1. Who We Are

We are Energy Marketing and Trading Ltd, registered in the UK, operating under the brand Bill-Validation.com. We provide utility bill validation services to UK businesses, helping clients ensure their energy invoices are accurate and fairly charged.

For privacy purposes, we are the “data controller.” This means we decide how and why your information is used. You can contact us at: info@bill-validation.com.

2. Information We Collect

To validate your bills and provide our services, we need certain types of information. We keep this to the minimum necessary and relevant to the job at hand.

• Business contact details – your name, job title, company name, email, and phone number.
• Billing information – copies of utility invoices, contracts, account numbers, and site addresses.
• Usage data – meter numbers, consumption figures, and historical billing records.
• Communication data – emails, messages, and notes of conversations with our team.
• Website data – cookies and analytics data to help us understand how our website is used (see section 8).

3. How We Use Your Information

We only use your information for purposes that are directly connected with delivering and improving our services. In practice, that means:

• Bill validation – analysing invoices and contracts to spot errors, recover overpayments, and confirm accuracy.
• Client reporting – preparing clear reports for you and your board that show findings, recoveries, and assurance.
• Supplier liaison – corresponding with suppliers (only when authorised) to resolve disputes and recover funds.
• Service improvement – monitoring performance and feedback so we can improve our processes.
• Legal and compliance – keeping necessary records for audit, tax, and regulatory obligations.

We never sell your data to third parties. Ever.

4. Our Legal Grounds for Using Data

UK data protection law requires us to explain the “legal basis” we rely on. We keep this simple:

• Contract – we need your information to deliver the bill validation services you’ve asked for.
• Legitimate interest – we have a business reason to use your data that doesn’t unfairly impact your rights, e.g. improving our service or sending you relevant updates.
• Legal obligation – we sometimes have to keep information for tax, audit, or compliance purposes.
• Consent – for optional marketing emails, you choose whether to receive them and can unsubscribe any time.

5. Who We Share Information With

Most of the time, your information stays with us. The only situations where we share it are:

• Suppliers – to challenge and resolve billing errors, but only with your authorisation.
• Professional advisers – such as auditors, insurers, or legal advisers, where necessary.
• Technology providers – secure cloud storage, email, and analytics tools that help us run the business.
• Regulators or authorities – if the law requires it.

All partners we use are required to handle your data securely and comply with UK data protection law.

6. How Long We Keep Your Information

We only keep information as long as it’s needed. For bill validation records, that usually means up to six years (matching the period errors can be claimed from). After that, data is securely deleted. For marketing contacts, we delete data as soon as you opt out or after 24 months of inactivity.

7. How We Protect Your Information

We use modern security measures to keep your information safe:

• Encrypted cloud storage for documents.
• Access controls so only our validation team can see client files.
• Regular deletion of data that’s no longer needed.
• Staff training in confidentiality and GDPR compliance.

No system is 100% perfect, but we take all reasonable steps to minimise risk and act quickly if issues ever arise.

8. Cookies and Website Data

Like most websites, we use cookies to improve your browsing experience. These are small text files placed on your device. They help us understand how visitors use our site and make improvements.

• Essential cookies – required for site functionality.
• Analytics cookies – to understand visitor numbers and behaviour (we use Google Analytics).
• Preference cookies – to remember your choices (like dark mode preferences).

You can manage or block cookies in your browser settings at any time.

9. Your Rights

You have clear rights under UK data protection law. These include:

• Right to access – you can ask what data we hold about you.
• Right to correction – you can have inaccurate data corrected.
• Right to deletion – you can ask us to delete data we no longer need.
• Right to restrict use – you can limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability – you can request a copy of your data in a usable format.
• Right to object – you can opt out of certain uses, like direct marketing.

To exercise these rights, email us at info@bill-validation.com. We’ll respond within one month.

10. International Transfers

We aim to keep your data in the UK or European Economic Area (EEA). If we ever need to transfer it outside, we make sure appropriate safeguards are in place — for example, using providers who comply with the UK government’s data protection requirements.

11. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your data, please contact us first so we can resolve it quickly. You also have the right to complain directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data regulator. See https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/.

12. Updates to This Policy

We may update this policy occasionally to reflect changes in law, technology, or our services. The date of the last update will always be shown at the top of this page. We recommend checking back periodically.