Privacy notice

1. Who we are

Sell Your Car to Caitlin is the data controller for the personal information described in this notice. Our address is 36 Locks Street, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, ML5 3RT. You can contact us about your data at valuation@sellyourcartocaitlin.com.

This notice explains what we collect when you use our website, ask us for an offer or sell us a vehicle, why we collect it, who we share it with and what your rights are. It is written to comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. What we collect

• Enquiry details: your name, email address, phone number if you give it, the town or postcode area where the vehicle is, and anything you write in the notes.
• Vehicle details: the registration number you enter; the make, year, fuel type, engine size, colour, tax status and MOT status returned by the DVLA; and the model, mileage and condition you tell us.
• Photographs you upload. Please avoid including people, other vehicles' plates or documents in them.
• At an appointment: a copy or record of your photo identification and proof of address, your bank account details for payment, the V5C and other vehicle documents, your signature on our purchase paperwork, and the results of vehicle-history and finance checks.
• Communications: emails, WhatsApp messages, calls and letters between us.
• Website security data: a one-way hashed version of your IP address and your browser type, used only to prevent abuse of the enquiry form. We cannot identify you from the hash.

3. Why we use it and our lawful basis

• To value your vehicle and reply with an offer — necessary for the steps you ask us to take before a contract (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(b)).
• To complete a purchase, pay you and keep records of the transaction — performance of a contract and compliance with our legal obligations, including tax and accounting record-keeping (Articles 6(1)(b) and 6(1)(c)).
• To verify your identity and the vehicle's history before we buy — our legitimate interest in preventing fraud, theft and the purchase of vehicles with undisclosed finance, and in some cases our legal obligations (Articles 6(1)(f) and 6(1)(c)).
• To respond to your questions and complaints — legitimate interests and, where relevant, legal obligations.
• To keep our website secure and prevent misuse of the enquiry form — legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)).
• To send you a confirmation of your enquiry and follow up on it — performance of pre-contract steps. We do not send marketing emails. If that ever changes we will ask for your consent first and you can withdraw it at any time.

4. The DVLA lookup and vehicle checks

When you enter a registration number, our server sends it to the DVLA's Vehicle Enquiry Service and receives the publicly held details of that vehicle. The DVLA processes that request under its own privacy policy, available on GOV.UK. Only the registration number is sent; your name and contact details are not.

Before buying a vehicle we may run history checks with recognised vehicle-data providers. These involve sharing the vehicle's registration and identification number, and the provider returns information held about the vehicle. Where a provider is itself a data controller its own privacy notice applies.

5. Who we share your information with

• Service providers who host our website and store enquiries and photographs (Vercel, Inc. and Neon, Inc.) and who deliver our email (Resend, Inc.). They act on our instructions under written contracts and may not use your data for their own purposes.
• The DVLA, when we look up a vehicle and when a sale is notified.
• Finance companies, where a settlement is required to complete a purchase.
• Vehicle-data and identity-check providers, as described in section 4.
• Our bank, to make payments to you.
• Our accountants, insurers, solicitors and other professional advisers, where necessary.
• HM Revenue and Customs, Police Scotland, Trading Standards, courts and other authorities where we are required by law or where it is necessary to prevent or detect crime.
• A buyer of our business, if we sell or transfer it, who would be bound by this notice.

We never sell your personal information and we do not share it with anyone for marketing.

6. Where your information is stored

Our website database and photo storage are hosted in the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area where available. Some of our providers are headquartered in the United States and may process limited data there. Where personal data leaves the UK we rely on the UK Government's adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum, or other safeguards recognised under UK GDPR.

Paper records, including copies of identification and signed purchase documents, are kept securely at our premises.

7. How long we keep it

• Enquiries that do not lead to a purchase, including photographs: 12 months from your last contact with us, then deleted.
• Records of vehicles we buy, including identification copies, purchase paperwork, payment records and check results: 6 years from the end of the financial year of the purchase, to meet HMRC requirements and because claims about a transaction can be brought in Scotland for up to 5 years.
• Correspondence and complaints: 6 years from closure.
• Website security data: 30 days.

We may keep information for longer where it is needed for a legal claim or an investigation, or where the law requires it.

8. How we protect it

Data is transmitted over encrypted connections and stored with providers that maintain recognised security certifications. Access is limited to the people who run Sell Your Car to Caitlin. Enquiry rate limits, a hidden anti-spam field and photo-type restrictions protect the website against misuse. No system is completely secure, so please tell us at once if you believe your data has been compromised.

9. Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

• ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete;
• ask us to delete information, where we have no good reason to keep it;
• ask us to restrict how we use information while a query is resolved;
• object to our use of information based on legitimate interests;
• receive the information you gave us in a portable format; and
• withdraw any consent you have given, without affecting what was done before.

To exercise any of these rights, email valuation@sellyourcartocaitlin.com. We will respond within one month and will not charge a fee unless a request is clearly unfounded or excessive. We may ask you to confirm your identity first.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your information you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113. We would appreciate the chance to resolve your concern first.

10. Cookies and the website

Our website does not use analytics, advertising or tracking cookies, and does not load third-party scripts. The only data stored in your browser is what is needed to make the enquiry form work while you are on the page. Links to Google Maps, Apple Maps, WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram take you to those services, whose own privacy policies apply.

11. Children

Our services are for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone younger. If you believe a child has sent us an enquiry, please contact us and we will delete it.

12. Changes to this notice

We will update this notice if our practices change. The date at the top shows when it was last revised. Significant changes will be highlighted on this page.