Rip Off Britain - Your Privacy
Rip Off Britain is produced by BBC Studios for broadcast, use and exploitation by the BBC (the Commissioner). We are responsible for handling personal information you provide, including your contribution, in accordance with data protection law.
Because we receive so many emails and letters, we're unable to respond personally to every one. However, if we're able to pursue your complaint, a Researcher from the Rip Off Britain team will contact you. Please do not send original documents or material – only send copies. The production team cannot be held responsible for any materials that are lost in the post.
What information we collect and how we use it?
BBC Studios will collect and process your contact details and the information you provide to us via email, post, social media, or online submission. We will use this information to decide if your contribution will be used in the programme and to contact you if we are interested in finding out any more about your story before any footage is broadcast.
BBC Studios relies on its legitimate interests as a media organisation to process your personal information. We will not process your personal information where your rights override our interests.
If we decide to investigate your story and feature it in the programme, we may, where we consider it necessary for journalistic purposes including verifying the authenticity of the story, carry out reasonable background research about you. This may include searches of publicly available records such as: criminal convictions and court proceedings; participation in previous television productions: information from social media profiles, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn.
Such personal data will generally be restricted to relevant members of the programme’s production team and crew, as well as the programme’s third party experts (where relevant).
Who is the Data Controller?
BBC Studios Productions is the “data controller” of your personal data. This means we decide what your personal data is used for, and the ways in which it is processed. For the avoidance of doubt, your personal data will be collected and processed solely for the purposes set out in this privacy notice. As the data controller, BBC Studios Productions has the responsibility to comply, and to demonstrate compliance with, data protection law.
Contributions and communications sent to us through other third-party social media services; third-party messaging services are also subject to the terms and conditions and privacy policies of the service you choose to use. You should refer to their privacy policies for how they process your data and their individual retention policies.
If you contact us via WhatsApp, you will also be subject to WhatsApp’s Terms of Use. If you live in the UK, please see: Terms of Service - UK (whatsapp.com). If you live in the European Region, please see: Terms of Service (whatsapp.com). If you live outside of the European Region and the UK, please see: Terms of Service (whatsapp.com). Please be aware that WhatsApp may share your data within the Meta Group for a number of different purposes, including for direct marketing purposes.
Sharing your information
Your personal information will generally be restricted to relevant members of the Rip Off Britain production team and crew, as well as the programme’s presenters, or as otherwise required by law. Where necessary, we may also share information with other BBC Studios staff and the commissioning broadcaster, with our professional advisors, and from time to time with other programmes that may have an interest in your contribution.
If you would prefer us not to share your data with other programmes please let us know and we will record this.
Retaining your personal information
The information you have provided to us, or that is later collected in connection with the production, will be used by BBC Studios for purposes related to the production of this programme. This may include sensitive information that you have provided or will be asked to provide at a later stage, but we will only ask for this type of information if it is relevant in the context of your programme of where necessary for related purposes, such as assessing your fitness to participate in filming. BBC Studios will securely store the information you submit for a period of 7 years after broadcast of the programme. We do this in case we wish to contact you about your contribution for the programme or where necessary for related purposes, such as assessing your fitness to participate in filming. If we feature your contribution on the programme then your information will be further retained for that purpose.
If we decide not to take your contribution forward your details will be deleted within 12 months. If you are selected to be part of a programme, BBC Studios and the commissioning broadcaster may retain some information relating to your contribution in perpetuity. If we believe that we may want to return to your story at a later date, we will retain your information (such as your submission, contact details and any other relevant information), for up to 7 years, in line with our retention schedule, unless you ask us not to.
Your rights and more information
If you wish to withdraw once you have submitted your story, please contact ripoffbritain@bbc.co.uk
If you have any questions about how BBC Studios handles your personal information or you wish to find out about your rights, please read our full Contributor Privacy Notice. If you wish to contact BBC Studios to exercise your rights in relation to your personal information, please contact dataprotection@bbc.com.
If you have a concern about how BBC Studios has handled your personal information, you should contact us in the first instance. If you are dissatisfied with our response, you are entitled to lodge a complaint via the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): https://ico.org.uk/concerns.
For more information about how the BBC Studios processes your data please see the BBC Studios Privacy Policy, available at https://www.bbcstudios.com/privacy.
