Getting Technical
What is UQR, or the Unique Quote Research Project?
The Unique Quote Research Project is a data collection exercise run by Consumer Intelligence, the company which owns and operates Viewsbank.com. With the consent of Viewsbank users, we will utilise your details in order to collect insurance, loan and credit card quotes from price comparison and direct websites. You’ll receive an email to confirm that you’ve been selected and in return when we use your information for this purpose we’ll credit £5 to your account at the start of the exercise.
You should not receive unwanted emails from anyone as a result of this exercise. It will not affect your credit rating - occasionally companies will complete "soft" credit checks which can be seen on your file (it will appear as a Quotation Search) but these do not affect your credit score. We will take every precaution to protect your personal data.
We have employees based all over the world, and in order to process very large amounts of data we collaborate with third parties. For this reason, your information may also be shared with other organisations. However, it will only be shared in order to perform the research outlined above. Again: you will not be contacted, sold to, or spammed as a result of this.
If at any point you would like to withdraw from this project, you are entirely able to do so by emailing us and requesting to be withdrawn. You will still be able to complete other market research activities through Viewsbank whether or not you choose to take part in UQR.
How does it work?
Glad you asked. In the past we used to use ‘made-up’ customers to get quotes from insurers as well as loan and credit card providers, but a few years ago many of these companies started to insist on real customer details before they provide genuine quotes. It is no longer possible to get accurate information by requesting a quote on behalf of, say, Bob Strange, a 43 year old bachelor living in a two bedroom flat in Swindon. This is where Viewsbank Users come in.
Consumer Intelligence performs commercial market research, and is the leading company in the UK which monitors price comparison websites. In order to get fair and accurate research, we need the actual prices that companies are offering real people. This data is important: a company might use it to advertise themselves, and consumers might use it to inform their real life decisions about who to trust and where to go with their money and their assets. If we don’t get real information, then we’re not providing real data. That’s a problem.
On a basic level, we use elements of your biographical information in order to approach companies as a ‘real person’, and in return we get real quotes. Those quotes are used to create statistics and analysis of a company’s performance in the context of its market over a given period.
That analysis gets fed back to our clients, who might use it in their advertising, or to improve their business strategy. Sometimes, results of our research will be published in national media, and inform literally millions of people about the insurance and banking market landscape. It’s a big responsibility, and it’s one that we take seriously.
We’d like you to help us.
Is this unusual?
Put simply, no.
Quite literally millions of websites and businesses in the UK and across the world can and do use and share your personal information daily. These include, as has been well publicised, Facebook and Google. Some companies will ask you outright for your information, and some of them will not. Some will use your details internally, some will share that information with third parties. It is used for any number of reasons: from tailoring your user experience in an online store to show you what the company thinks that you’d like to see, to performing large scale research on global markets and behavioural trends.
As far as we’re aware, the only way that we’re unusual is the fact that we choose to pay you in exchange for permitting us to use your information. We believe that your personal data, and you personally, are a valuable resource. We consider it natural courtesy to remunerate you for your part in the work that we do.
I’d like to know more
That’s cool. We get that this kind of stuff can be a little scary. If you’d like to talk to us about it, or ask any more questions, you’re welcome to contact us using the details provided below:
Sam Jenkins: Sam.Jenkins@viewsbankhelpdesk.raiseaticket.com
If you’d like to learn more about how people and companies use your information, and what they’re legally allowed to do, then we’d encourage you to visit the ICO, or Information Commissioner’s Office.
The ICO is: “the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.”
You can visit the Information Commissioner’s Office here and to see how we comply with the Data Protection Act 2021, click here.
In Conclusion
As a company Viewsbank, and by extension Consumer Intelligence, endeavour to operate with transparency and integrity at all times within reason. We have no intention of abusing your trust, and we actively work to protect any details that you may choose to share with us.
Instead, we aim to positively reciprocate your confidence by providing financial compensation for your data, and a platform on which you are able to share views about what is important to you. We want to hear your voice. We think that’s worth something, on both sides of the equation
The Unique Quote Research Project is a data collection exercise run by Consumer Intelligence, the company which owns and operates Viewsbank.com. With the consent of Viewsbank users, we will utilise your details in order to collect insurance, loan and credit card quotes from price comparison and direct websites. You’ll receive an email to confirm that you’ve been selected and in return when we use your information for this purpose we’ll credit £5 to your account at the start of the exercise.
You should not receive unwanted emails from anyone as a result of this exercise. It will not affect your credit rating - occasionally companies will complete "soft" credit checks which can be seen on your file (it will appear as a Quotation Search) but these do not affect your credit score. We will take every precaution to protect your personal data.
We have employees based all over the world, and in order to process very large amounts of data we collaborate with third parties. For this reason, your information may also be shared with other organisations. However, it will only be shared in order to perform the research outlined above. Again: you will not be contacted, sold to, or spammed as a result of this.
If at any point you would like to withdraw from this project, you are entirely able to do so by emailing us and requesting to be withdrawn. You will still be able to complete other market research activities through Viewsbank whether or not you choose to take part in UQR.
How does it work?
Glad you asked. In the past we used to use ‘made-up’ customers to get quotes from insurers as well as loan and credit card providers, but a few years ago many of these companies started to insist on real customer details before they provide genuine quotes. It is no longer possible to get accurate information by requesting a quote on behalf of, say, Bob Strange, a 43 year old bachelor living in a two bedroom flat in Swindon. This is where Viewsbank Users come in.
Consumer Intelligence performs commercial market research, and is the leading company in the UK which monitors price comparison websites. In order to get fair and accurate research, we need the actual prices that companies are offering real people. This data is important: a company might use it to advertise themselves, and consumers might use it to inform their real life decisions about who to trust and where to go with their money and their assets. If we don’t get real information, then we’re not providing real data. That’s a problem.
On a basic level, we use elements of your biographical information in order to approach companies as a ‘real person’, and in return we get real quotes. Those quotes are used to create statistics and analysis of a company’s performance in the context of its market over a given period.
That analysis gets fed back to our clients, who might use it in their advertising, or to improve their business strategy. Sometimes, results of our research will be published in national media, and inform literally millions of people about the insurance and banking market landscape. It’s a big responsibility, and it’s one that we take seriously.
We’d like you to help us.
Is this unusual?
Put simply, no.
Quite literally millions of websites and businesses in the UK and across the world can and do use and share your personal information daily. These include, as has been well publicised, Facebook and Google. Some companies will ask you outright for your information, and some of them will not. Some will use your details internally, some will share that information with third parties. It is used for any number of reasons: from tailoring your user experience in an online store to show you what the company thinks that you’d like to see, to performing large scale research on global markets and behavioural trends.
As far as we’re aware, the only way that we’re unusual is the fact that we choose to pay you in exchange for permitting us to use your information. We believe that your personal data, and you personally, are a valuable resource. We consider it natural courtesy to remunerate you for your part in the work that we do.
I’d like to know more
That’s cool. We get that this kind of stuff can be a little scary. If you’d like to talk to us about it, or ask any more questions, you’re welcome to contact us using the details provided below:
Sam Jenkins: Sam.Jenkins@viewsbankhelpdesk.raiseaticket.com
If you’d like to learn more about how people and companies use your information, and what they’re legally allowed to do, then we’d encourage you to visit the ICO, or Information Commissioner’s Office.
The ICO is: “the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.”
You can visit the Information Commissioner’s Office here and to see how we comply with the Data Protection Act 2021, click here.
In Conclusion
As a company Viewsbank, and by extension Consumer Intelligence, endeavour to operate with transparency and integrity at all times within reason. We have no intention of abusing your trust, and we actively work to protect any details that you may choose to share with us.
Instead, we aim to positively reciprocate your confidence by providing financial compensation for your data, and a platform on which you are able to share views about what is important to you. We want to hear your voice. We think that’s worth something, on both sides of the equation
