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Choosealocal — Where Our Listings Come From

Version 4.0 · effective 13/08/2026

Last updated: 13 August 2026

This page is for business owners who have found a listing for their
business on choosealocal.co.uk that they did not create.

If you signed up yourself, this page does not apply to you — see our
Privacy Policy at /privacy instead.

1. Who we are

Choosealocal is the
controller of the information described here.

Address: 9 garland gate, westhoughton,
bl5 3je
Email: [email protected]
ICO registration: ICO:00014972833

2. Why there is a listing you did not create

We are building a directory of local trades. To make it useful from the
first day in a new area, we create basic listings for businesses we can
find publicly, and then invite those businesses to take them over.

A listing you did not create is marked "Unclaimed" so that anyone
looking at it can see you have not set it up or checked it yourself.

3. Where we got your details

From public business listings — Google Maps and public social media
pages.

We did not buy your details from anyone, and nobody passed them to us.
We do not use private data, mailing lists, or anything behind a login.

4. What we hold

Only what a customer would need in order to find you:

  • Your business name
  • Your postcode and town
  • A phone number, website or social links where the public listing
    showed them
  • An email address, where one was publicly listed

What we show publicly is your business name, your town and area, and
your phone number where one was publicly listed. We do not show your
email address, any messaging number, or a street address — those are
removed before the page is built, not merely hidden on it.

The phone number is shown so the listing is actually of some use to you.
An entry nobody can ring is no benefit to your business, and we would
rather not publish one at all than publish one that only serves us.

We do not create opening hours, prices, services, photos or
qualifications for you. If your listing shows any of those, it is
because you or someone at your business added them after claiming it.

We do not mark an unclaimed listing as verified.

5. Our lawful basis

Legitimate interests — ours in building a directory that is useful
to people looking for local trades and services, and the public's in being
able to find them.

We have weighed this against your interests. The information is already
public, it is business contact information rather than private personal
detail, the listing says plainly that you have not claimed it, and you
can have it removed at any time. You can object at any time and we
will act on it.

6. How long we keep it

If you never claim the listing and never respond to us, we delete it
after 1 year.

If you ask us to remove it, we delete it straight away.

7. What you can do

You do not need an account, and you do not need to reply to any email we
sent you.

  • Remove it. Every unclaimed listing has a "This isn't me — remove
    this listing"     link on the page. Use it and the listing and everything
    attached to it is deleted.
  • Claim it. Take the listing over, set your own password, and correct
    or complete anything on it.
  • Correct it. Email [email protected] and tell us what is wrong.
  • Object. Email [email protected]. You do not have to give a reason.
  • Ask for a copy of what we hold about you.
  • Stop us contacting you — every email we send has an unsubscribe
    link, and using it does not stop you removing the listing.

8. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, email
[email protected] first and we will try to put it right.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at
ico.org.uk, or call their helpline on 0303 123 1113. You do not
have to come to us first.

9. Why you may not have heard from us directly

Where we have an email address for a business, we email this
information directly.

Many public listings do not include an email address. Where we have no
way to reach you, data protection law lets us publish this information
instead of contacting each business individually — and that is what this
page is. It is not a substitute for telling you where we can; it covers
the cases where we cannot.