Privacy policy
Last updated 2 November 2026
Who we are
Trade Butler is a trading name of Fleming & Kin Limited (company no. 17507380), Piccadilly Business Centre, Unit C, Aldow Enterprise Park, Blackett Street, Manchester M12 6AE. Contact us about anything on this page at hello@tradebutler.co.uk or on 07598 866887.
Who this covers
- Trades who use Trade Butler (our clients). For your account details, we decide how your information is used, so we are the controller.
- People who call or message a trade that uses Trade Butler. Here the trade is the controller: you contacted them, and we run the texts and records on their behalf as their processor. We only use your information to provide the service to that trade, under a written agreement (see our terms). If you have a question about how a particular trade uses your details, you can ask them or us.
- Visitors to this website.
If you called or messaged a trade
What we hold
- Your phone number, and your name if you give it or the trade adds it.
- The texts you send and receive through the service, and when.
- Details you choose to share about the job: a description, postcode or address, photos you upload, a voicemail you leave, and a callback time you pick.
- Booking details the trade adds, such as the appointment time, any quote and whether the job went ahead.
What it's used for
- Texting you back when the trade can't answer, so you aren't left waiting.
- Passing your enquiry, photos and voicemail to the trade, with a short summary so they can see what you need.
- Booking a callback or appointment, and sending reminders, "on my way" and "running late" updates.
- Where the trade chooses, one follow-up about a quote they sent you and a request for a review after a job.
- Recognising you if you contact the same trade again.
The lawful basis is the trade's legitimate interest in replying to people who contact them and looking after their customers. These are service messages about your enquiry or job, not marketing.
Gas and safety messages
If a message mentions a gas smell or carbon monoxide, the system automatically replies with the Gas Emergency number. This is a fixed safety message. Trade Butler is not an emergency service: in an emergency always call 999 or the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.
Stopping texts
Reply STOP to any text and we won't text you again for that trade. We keep a record of your number marked as opted out so that it keeps working. Reply START if you change your mind.
Automated summaries
We may use an AI service to write a one-line summary of your message for the trade, such as "Leak under kitchen sink, BB7". It doesn't make decisions about you; the trade reads your message and decides what to do.
If you're a trade using Trade Butler
- What we hold: your name, business name, contact details, the numbers we send alerts to, your working hours and settings, your home postcode for drive times, your logo, and payment and invoice records.
- Why: to set up and run the service under our contract with you, to take payment, and to keep the records the law requires.
- Payments: handled by Stripe. We don't see or store your full card or bank details.
If you visit this website
This website doesn't use advertising or tracking cookies, and we don't run analytics that identify you. Our hosting provider, Cloudflare, processes your IP address to deliver the site securely, and fonts load from Google Fonts, which also sees your IP address. If you email or ring us, we use your details to reply.
Who helps us run the service
We use a small number of trusted providers. Each only gets what it needs to do its job:
| Provider | What for | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | Hosting, the database, photo storage, email forwarding | UK, EU and US |
| Twilio | Phone numbers, calls, texts and voicemail recordings | US and EU |
| Anthropic | Short summaries of customer messages | US |
| Stripe | Taking payments from trades | UK, EU and US |
| Our business email inbox and website fonts | US and EU | |
| postcodes.io and OpenRouteService | Turning postcodes into drive times (postcodes only) | UK and EU |
Where information goes outside the UK, we rely on the UK's adequacy regulations (including the UK–US data bridge) or the UK's approved contract clauses.
How long we keep it
| Information | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Photos and voicemail recordings | 12 months, then deleted automatically |
| Messages, enquiries, bookings and review requests | 24 months, then deleted automatically |
| Customer names and numbers | 24 months after their last contact with that trade |
| STOP opt-outs and numbers a trade marks as "not a job" | For as long as we provide the service to that trade, so the setting keeps working |
| A trade's records when they leave | Deleted within 90 days, or sooner if they ask. They can ask for a copy first |
| Invoices and payment records | 6 years, as required for tax |
Your rights
You can ask us for a copy of the information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it, delete it, restrict how it's used, or object to how it's used. Email hello@tradebutler.co.uk and we'll reply within one month. If your request is about a trade's records, we'll let them know and help them deal with it.
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, please tell us first so we can put it right. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Keeping it safe
Information is stored encrypted with our providers. Each trade's dashboard and each customer's page uses its own private link, admin access is password-protected, and texts from us never ask you for card or bank details.
Changes
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. If a change affects how a trade's customers are looked after, we'll tell our clients before it takes effect.