancel the matching Teams or Zoom meetings. Access tokens are stored encrypted. You can disconnect at any time from your diary page, and we delete the stored tokens immediately.
What consultants’ profiles show publicly
If you list with us, your public profile shows your name, company, photo and logo, town and county, the first part of your postcode (for example “NG1”), your phone number (unless you choose to hide it in your profile settings), website, LinkedIn link, biography, experience and specialities. Your full address and email address are not published. Your profile only appears while your membership is active.
Who we share information with
- Advisers listed on the site. A message you send from a profile goes to that adviser. A confirmed quote request goes to the advisers listed at the time. Once an adviser receives your details they are responsible for how they use them, as a separate data controller, and must follow data protection law.
- Microsoft and Zoom, when you book a meeting with an adviser who has connected their Microsoft 365 / Outlook or Zoom account: your name, email and the meeting details are added to the adviser’s calendar and used to create the Teams or Zoom meeting, under the adviser’s own account with that provider.
- Stripe (Stripe Payments Europe Ltd and its group), who process membership payments. See Stripe’s privacy policy.
- Our hosting and email providers, who store the website and its database and deliver our emails, acting only on our instructions.
- Google, if reCAPTCHA spam protection is switched on for a form. See the Google Privacy Policy.
- Professional advisers, regulators, law enforcement or courts, where we are legally required to, or need to establish or defend legal claims.
- A buyer of our business, if we sell it, who would have to treat your information in line with this policy.
International transfers
Stripe and Google may process information outside the UK, including in the United States. Where they do, the transfer is covered by UK adequacy regulations (including the UK–US Data Bridge) or the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum, which require your information to be protected to UK standards.
How long we keep information
- Messages, contact enquiries and quote requests: 2 years, then deleted.
- Meeting bookings: 2 years after the meeting date, then deleted. (Copies in an adviser’s own calendar are kept under the adviser’s control.)
- Consultant accounts: for as long as you are a member, then 2 years after your last membership ends (so you can renew easily), unless you ask us to delete it sooner.
- Payment records: 6 years from the end of the financial year they relate to, as required by HMRC.
- Security records (failed logins, rate-limit records): 30 days. Page-visit logs: 12 months.
- Email addresses blocked for sending spam: for as long as needed to keep blocking them.
How we protect your information
The site is served only over encrypted HTTPS. Passwords are stored as one-way hashes, password-reset links are single-use and expire after an hour, logins and forms are rate-limited, and administrative access is restricted. No method of sending information over the internet is completely secure, but we work to protect your information and will tell you and the ICO about a serious breach where the law requires it.
Your rights
You have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the information we hold about you;
- ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete;
- ask us to delete your information, or to restrict how we use it;
- object to us using your information on the basis of legitimate interests;
- withdraw your consent at any time where we rely on consent (for example, for a quote request not yet shared) — this doesn’t affect anything already done;
- ask for information you gave us in a portable format.
To use any of these rights, email admin@adviser-net.com. We will reply within one month and won’t usually charge. Consultants can also update most of their details themselves in their dashboard.
If you’re unhappy with how we handle your information, please tell us first so we can try to put it right. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or 0303 123 1113.
Cookies
We only use cookies that are needed for the site to work. See our cookie policy.
Children
This site is for businesses and professionals. It isn’t intended for anyone under 18, and we don’t knowingly collect children’s information.
Changes to this policy
We’ll update this page if the way we handle information changes, and change the “last updated” date above. If a change significantly affects consultants, we’ll also email them.
The Business Adviser Network is owned and operated by Training Course Broker Ltd, registered in England and Wales no. 10855487, VAT no. 275 3633 87. Registered office: 8 The Fieldings, Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, NG17 2TF.