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santander.co.uk

UK compliance audit.

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Compliance Score

How the score was calculated

Starting score: 100
1 medium finding: −5
Final score: 95

AI Analysis

The Santander UK website has largely met UK GDPR and PECR compliance standards, scoring 95/100 with 26 passed checks but failing one check and having two errors. However, the cookie consent mechanism is non-compliant with GDPR requirements due to a lack of explanation for cookie usage, absence of information on third-party data sharing, and unclear consequences of rejecting all cookies.

Report Details

Playbook: UK Cookie Compliance
Domain: santander.co.uk
Started At: 2 Jan 2026, 12:07
Duration: 2m 10s
Total Checks: 37
Report ID: vzHBm-9pa922

Check Results

Data Capture

2 checks All passed

capture_html_initial

INFO

Captured HTML (105560 bytes) from https://www.santander.co.uk/

Captured HTML:

View rendered

capture_cookies_initial

INFO

Captured 1 cookies

Captured Cookies:

View full list

Pre-Consent Cookies

1 check All passed

check_initial_cookies

CRITICAL

No non-essential cookies found

PECR Regulation 6(1)

Cookies (except strictly necessary) require user consent BEFORE being set

View guidance

Cookie Consent Banner

6 checks All passed

find_banner

INFO

Found consent banner via heuristic (height: 409px)

PECR Regulation 6(2)

Clear and comprehensive information must be provided about cookie use

View guidance

find_cookie_banner

INFO

Value true == true: true

verify_banner_visible

INFO

Element visibility is true as expected

screenshot_banner

INFO

Screenshot saved: https://smesolutions.uk/artifacts/artifacts/100378b0-e6bb-435a-802e-9fc00c290704/screenshots/cookie_banner.png

Screenshot Evidence:

Click to view full size

extract_banner_text

Extracted 89 words

check_banner_content

LOW

Value 89 >= 10: true

PECR Regulation 6(2)(a)

Cookie notice must provide clear, comprehensive information about purposes

View guidance

Cookie Controls

4 checks All passed

find_reject_button_semantic

INFO

Found reject button: <button#onetrust-reject-all-handler> text='Reject all'

find_accept_button_semantic

INFO

Found accept button: <button#onetrust-accept-btn-handler> text='Accept all'

find_reject_button_any

CRITICAL

Value 1 == 1: true

find_accept_button_any

Value 1 == 1: true

Dark Pattern Detection

1 check All passed

compare_button_prominence

HIGH

Buttons have similar prominence

EDPB Guidelines 03/2022 on Dark Patterns

Reject option must have equal prominence to accept - asymmetric design is a deceptive pattern

View guidance

AI Dark Pattern Analysis

2 checks All passed

check_dark_patterns_vision

HIGH

No specific dark patterns identified in cookie banner

EDPB Guidelines 03/2022 on Dark Patterns

Visual deceptive patterns including color manipulation and hidden controls are prohibited

View guidance

check_deceptive_buttons

HIGH

Button labels are clear and not deceptive

EDPB Guidelines 03/2022 on Dark Patterns

Button labels must accurately reflect their function without ambiguity or deception

View guidance

AI Content Analysis

3 checks1 failed

check_banner_quality_llm

MEDIUM-5

Banner content is not GDPR compliant

Cookie banner does not meet GDPR compliance requirements

lacks explanation of why cookies are used

does not mention third-party data sharing

unclear about the consequences of rejecting all cookies

Banner Text Analyzed:

"We use cookies to give you the best online experience Essential cookies make this website work and are for your security. To help personalise and tailor content to you here and on other websites, we use optional cookies. We won't use these without your consent. Our Cookie Policy is always available at the bottom of our homepage. You can change your preference settings by selecting 'Manage my settings' at any time. You can manage your optional cookie preferences using the buttons below. R..."

PECR Regulation 6(2)(a)

Cookie notices must provide clear, comprehensive information about purposes

View guidance

check_language_consistency

LOW

Banner language (en) matches page language

PECR Regulation 6(2)(a)

Information must be provided in a language users can understand

check_cookie_purposes

MEDIUM

No cookies available for purpose matching

PECR Regulation 6(2)(a)

All cookies used must be disclosed and explained in the notice

View guidance

AI Accessibility Analysis

1 check All passed

check_visual_accessibility

MEDIUM

Banner meets visual accessibility standards (score: 50/100)

None found.

Equality Act 2010

Cookie banners must be accessible to users with disabilities including visual impairments

View guidance

Consent Verification

5 checks All passed

click_reject_button

Clicked element <button#onetrust-reject-all-handler> text='Reject all'

wait_after_reject

Waited 2000ms

check_cookies_after_reject

CRITICAL

No non-essential cookies found

UK GDPR Article 7(3), PECR Regulation 6

When consent is withdrawn, cookies must be removed - continued tracking is unlawful

View guidance

verify_cookies_cleared

CRITICAL

Value 0 == 0: true

UK GDPR Article 7(3)

Withdrawal of consent must be as easy as giving it; cookies must be deleted upon rejection

View guidance

verify_banner_dismissed

LOW

Element is no longer accessible (dismissed/removed from DOM)

Accessibility

1 check All passed

wcag_aa_scan

HIGH

No accessibility violations found (WCAG AA)

Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018, Equality Act 2010

UK websites must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards; failure may constitute disability discrimination

View guidance

Evidence Collection

2 checks All passed

capture_html_after_reject

INFO

Captured HTML (224449 bytes) from https://www.santander.co.uk/

Captured HTML:

View rendered

capture_cookies_after_reject

INFO

Captured 2 cookies

Captured Cookies:

View full list

Report Generation

2 checks All passed

generate_summary

INFO

AI summary generated successfully

generate_pdf

INFO

PDF report generated: https://smesolutions.uk/artifacts/artifacts/100378b0-e6bb-435a-802e-9fc00c290704/report.pdf

Other Checks

2 checks

screenshot_initial

INFO

Execution error: failed to upload to S3: operation error S3: PutObject, https response error StatusCode: 413, RequestID: , HostID: , error while deserializing xml error response : XML syntax error on line 6: element <hr> closed by </body>

screenshot_after_reject

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