Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Horse Marketplace (“Horse Marketplace”, “we”, “us” or “our”) operates www.horsemarketplace.co.uk (the “Platform”), a UK equestrian marketplace for horse classifieds, equestrian equipment, and bookings such as arena hire, coaching, stables/livery hire and horsebox hire.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, how and why we use it, who we share it with – including our payment partner Stripe and Horse Marketplace Verify, our seller identity verification service – and what rights you have over your data under UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018).

This policy applies to all visitors, registered users, buyers, sellers and booking-service providers (“users”, “you”) using the Platform.

2. Who we are (data controller)

Data controller: Horse Marketplace, a company registered in England and Wales.

Contact for privacy queries: pr*****@*****************co.uk

Where we appoint a Data Protection Officer or nominated privacy contact, their details will be published here.

3. What personal data we collect

We collect the following categories of personal data, depending on how you use the Platform:

Account & profile data – Name, email, phone number, postcode/location, profile photo. We collect this to create and manage your account, and to show approximate location on listings.

Listing data – Photos, descriptions, prices, horse passport number, breed/discipline details, hire/venue licence numbers. We collect this to publish and manage classifieds and bookings, and to support the passport-verification and licensing workflows described in our Terms.

Seller verification data – Verification outcome (pass/fail/pending), verification date and reference ID. We collect this to confirm seller identity before certain listings go live (see “Seller ID Verification” below). We do not receive or store the underlying ID document or photo used to reach that outcome – see below.

Payment data – Billing name and address, transaction amounts, commission and subscription charges, last 4 digits of a card (if shown back to you by Stripe). We collect this to process bookings, sales and subscription payments. Full card and bank details are collected, stored and processed by Stripe, not by us – see “Payments” below.

Booking data – Booking dates/times, venue or coach selected, security deposit status, messages between buyer and seller. We collect this to operate the booking and hire functionality of the Platform.

Communications – Messages sent through the Platform, enquiry forms, customer support correspondence. We collect this to allow buyers and sellers to communicate and to provide customer support.

Technical data – IP address, device/browser type, log data, cookie identifiers. We collect this to operate, secure and improve the Platform, and for analytics.

Marketing preferences – Email/SMS opt-in status, newsletter subscription. We collect this to send marketing communications where you have consented, and to honour opt-outs.

We collect this data directly from you (e.g. when you register, list an item, make a booking or contact support), automatically as you use the Platform (e.g. cookies and log data), and from third parties acting on our behalf, in particular Stripe (payment outcomes) and Horse Marketplace Verify (verification outcomes).

4. Seller ID verification (Horse Marketplace Verify)

To protect buyers and maintain a trusted, verified marketplace, certain listings – in particular horse classifieds – require the seller to complete an identity verification check before the listing goes live. This check is carried out through Horse Marketplace Verify, our seller identity verification service, using a specialist identity-verification provider acting under contract as our data processor.

When you complete a verification check:

You provide your identity document (e.g. passport or driving licence) and, where required, a live selfie or photo directly into the secure Horse Marketplace Verify verification flow.

That document and any biometric data is processed solely to perform the verification check and confirm your identity, on our behalf and under our instructions.

Horse Marketplace does not receive, view or store a copy of your ID document, passport, driving licence or any photo/biometric data submitted through Horse Marketplace Verify.

Horse Marketplace only receives and stores the outcome of the check on your seller account record – for example a status such as “verified”, “failed” or “pending” – together with the date of the check and a reference ID, so that we can show a “passport confirmed”/“verified seller” badge and meet our own compliance obligations.

Full details of how Horse Marketplace Verify processes and secures identity documents – including where the underlying data is stored, retention periods, and the security standards applied – are available on request; contact us using the details in section 2 and we will provide this information directly.

Because identity documents and biometric data are “special category” or particularly sensitive data, we use Horse Marketplace Verify’s purpose-built, secure processing specifically to avoid holding this data ourselves.

Our contractual arrangements require that this data is processed only for the purpose of providing the verification result to us, that appropriate technical and organisational security measures are applied, and that the underlying documents are retained only as long as necessary for that purpose (or as required by law) before deletion.

Note: a separate “horse passport number” field captured on horse listings refers to the animal’s equine passport (a welfare/traceability document for the horse), not to the seller’s personal identity document.

Where a passport number could identify an individual (e.g. a sole-trader breeder), it is treated as personal data under section 3 above and protected accordingly.

5. Payments (Stripe Connect)

All payments on the Platform – including equipment checkout, booking payments, security deposits, on-platform “Custom Offer” payments for horse sales, and seller subscription billing – are processed using Stripe Connect, a regulated payment service provider, acting as our data processor (and, for certain regulatory obligations such as identity checks on payouts, as an independent controller).

Horse Marketplace does not collect, see or store your full payment card number, card security code, bank account number, sort code, or other full financial account details.

These details are entered directly into Stripe’s own secure payment fields and are transmitted, processed and stored by Stripe in line with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

We may receive limited, non-sensitive information back from Stripe to run the Platform – for example a payment’s status (succeeded/refunded/failed), the amount, the transaction date, and a masked reference such as the last 4 digits of a card, for your order history and our accounting records.

Stripe also performs “Know Your Customer” (KYC) identity checks on sellers before enabling payouts, as required by UK financial regulation. This is separate from, and in addition to, the seller ID verification carried out via Horse Marketplace Verify described above.

Stripe’s own use of your data is governed by Stripe’s separate privacy policy and, where relevant, the Stripe Connected Account Agreement you accept when enabling payouts.

Because Stripe, not Horse Marketplace, holds your financial account details, if you need to update a card or bank account, close a payout account, or query a specific charge in detail, you may be directed to manage this through Stripe or asked to contact Stripe support directly, in addition to contacting us.
6. How we use your data

We use personal data for the following purposes, and rely on the lawful bases summarised below:

Creating and administering your account – Performance of a contract with you.

Publishing listings and enabling bookings/enquiries – Performance of a contract with you.

Seller ID verification via Horse Marketplace Verify – Performance of a contract with you; legal obligation and legitimate interests in preventing fraud and maintaining a trusted marketplace.

Processing payments, commission and subscriptions via Stripe Connect – Performance of a contract with you; legal obligation (e.g. tax, accounting, anti-money-laundering).

Customer support and dispute resolution – Performance of a contract with you; legitimate interests.

Fraud prevention, platform security and moderation – Legitimate interests; legal obligation.

Marketing communications – Consent (you may withdraw this at any time).

Analytics and service improvement – Legitimate interests.

Compliance with animal welfare, consumer and licensing law – Legal obligation.
7. Who we share your data with

We do not sell your personal data. We share personal data only as follows:

Stripe – to process payments, subscriptions, payouts and mandatory financial KYC checks (see section 5).

Horse Marketplace Verify – our seller identity verification service, used to carry out seller identity verification checks (see section 4).

Horse Marketplace .co.uk – our underlying marketplace platform (SaaS) provider, which hosts listings, bookings, messaging and account data on our behalf as a data processor.

Other users – buyers and sellers see the listing, profile and messaging information needed to transact with each other (e.g. a seller’s display name, location area, listing details, and verification badge). We do not display your full address, payment details or ID documents to other users.

Professional advisers and regulators – including our solicitors, auditors, HMRC, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and relevant local authorities or bodies such as DEFRA/APHA where required by law (for example in relation to horse passport, animal welfare, consumer protection, anti-money-laundering, or transport-licensing obligations).

Service providers – IT hosting, email/SMS delivery, analytics, customer support and moderation tools, each bound by contractual data-processing terms.

Business transfers – if Horse Marketplace is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing or sale of assets, personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to appropriate safeguards.

8. International data transfers

Our service providers, including Stripe and Horse Marketplace Verify, may process data on servers located outside the UK. Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we ensure an appropriate safeguard is in place, such as the UK’s “adequacy regulations”, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, or equivalent Standard Contractual Clauses, and we require our processors to maintain appropriate security standards regardless of where data is processed.
9. Data retention

Account and listing data: for as long as your account is active, and for a limited period afterwards to handle disputes, comply with legal obligations, and support accounting records.

Verification status (pass/fail/pending) and reference ID: retained on your seller record for as long as needed to maintain the verified-seller badge and to demonstrate compliance; the underlying ID documents are held within Horse Marketplace Verify, not by us, and are subject to its own retention schedule – details available on request.

Transaction and payment records: retained as required by UK tax and accounting law (generally at least 6 years), largely held by Stripe on our behalf.

Marketing data: until you withdraw consent or opt out.

We will define detailed retention periods per data category as part of our solicitor-led compliance review, and will update this policy accordingly.
10. Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you;

Have inaccurate data corrected;

Request erasure of your data, subject to legal and contractual retention requirements (for example, transaction records we must keep for tax purposes);

Restrict or object to certain processing, including direct marketing;

Request a portable copy of data you provided to us;

Withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent (e.g. marketing);

Complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk if you believe we have not handled your data properly.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in section 2. Because Horse Marketplace Verify and Stripe act as independent processors/controllers for the specific data described in sections 4 and 5, requests relating specifically to your ID document or full financial account details will be handled by us in coordination with the relevant service – you do not need to contact them separately. Contact us with any request or question about where this data is stored, how long it is kept, or how it is secured, and we will respond directly.
11. Cookies and similar technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the Platform, remember your preferences, keep you signed in, and understand how the Platform is used. Where required by law, we will ask for your consent to non-essential cookies via a cookie banner, and provide a way to change your preferences at any time. Full details will be set out in a separate Cookie Policy.

12. Data security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including relying on Stripe’s PCI DSS-compliant processing and Horse Marketplace Verify’s security-accredited processing for the most sensitive categories of data (full payment details and ID documents) rather than holding that data ourselves. No system can be guaranteed 100% secure, and we will notify affected users and, where required, the ICO, in the event of a personal data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms.

13. Children’s privacy

The Platform is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so we can remove it.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example as our platform, service providers (such as Stripe or Horse Marketplace Verify) or legal obligations change. We will post the updated version on this page with a revised effective date, and, where changes are material, provide additional notice (such as an email or in-app notice).

15. Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, contact us at pr*****@*****************co.uk

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.