Yell Direct's security and privacy information page

Privacy Policy for Advertisers

In this privacy policy, we will refer to Yell Limited using the terms ‘Yell’, ‘us’, ‘we’ and ‘our’.  If we use the term ‘Yell group’, this means us and our subsidiaries, and our ultimate holding company and its subsidiaries, as defined in section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006.  Yell Direct means our website for advertisers which can be found at www.yelldirect.com.


We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This privacy policy is about the way we use the personal information of our advertisers. If you advertise with us, this privacy policy applies to you. The policy explains:

1 The information we collect about you and how we do it, including:

1a how we collect information about you
1b what information we collect
1c why we need your email address
1d using cookies
1e recording your calls

2 how we will use information we collect about you, including:

2a when you use Yell Direct
2b website customisation and advert targeting
2c tracking how our websites are used
2d when you order our products or services
2e testimonials
2f direct marketing
2g customer surveys

3 when we will contact you;


4 direct marketing and how you can change your marketing preferences;


5 who we may share your personal information with;


6 where we process your personal information;


7 how to keep your information up to date;


8 how we keep your information secure;


9 why we link to other websites;


10 using cookies on our websites and how you can reject them;


11 what rights you have in your personal information and how you can use them;


12 how we can make changes to this privacy policy;


13 what privacy organisations we belong to; and


14 how to contact us about this privacy policy.



If you use our services to find businesses (we call these people 'users') we will also collect information about you. If you want to know how we use the personal information of users, please read our privacy policy for users.



1. The information we collect about you and how we do it

To provide you with the advertising services you have ordered, we need information about you.

If you use Yell Direct, you are in control of what information we collect about you, but if you choose not to share your information, you may not be able to access or use some areas of our websites.


1a How we collect information about you

We will ask for information about you when you:

  • advertise with us;
  • ask for a free line entry (a listing of your business details which we will include in our services for free);
  • order directories or any of our other products and services;
  • apply for credit with us;
  • register to use Yell Direct;
  • ask for Yell.com Mobile services (the part of Yell.com you can use from a mobile phone);
  • use the ‘send-to-a-friend’ feature on Yell.com (this is where you can email information about a business or service on our site to a friend);
  • set up, look at, or change your profile or account with us;
  • ask for information from us;
  • give us a testimonial or other feedback;
  • enter competitions or special promotions; or
  • fill in surveys.

We may ask other organisations for information about you, for example, if we check your credit rating or credit score, before we provide credit to you to allow you to buy advertising. We also buy business information from other organisations, so we may get information about you from those organisations.


1b What information we collect

The information we collect and hold about you may include your:

  • name (first and last name);
  • business name;
  • job title;
  • business address;
  • phone and/or mobile phone numbers;
  • email address;
  • Yell account number (sometimes we call this your SAP number);
  • bank account, debit card and/or credit card details;
  • date of birth;
  • credit history, credit rating or credit score;
  • password details, answers to security questions (for example your mother's maiden name) or both; and
  • any other information you may give us when you write to us or contact us in other ways.

1c Why we need your email address

When you register on Yell Direct, we collect your email address. We may use it for account administration (for example to email you your password, if you forget it) and for added security. We may use your email address to send you a confirmation of any order you make, if you buy our products or services and to confirm any profile or account changes you make. We might also use your email address to bring you news such as changes to the way you can use Yell Direct or new services and special offers we think you might be interested in. For more information on direct marketing and how to change your preferences, please read section 4 - Direct marketing and how you can change your marketing preferences.

1d Using Cookies

Cookies are information files stored on your computer that help websites remember you. We and our business partners collect information about your use of our websites through cookies. For more information on how we use cookies and how to opt out of using them, please read section 10 - the use of Cookies on our websites and how you can reject them.

1e Recording your calls

We may record or monitor calls that you receive from us, or make to us. We do this for security and training purposes and to improve the service we provide to you.



2 How we will use information we collect about you

Whenever you give us your personal information, legally we have to use it in accordance with the terms of various privacy laws, including the Data Protection Act 1998 (we refer to these laws in this privacy policy as the 'privacy laws').

2a When you use Yell Direct

When you give us information while using Yell Direct, we will use it for the purposes set out in this privacy policy, on the data entry forms, in any relevant terms or conditions and on pages or emails which link to the data entry forms.

2b Website customisation and advert targeting

We may use the information you give us about yourself when you register on Yell Direct to build up a picture of your interests. We may then use this information to try to make sure that when you visit our websites, you don't miss offers and information that might interest you. This is called advert targeting.

2c Tracking how our websites are used

We may collect information about activity on Yell Direct, or we may use other organisations to collect the information and to share the results with us. We use this information to:

  • analyse statistics;
  • track pages and paths used by visitors to Yell Direct;
  • target the banner adverts on Yell Direct and on the websites of other organisations; and
  • track the use of our internet banner adverts and other links from our marketing partners' websites to Yell Direct.

For these purposes, we and the other organisations we use keep information on the path you take to get to Yell Direct and on some of the pages you visit on Yell Direct, using of cookies and web beacons. You cannot be personally identified from the information that we or these other organisations collect. For information about web beacons, or the organisation we use (including how to decline their cookies), please read section 10 - Using Cookies on our websites and how you can reject them.

2d When you order our products or services

If you advertise with us, ask for a free line entry, order our directories or any other products and services, apply for credit with us, set up, look at or change your account details or contact our customer services team, we will record your personal details. Your information will be used in the first place to provide the products, services or information you have asked for. We keep the information you provide and may use it for several purposes, including:

  • accounting, billing and audit;
  • credit checking or screening;
  • credit, debit or other payment card verification and screening;
  • debt collection;
  • safety, security, health, administrative and legal purposes;
  • analysing statistics, the market and marketing information;
  • developing, testing and maintaining systems;
  • studies, research and development;
  • advertiser or user surveys; and
  • customer services and to help us in any future dealings with you, for example by identifying your requirements and preferences;


For these purposes we may disclose your information to one or more of the other organisations listed in section 5 - Who we may share your personal information with.

2e Testimonials

If you give us feedback, we may use it to improve our products and services and we may publish it online or offline to promote our business, products and services. We will ask for your permission before we publish it.

2f Direct marketing

For information on how we may market to you, please read section 4 - Direct marketing and how you can change your marketing preferences.

2g Customer surveys

Every now and again, we may ask you how we are performing or for your opinion on our products and services. When we do advertiser or user surveys we may use cookies and combine the information collected by those cookies with your answers. We will make sure that the survey results do not identify you, or anyone else who fills in our surveys.


3 When we will contact you

We may contact you:


  • about any product or service you have ordered, in order to provide you with that product or service;
  • about any free line entry you have asked for, in order to process your request;
  • about information you have asked for, in order to answer your request;
  • if you have given us feedback, to discuss that feedback or ask your permission to publish it;
  • if you have chosen to receive further information from us;
  • to invite you to take part in surveys about our products and services (it is always up to you whether you want to take part); and
  • for marketing purposes, unless you tell us to stop (for more information, please read section 4 - Direct marketing and how you can change your marketing preferences.


4 Direct marketing and how you can manage your marketing preferences

We offer you the chance to receive important news from the Yell group and information about our products and services, such as changes to the way you can use Yell Direct or new services and special offers you might be interested in. We may use your order history to send you information we think you may be interested in.


Unless you tell us otherwise, when you sign up for a free line entry, we will contact you every now and again to see if you are interested in ordering any other advertising from us. If you order any of our products and services, we will contact you every now and again with news from the Yell group, with information about our products and services and to see if you would like to renew or buy more advertising from us. We will ask you if you want to receive direct marketing if you

  • register for Yell Direct; or
  • enter a competition or register for a promotion with any company in the Yell group.

Unless you tell us otherwise, we may contact you by phone, post, email, text message or any other way (electronic or otherwise). We will normally send you direct marketing by email if we have your email address.


If you would like us to stop sending direct marketing to you, we offer simple ways for you to tell us to stop. Whenever you receive direct marketing from us, we will tell you how to unsubscribe. Also, if you are registered on Yell Direct, you can change your marketing preferences at any time by logging on and changing the marketing preferences in ‘Your Profile’. If you prefer, you can also change the personal details we hold in your Yell Direct account by phoning or writing to our customer services team using the address or phone number below.


Customer Services
Yell Limited
Queens Walk
Oxford Road
Reading RG1 7PT
Freephone 0800 555 444 (Monday to Friday 8.30am–6.00pm, excluding bank holidays)


If you tell us that you do not want to receive direct marketing, we will still contact you in order to confirm and carry out any orders you make with us and for administration purposes.


If you previously chose not to receive direct marketing, but you have changed your mind and would now like to receive news, information and special offers from us, you can sign up again at any time through Yell Direct. Simply log on to your Yell Direct account and change the marketing preferences in ‘Your Profile’. If you prefer, you can also change the personal details we hold in your Yell Direct account by contacting our customer services team using the details above.



5 Who we may share your personal information with

We may need to share your information with other organisations to provide you with the products, services or information you ask for. We may pass your information to one or more of the following organisations:

  • other companies in the Yell group;
  • credit checking or screening service providers;
  • payment processing organisations (such as PayPal);
  • debt collection agencies;
  • data processing companies;
  • mailing houses working on our behalf;
  • research students, universities and other research and development organisations;
  • government and enforcement agencies, such as Trading Standards and the police.

Occasionally, this may involve sending your information outside the European Economic Area. For more information, please read section 6 - Where we process your personal information.


Unless you ask us not to at the time we collect your personal details, we will pass them to Experian Limited, who may use them for marketing or sell them to other organisations for marketing purposes. If you do not want to receive direct marketing from Experian or these other organisations, you should contact them directly.


If you advertise with us, we may share any business address you give us with your customers on a case by case basis if there is a genuine consumer dispute, whether or not your address is published in your advertising and whether or not you agree for us to share it.


Every now and again, we receive requests for information from government departments, the police and other enforcement agencies. If this happens, and there is a proper legal basis for providing your personal information, we will provide it to the organisation asking for it.



6 Where we process your personal information

When we use your information as described in section 2 - How we will use information we collect about you, this may occasionally involve sending your information outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Where we do this, we make sure that appropriate steps are taken to protect your personal information and your rights. By providing us with your personal information, you agree that we may transfer, store and process your information outside the EEA.



7 How to keep your information up to date

You can view and update your personal details quickly and easily by logging onto Yell Direct.


If you prefer, you can also update the personal details we hold in your Yell Direct account by phoning or writing to our customer services team using the address or phone number below.


Customer Services
Yell Limited
Queens Walk
Oxford Road
Reading RG1 7PT
Freephone 0800 555 444 (Monday to Friday 8.30am–6.00pm, excluding bank holidays)


If you write to us, we may phone you to check the details that you have given us.



8 How we keep your information secure

We take the security of your personal information very seriously. We have put in place technology and security policies which are designed to protect the personal information that we hold about you. We also follow the strict security procedures that privacy laws require. These cover storing, using and releasing any information you have provided, and preventing unauthorised access or use. For more information on how Yell Direct protects the security of your information, please read the Yell Direct Security Policy.



9 Why we link to other websites

Our websites contain hyperlinks to websites that are owned and operated by other organisations. These websites have their own privacy and cookie policies, and we urge you to read them. They control how your personal information is used when you give it to these other organisations or they collect it with cookies. We do not approve any other websites and we are not responsible for any information, material, products or services that are on or accessible through those websites or for the privacy practices of websites run by other organisations. If you use these other websites you do it at your own risk.



10 Using cookies on our websites and how you can reject them

A cookie is a piece of information that a website transfers to the cookie file of the browser on your computer's hard disk so that the website can remember who you are. Cookies can help to display the information on a website in a way that matches your interests. Most major websites use cookies. Cookies cannot be used by themselves to identify you. We use two types of cookie on our websites.


The first type is a 'session-based' cookie. This means that it is only saved on your hard disk for the time you are using our website. On Yell Direct, this cookie helps the website to 'remember' that you are logged into the site. If you log in and then don't do anything for 20 minutes you will get a message telling you that your session has timed out and that you need to log in again. This is a security measure to help us protect your information.


The second type of cookie we use stays on your hard disk for up to five years. This 'persistent' cookie helps us understand the number of different people coming to the site, rather than the total number of times the site is used. Without the persistent cookie, if you visited the site once each week for three weeks we would count you as three separate users. We also use them for research surveys, to make sure you are not invited to fill in a questionnaire too often, or after you have already done so.


We do not store any of your personal information in either type of cookie. We do not link cookies to information you have given us during registration. We only use cookies to help us make the services we offer on Yell Direct better for all our advertisers.


If you do not want a website to create a cookie on your computer, most web browsers provide the option to disable them. However, Yell Direct may not work properly if you reject our cookies.


If you want to know more about how cookies work and how to manage or delete them, visit the World Wide Web Consortium's website or visit the Interactive Advertising Bureau's website.


Web beacons

A web beacon - sometimes called a clear GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) or pixel tag - is a line of code that we have installed on some of our pages to help us learn more about how our visitors make use of the content and services that we offer, and to count how often people visit different areas of Yell Direct. A web beacon is invisible to you and doesn't affect the content you see.


Web beacons help us provide a better service to you by allowing us to understand which areas of Yell Direct are more popular with visitors than others. We do not use web beacons to collect any personal information about you, but they allow us to build up general information about how people use our site. Certain pages on Yell Direct may also contain web beacons put in place by our advertising agencies so that we can measure how useful our advertising on other websites is. Web beacon files let our agency recognise a unique cookie on your web browser, which in turn means we can learn which adverts bring users to Yell Direct. The web beacon only records a limited amount of information that includes the cookie number, the page ID and the time and date you accessed the page. It does not contain your name, address, telephone number or email address.


Find out more about web beacons.




11 What rights you have in your personal information and how can you use them

You have the right to ask us not to use your personal information for marketing purposes. We will usually tell you when we collect your personal details if we are planning to use them for marketing purposes or if we plan to pass them to any other organisation for marketing purposes. For more information, please read section 4 - Direct Marketing and how you can manage your marketing preferences.


You have the right to see information we hold about you, (with some exceptions), which are described in the privacy laws. If you would like a copy of your personal information, you should contact our data protection officer. You will need to pay a processing fee of £10.


You have the right to review and update your personal details. You can do this quickly and easily through Yell Direct.


If you prefer, you can also change the personal details we hold in your Yell Direct account by contacting our customer services team using the address or phone number below.


Customer Services
Yell Limited
Queens Walk
Oxford Road
Reading RG1 7PT
Freephone 0800 555 444 (Monday to Friday 8.30am–6.00pm, excluding bank holidays)




12. How we can make changes to this privacy policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time so you may want to check it each time you give us personal information or look at or change your personal details on Yell Direct.


We last changed this privacy policy on 13 January 2009.



13. What privacy organisations we belong to

We work alongside established and highly regarded organisations such as the Interactive Advertising Bureau UK (IAB UK) and we are a corporate member of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).



14. How to contact us about this privacy policy

We welcome your questions, comments and requests about this privacy policy. Please contact our data protection officer.


© Yell Limited, January 2009.