Data-Retention Policy

1. Principles

Personal information is kept only for defined operational, accountability, safety and legal purposes. Retention is reviewed periodically and records are securely deleted or anonymised when no longer required.

2. Working schedule

Incomplete application drafts: 90 days after last activity. Rejected, withdrawn or abandoned fitter applications: 12 months. Active public profiles: while active, then 24 months after closure. Portfolio files: while authorised for the profile, then normally 90 days after removal or account closure.

Customer enquiries: 24 months after submission. Verification evidence and decision records: while verified and normally 6 years after verification ends. Complaints, disputes and enforcement records: 6 years after closure. Security and rate-limit records: 12 months. Consent records: while relied upon and for an appropriate accountability period afterwards. Financial and tax records, if later collected: the applicable statutory period.

3. Holds and deletion

Deletion may be paused where information is needed for litigation, fraud prevention, safeguarding, insurance, regulatory enquiry or another legal obligation. Access remains limited during a hold.

Deletion must cover primary systems and follow provider backup-expiry cycles. Anonymous statistical information may be retained where individuals are no longer identifiable.

4. Responsibility and review

The platform operator is responsible for the schedule and rights requests. Contact privacy@thefittingstandard.com. Review this policy at least annually and whenever the service, law, providers or risk profile changes.