Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Welcome to Car & Van Buyers. This Privacy Policy outlines how CarandVanBuyer.co.uk (referred to as “we”, “us”, or “our”) collects, uses, maintains, and discloses information collected from users (each, a “User”) of the https://carandvanbuyer.co.uk website (“Site”). This privacy policy applies to the Site and all products and services offered by Car & Van Buyers.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a transparent and secure manner. This policy adheres to the principles of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Car & Van Buyers is a service dedicated to purchasing cars and vans across the United Kingdom. We operate from Surrey, UK, and are committed to offering a fair, efficient, and transparent vehicle buying process. Our primary objective is to provide a reliable service, making the sale of your vehicle as smooth as possible.

For any privacy-related queries or concerns, please use the contact details provided in Section 10 of this policy. As a data controller, we are responsible for your personal data. We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and adhere to their guidelines and regulations to ensure your data is protected.

2. What Data We Collect

We collect various types of information from our Users to facilitate our services, improve your experience, and comply with legal obligations. The data we collect generally falls into the following categories:

2.1. Personal Identification Information

• Name: To identify you, personalise communications, and fulfil contractual obligations.
• Phone Number: To contact you regarding your vehicle valuation, arrange inspections, discuss purchase details, and provide customer support.
• Email Address: For sending your valuation, confirming appointments, and other service-related communications.

2.2. Vehicle Information

• Vehicle Registration Number (VRN): To obtain vehicle history, specifications, and provide an accurate valuation. This is crucial for the core service we offer.
• Mileage: A key factor in determining a vehicle’s value and condition.
• Vehicle Condition Details: Information you provide regarding the vehicle’s history, damage, service record, and overall state, which helps us refine our offer.

2.3. Payment Information

• Bank Account Details: If you accept our offer and proceed with the sale, we will collect your bank account name, sort code, and account number solely for the purpose of transferring payment to you via bank transfer. This information is handled with the utmost security and is not retained longer than necessary to complete the transaction and fulfil our legal obligations.

2.4. Technical Data

When you visit our Site, we automatically collect certain technical information:

• IP Address: Your device’s unique identifier on the internet, used for security, analytics, and to understand geographic distribution of our users.
• Browser Type and Version: To ensure compatibility and optimise your browsing experience.
• Operating System: To understand device usage patterns and improve site functionality.
• Referral Source: Information about how you arrived at our Site (e.g., from a search engine or another website).
• Usage Data: Information about how you interact with our Site, including pages visited, time spent on pages, and clicks. This data is collected primarily through Google Analytics.

2.5. How Data is Collected

We collect data primarily through:

• Website Forms: This includes the hero quote form, dedicated quote page, and contact page where you voluntarily provide your personal and vehicle details.
• Cookies: As detailed in Section 6, cookies are used to collect technical and usage data.

3. How We Use Your Data (Lawful Basis under UK GDPR)

We use the data we collect for various purposes, each supported by a lawful basis under the UK GDPR. We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to.

3.1. Performance of a Contract

This is our primary lawful basis for processing most of your data. We use your data to:

• Provide you with an accurate and timely valuation for your car or van.
• Communicate with you regarding your quote, inspections, and collection arrangements.
• Process the purchase of your vehicle, including identity verification and ownership transfer.
• Facilitate secure payment for your vehicle via bank transfer.
• Manage and respond to your enquiries and requests submitted through our contact forms.

3.2. Legitimate Interests

We may process your data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This includes:

• Improving our Services: Analysing website usage via Google Analytics to understand how Users interact with our Site, identify areas for improvement, and enhance user experience.
• Website Functionality and Security: Using technical cookies (e.g., LiteSpeed Cache) to ensure our Site functions efficiently and securely, preventing fraud and maintaining system integrity.
• Internal Record Keeping: For administrative purposes, such as maintaining accurate records of transactions and communications.
• Direct Marketing (Valuation Emails): Sending you email communications related to your vehicle valuation. This is considered a legitimate interest based on your initial enquiry and our existing business relationship. You always have the right to object or opt-out of these communications.
• Personalisation: Using data to ensure content (e.g., via Yoast SEO) is relevant and tailored to improve your engagement with our services.

3.3. Legal Obligation

We will process your personal data where we are required to do so by law. This includes:

• Complying with tax, accounting, and other regulatory obligations (e.g., retaining transaction records for a specified period).
• Responding to lawful requests from public authorities, law enforcement, or governmental bodies.

3.4. Consent

In certain situations, we may rely on your explicit consent to process your personal data. This typically applies to:

• Non-Essential Cookies: We obtain your consent for the use of non-essential cookies (such as those used by Google Analytics) through our CookieAdmin plugin. You have full control over these preferences.

Where consent is the lawful basis for processing, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent.

4. How Long We Keep Data

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. The exact retention period depends on the type of data and the purpose of processing:

• Quote Enquiries: If you request a valuation but do not proceed with a sale, we typically retain your contact and vehicle details for a period of up to 12 months. This allows us to follow up, answer further questions, or re-engage if market conditions change, based on our legitimate interest.
• Completed Transactions: For vehicles we purchase, personal and vehicle data related to the transaction (including payment details) will be retained for a minimum of 6 years after the transaction date. This is to comply with our legal obligations for tax, accounting, and potential legal claims under the Limitation Act 1980.
• Contact Form Submissions: Data from general enquiries will be kept for as long as necessary to resolve your query and for a reasonable period thereafter for reference, typically up to 6 months.
• Marketing Communications (Valuations): If you consent or we rely on legitimate interest to send you valuation-related emails, we will retain your email address until you unsubscribe or opt-out, or until we determine that the information is no longer relevant.
• Technical Data (Google Analytics): Anonymised usage data is retained for periods configured within Google Analytics, typically 26 months, before being automatically deleted.

In some circumstances, we may anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

5. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

Under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have a number of important rights regarding your personal data. We are committed to upholding these rights:

• The right to be informed: You have the right to be informed about how we collect and use your personal data. This Privacy Policy serves to fulfil that right.
• The right of access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. This is often called a “Subject Access Request” (SAR). We will provide this information free of charge within one month of your request, though we may charge a reasonable fee if the request is excessive or repetitive.
• The right to rectification: You have the right to request that any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you be corrected.
• The right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’): In certain circumstances, you have the right to request the deletion or removal of your personal data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing. This is not an absolute right; we may be legally required to retain certain data.
• The right to restrict processing: You have the right to “block” or suppress the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances. This means we can store your data but not use it.
• The right to data portability: You have the right to obtain and reuse your personal data for your own purposes across different services. This allows you to move, copy, or transfer personal data easily from one IT environment to another in a safe and secure way, without hindrance to usability.
• The right to object: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data based on legitimate interests or direct marketing. If you object to processing for direct marketing purposes, we will stop processing your data for that purpose.
• Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling: You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you, unless certain exceptions apply. We do not currently use automated decision-making or profiling that would have such a significant effect on you.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in Section 10. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it.

6. Cookies

Our Site uses “cookies” to enhance your user experience. Cookies are small text files placed on your device by websites that you visit. They are widely used to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site.

6.1. How We Use Cookies

We use cookies for various purposes, including:

• Strictly Necessary Cookies: These are essential for the operation of our Site and enable you to navigate around it and use its features. For example, LiteSpeed Cache uses cookies to improve website performance and loading times. The Site also uses session cookies for basic functionality. These cookies do not require your consent.
• Analytical/Performance Cookies: These cookies, including those from Google Analytics, allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our Site when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our Site works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily. We collect consent for these cookies via our CookieAdmin plugin.
• Functionality Cookies: These are used to recognise you when you return to our Site. This enables us to personalise our content for you, greet you by name, and remember your preferences (e.g., for forms). Yoast SEO may also use cookies for technical optimisation.

6.2. Cookie Consent and Management

We utilise the CookieAdmin plugin to manage your cookie preferences. When you first visit our Site, you will be presented with a cookie banner allowing you to accept or decline different categories of cookies (excluding strictly necessary ones). You can change your cookie preferences at any time by revisiting our Site and clicking on the cookie settings link (usually found in the footer).

Most web browsers also allow you to control most cookies through your browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality and features of our Site.

7. Third-Party Services

We engage with certain third-party service providers to support our operations. These third parties may process your data on our behalf, but only under strict contractual terms that ensure data protection compliance.

• Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. This information is processed in a way that does not identify anyone. We do not make, and do not allow Google to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our website. For more information, please see Google’s privacy policy.
• Hosting Providers: Our website and its data are stored on secure servers managed by reputable hosting providers. They are contractually obligated to protect your data and only process it according to our instructions.
• Payment Processors: For processing payments (bank transfers), we will securely share necessary bank details with our financial institution. We do not directly process or store credit card details.
• Technical Plugins (Yoast SEO, LiteSpeed Cache): These plugins enhance the performance and search engine optimisation of our Site. While they are primarily technical, they may process some non-identifiable data for their intended functions.

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal identification information to others. We will only share your data with third parties when it is necessary for providing our services, fulfilling legal obligations, or with your explicit consent.

8. Data Security

We take the security of your personal data very seriously. We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction of your personal data. These measures include:

• Encryption: Our website uses SSL/TLS encryption (HTTPS) to secure data transmission between your browser and our servers.
• Access Controls: Access to personal data is restricted to employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
• Regular Reviews: We regularly review our security practices and update them as necessary to counter new threats and ensure ongoing data protection.
• Data Minimisation: We only collect and retain the minimum amount of personal data necessary for the purposes outlined in this policy.

Despite our best efforts, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

Car & Van Buyers has the discretion to update this privacy policy at any time. When we do, we will revise the “last updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage Users to frequently check this page for any changes to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the personal information we collect. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to review this privacy policy periodically and become aware of modifications.

Significant changes will be communicated prominently on our Site or directly to you if appropriate.

10. Contact Information

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this Site, or your dealings with this Site, please contact us at:

Car & Van Buyers
Website: https://carandvanbuyer.co.uk
Email: info@carandvanbuyer.co.uk
Phone: 01342 643780

Our registered office address, for formal correspondence, can be found on our official website or through the Companies House register. Please refer to these resources for our most current registered address details.

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO, so please contact us in the first instance.

Last updated: February 2026