Every hub, every state, and the API are open with nothing to sign up for.
Invoice and rate flag submissions never carry a homeowner's or contractor's name into a published band.
Only collected when you choose to give it, and only used to verify or follow up on a submission.
The Fair Rate Index is published by Peaking Waters LLC. Reading the index — every trade hub, every state page, and the public API — requires no account and collects no personal information from you. This policy covers what happens on the pages where you can choose to give us information: submitting an invoice and flagging a rate.
When you submit an invoice, we collect the task, your state, the amount you paid, and anything you choose to add about the scope of the job. Email is optional, and only asked for in case we need to verify the submission.
When you flag a rate, we collect the task, your state, your proposed low/typical/high pricing, and your email — required, since flags are reviewed by hand and we may follow up. A business name is optional.
Like most sites, we collect basic, aggregate usage data (pages visited, general location by region, browser type) to understand how the index is used and to keep it running reliably. This is not tied to your submissions.
Submissions are used, in aggregate, to calculate and adjust the published price bands, as described in the methodology. Any email you provide is used only to verify or follow up on your own submission — never sold, and never used for marketing you didn't ask for.
Individual submissions are retained long enough to verify and weigh them into the published bands. We don't display raw individual submissions publicly — only their aggregate effect on a band is ever shown.
We use standard third-party services for hosting, email delivery, and basic site analytics to keep the index running. We don't sell or share your submission data with advertisers, data brokers, or any contractor.
The index is not directed at children, and we don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 13.
You can read the entire index without providing any information at all. If you've submitted an email with an invoice or rate flag and want it removed, contact us and we'll take care of it.
We may update this policy as the index evolves. Material changes will be reflected here with an updated effective date.
Questions about this policy, or a request to remove submitted information: nick@peakingwaters.com.