comparison website question

skittle_2

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this but i have no idea where it should go!
My question is what happens to my data once i have entered it in a comparison website do they have a right to keep it and maybe pass my information on to "3rd parties that are interested in giving me a good deal" or do they have to delete it as soon as i close the page, is there a box to tick to tell that i do not want my data held ? Lets face it the detail you have to give is comprehensive and if i visit two or three of these sites my whole life is floating about the internet with me having no control about who gets to see it, we're told to shred any confidential data before throwing it away seems a bit pointless if you have been to one of these sites and they are legally allowed to keep it.

StaffsSW

Given that I get quotes regularly from gocompare and moneysupermarket, 3 years after I looked at them, I guess the answer is yes, they do keep the data.

I'm not bothered about the data as such, but it is the more the amount if junk email it generates that irritates me. I used one specific email address for each site, so I can track who is abusing it.

InsideInsurance

You need to read the Terms & Conditions and the Privacy Policy which you state you have read and agree to when you submit your details to them.

Generally they certainly don't delete them, ever. They pay far too much money in advertising to throw away such a valuable resource!

Most the time you agree to marketing from them and a selection of their panel that you apply to (often the top 3 for your search). Not many resell the details but I have received fishing emails to an address used exclusively for one aggregator so evidently there is some data security concerns somewhere in the chain

Tropez

I used Confused.com about two years ago. The day after I used it I was bombarded with phone calls - including one company that they'd passed my details onto who called me 8 times in the space of an hour (I ignore numbers I don't recognise so I can check them on Who Calls Me). Still get many emails from them today, as well as the odd unsolicited call or text message.

If you're concerned about data don't bother, especially with Confused.com.