View Full Version : Free Electoral Roll search
Langley Vale Sue
16-10-14, 13:32
I've just seen this site on another forum and it appears to give free searches of the UK electoral roll between 1980 & 2014.
http://www.freeelectoralroll.co.uk/
I am listed on there, even though our details should not be listed on the edited electoral roll. My mother-in-law is also listed at my address, even though she only lived with us between 2008 & 2011, long after the edited register came into being.
We are not listed on the electoral roll which is available on FMP.
kiterunner
16-10-14, 13:41
They say the following in their FAQ's:
Q. I did a Google search and I found myself listed within your search results and I would like to remove myself from your databases?
Simply go to the record removal page and follow the guidance notes.
So you should be able to get your details removed that way.
I'm still trying to figure out why and how they would have details of people who have opted out of the "open register", though.
kiterunner
16-10-14, 13:42
Wait, is it possible that you were on the open register some time after 1980? They say that their records go back that far.
Langley Vale Sue
16-10-14, 13:44
Yes we have been living here since 1978 and I think you have only been able to opt out since about 2003. That still doesn't explain why my mother-in-law is listed at my address though when she only lived with us between 2008 & 2011.
Langley Vale Sue
16-10-14, 13:51
According to the Government site legislation.gov.uk, it is a criminal offence to supply or use the unedited register for anything other than a few legitimate reasons and splashing it freely all over the internet is certainly not one of them!
Langley Vale Sue
16-10-14, 13:53
This is from the Government website legislation.gov.uk
Who uses the electoral register?
Election staff, political parties, candidates and holders of elected office use the register for electoral purposes.
Your local council and the British Library hold copies that anyone may look at under supervision. A copy is also held by the Electoral Commission, the Boundary Commissions (which set constituency boundaries for most elections) and the Office for National Statistics.
The council can use the register for duties relating to security, enforcing the law and preventing crime. The police and the security services can also use it for law enforcement.
The register is used when calling people for jury service.
Government departments may buy the register from local registration officers and use it to help prevent and detect crime. They can also use it to safeguard national security by checking the background of job applicants and employees.
Credit reference agencies can buy the register. They help other organisations to check the names and addresses of people applying for credit. They also use it to carry out identity checks when trying to prevent and detect money laundering.
It is a criminal offence for anyone to supply or use the register for anything else.
kiterunner
16-10-14, 13:57
Your mother-in-law was definitely not included on the open register when she lived with you, then, Sue?
I've just looked and hopefully found an address for someone I want to contact for genealogy purposes so I'm rather pleased.
Langley Vale Sue
16-10-14, 16:02
Your mother-in-law was definitely not included on the open register when she lived with you, then, Sue?
No Kate. definitely not.
Any search you make is public - scroll down the main page and you will see the names people have searched for.
Ha! They are registered in Spain - no doubt to get round the law.
kiterunner
16-10-14, 16:10
Any search you make is public - scroll down the main page and you will see the names people have searched for.
Hmm, they missed that bit out of their FAQ's where they say:
Q. Can I see who has searched for me on your website?
No, all searches performed are confidential.
Must be some hitherto unknown meaning of the word "confidential".
Hmmm - Caja Data Espana Ltd registered as a company in August. The address where they are registered has more than 30,000 companies registered there.
Langley Vale Sue
16-10-14, 18:46
We'd better all search quickly then, before the site is taken down! ;)
Free Electoral Roll
17-10-14, 12:32
Hmm, they missed that bit out of their FAQ's where they say:
Q. Can I see who has searched for me on your website?
No, all searches performed are confidential.
Must be some hitherto unknown meaning of the word "confidential".
Hello,
To confirm,
No, all searches performed are confidential.
Our search history only provides details of the search that was undertaken.
It does not include any information about who has conducted the search.
The search history is crawled by search engines which then provide links in their search results to a cached record of the original search.
If you are listed in a search engine result then this will be due to a search conducted by someone that resulted in your name being included.
Free Electoral Roll
17-10-14, 12:33
We'd better all search quickly then, before the site is taken down! ;)
Although the company is new we have been busy processing data for many, many years so have no fear we are going nowhere:d
Free Electoral Roll
17-10-14, 12:36
I've just seen this site on another forum and it appears to give free searches of the UK electoral roll between 1980 & 2014.
http://www.freeelectoralroll.co.uk/
I am listed on there, even though our details should not be listed on the edited electoral roll. My mother-in-law is also listed at my address, even though she only lived with us between 2008 & 2011, long after the edited register came into being.
We are not listed on the electoral roll which is available on FMP.
To be clear.
We process data from a variety of compliant data sources not only the Open electoral roll, On top of the electoral roll we have built into their people finding databases other data sets to provide current year coverage in excess of 44 million records for a UK nationwide people search. Every day there are thousands of new records being added. The FMP roll is supplied by 192 and is only the Open register without any consented data.
Free Electoral Roll
17-10-14, 12:37
We'd better all search quickly then, before the site is taken down! ;)
Willing to take a bet on this one.:)
kiterunner
17-10-14, 12:40
Hello,
To confirm,
No, all searches performed are confidential.
Our search history only provides details of the search that was undertaken.
It does not include any information about who has conducted the search.
Thanks for the clarification. But I still don't think that a search can be described as "confidential" when details are posted on your site. I realise it doesn't say who was doing the searching, but it is still not what I understood "confidential" to mean when I read the FAQ's before doing my searches.
Hello,
To confirm,
No, all searches performed are confidential.
Our search history only provides details of the search that was undertaken.
It does not include any information about who has conducted the search.
The search history is crawled by search engines which then provide links in their search results to a cached record of the original search.
If you are listed in a search engine result then this will be due to a search conducted by someone that resulted in your name being included.
That is not confidential. If I am searching for someone, I do not want the subject of my search to be public. The reason for searching for a name may be highly sensitive, for example, adoption. Equally, if my name appears in the list of names being searched, I would find that a breach of privacy.
Free Electoral Roll
17-10-14, 12:45
They say the following in their FAQ's:
Q. I did a Google search and I found myself listed within your search results and I would like to remove myself from your databases?
Simply go to the record removal page and follow the guidance notes.
So you should be able to get your details removed that way.
I'm still trying to figure out why and how they would have details of people who have opted out of the "open register", though.
This is a long held fallacy.
Even if a data subject is opted out of open registers, it does not mean it is unlawful to process the record under any circumstance!.It would be rightly unlawful to process the record if it had been obtained via the full register. If the same record has been obtained by a compliant source it makes no difference whether the data subject has opted out or not, the record is now consented and lawfully processed.
In exactly the same way for an ex directory telephone number or indeed a TPS number, if the number is detailed within a consented database then the caveat no longer applies and can and will be processed lawfully and compliantly.
Free Electoral Roll
17-10-14, 12:51
That is not confidential. If I am searching for someone, I do not want the subject of my search to be public. The reason for searching for a name may be highly sensitive, for example, adoption. Equally, if my name appears in the list of names being searched, I would find that a breach of privacy.
Then use a paid service. The users details are not known or recorded so your search is confidential - please see FAQ for a full explanation
The reason the search is detailed on a website is to reassure Google of regular new content, it affects both natural and paid listings.
kiterunner
17-10-14, 12:56
This is a long held fallacy.
Not really - I just said "I'm still trying to figure out why and how they would have details of people who have opted out of the "open register", not that you actually did have such details.
Free Electoral Roll
17-10-14, 13:01
That is not confidential. If I am searching for someone, I do not want the subject of my search to be public. The reason for searching for a name may be highly sensitive, for example, adoption. Equally, if my name appears in the list of names being searched, I would find that a breach of privacy.
No matter what site you are using, your search is tracked and stored and is not totally confidential ( in the way you assume). To evidence this briefly , if you perform a paid search on 192.com your search is logged and your details are provided to any person who registers to be informed of a search upon them ( adoptee etc) and they can then email you directly to challenge you upon why you have made such a search.
All the major sites track you as a paid user and if you believe your search is totally confidential then I have a very old car for sale that I would like a premium price for.;)
No matter what site you are using, your search is tracked and stored and is not totally confidential ( in the way you assume). To evidence this briefly , if you perform a paid search on 192.com your search is logged and your details are provided to any person who registers to be informed of a search upon them ( adoptee etc) and they can then email you directly to challenge you upon why you have made such a search.
All the major sites track you as a paid user and if you believe your search is totally confidential then I have a very old car for sale that I would like a premium price for.;)
The central point is that your site publically displays the named subject of searches for anyone to see should they happen to be on your website.
maggie_4_7
17-10-14, 13:17
I did a search for myself and it didn't list my house number it had NUMBER 1, [block of flats name], [the rest of the address] and proceeded to list everyone connected with that block as living there about 40 people all living at number 1.
maggie_4_7
17-10-14, 13:23
No matter what site you are using, your search is tracked and stored and is not totally confidential ( in the way you assume). To evidence this briefly , if you perform a paid search on 192.com your search is logged and your details are provided to any person who registers to be informed of a search upon them ( adoptee etc) and they can then email you directly to challenge you upon why you have made such a search.
All the major sites track you as a paid user and if you believe your search is totally confidential then I have a very old car for sale that I would like a premium price for.;)
The central point is that your site publically displays the named subject of searches for anyone to see should they happen to be on your website.
Indeed Shona I think the word confidential is being used in the wrong context.
Yes of course we are being tracked online and I am sure my IS provider could furnish details of my searches online if they were presented with a warrant, just like any other administrators' of other websites I visit and databases I use.
But my search history isn't listed on those sites for the whole www to see.
maggie_4_7
18-10-14, 07:02
I can't get this site to work this morning.
"This web page is not available"
kiterunner
18-10-14, 09:11
Same here.
Olde Crone
18-10-14, 10:14
I think I must have searched wrong because all I got was a list of possible names from 192! (Apart from a list of people on the electoral roll by first name INITIAL, useless for my search).
OC
kiterunner
18-10-14, 10:24
Do you mean the site is loading o.k. for you, OC? I'm still getting "the page cannot be displayed".
maggie_4_7
18-10-14, 10:44
I've suddenly become very suspicious :)
Olde Crone
18-10-14, 10:57
Oh, durh, sorry, I meant I searched last night. Haven't tried this morning.
OC
Lilly the flower
18-10-14, 11:28
Seems to be working this morning, but.....if you don't accept the cookies, you must leave the site.....don't think I will bother with this site to must hassle....:)...Lilly
maggie_4_7
18-10-14, 11:37
Yes it is working now.
kiterunner
18-10-14, 11:38
Seems to working this morning, but.....if you don't accept the cookies, you must leave the site.....don't think I will bother with this site to must hassle....:)...Lilly
Yes, it is loading for me now. The "cookies" thing is because of European law; you will see variations of it on many sites.
OC, I'm not sure what you meant about just getting results from 192.com. Do you mean the same results as you would get from 192 or that it actually says they are from 192?
Olde Crone
18-10-14, 12:27
Kate
I got a list of people on the electoral roll e.g. A. Brown (not the full first name, just the initial) with their addresses - so many I couldn't work out who. There was also a list e.g. Arthur Brown living with Mary Brown and George Brown - for full details click here - and "clicking here" took me to 192.
No matter. I was just looking to see what kind of info you get for free and in my case that amounted to nothing. It might work better with a less common name.
OC
kiterunner
18-10-14, 12:44
I don't see where it links to 192.com, sorry. But most of the results are bound to be the same as you would get from 192 as they are both getting their info from the same source.
Just tried it and not working click search and it just unticks the agree to terms and conditions and does nothing.
just tried it again and it is doing something but the one I searched for says no results he died in 1984 this says it is from 80 onwards.
kiterunner
19-10-14, 11:33
just tried it again and it is doing something but the one I searched for says no results he died in 1984 this says it is from 80 onwards.
It evidently isn't complete from 1980 onwards, as I have searched for a few people who would have been on the electoral roll then and not found them. I guess it just means that some of the data is from then.
Free Electoral Roll
19-10-14, 21:28
According to the Government site legislation.gov.uk, it is a criminal offence to supply or use the unedited register for anything other than a few legitimate reasons and splashing it freely all over the internet is certainly not one of them!
:confused: BUT only if you have been supplied with the full register:rolleyes:
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