PRIVACY POLICY

BACKGROUND:

Merseyside Van Sales LTD understands that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your personal data is used. We respect and value the privacy of everyone who visits our websites, www.merseysidevansales.co.uk and mvans.net (each, “Our Site”), and only collect and use your personal data as described in this Privacy Policy. Any personal data we collect will only be used as permitted by law.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully and ensure that you understand it.

1. Information About Us
   Our Site is owned and operated by Merseyside Van Sales LTD, a limited company registered in England under company number 14766737.
   Registered address: 555 Smithdown Road, Liverpool, L15 5AF.
   [VAT number: GB 440943988.]
   [Data Protection Officer: Christopher Rimmer.
   Email address: contact@merseysidevansales.co.uk.
   Telephone number: 0151 272 0326.
   Postal address: 555 Smithdown Road, Liverpool, L15 5AF.
   We are regulated by Financial Conduct Authority & The Information Commissioner's Office.
   We are a member of Independent Motor Dealers Association

2. What Does This Policy Cover?
   This Privacy Policy applies to your use of Our Site, including the online tools on mvans.net for valuing a vehicle, signing paperwork, uploading a driving licence and subscribing to stock alerts. Our Site may contain links to other websites. Please note that we have no control over how your data is collected, stored, or used by other websites and we advise you to check the privacy policies of any such websites before providing any data to them.

3. What Is Personal Data?
   Personal data is defined by the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (collectively, “the Data Protection Legislation”) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier’. Personal data is, in simpler terms, any information about you that enables you to be identified. Personal data covers obvious information such as your name and contact details, but it also covers less obvious information such as identification numbers, electronic location data, and other online identifiers.
   
   A vehicle registration number is personal data whenever it can be linked to an identifiable person. Because we hold the registration of a vehicle alongside the name and contact details of the person who is buying it, selling it to us, or having it serviced, we treat a vehicle registration we hold about you as your personal data.

4. What Are My Rights?
   Under the Data Protection Legislation, you have the following rights, which we will always work to uphold:
   
   a) The right to be informed about our collection and use of your personal data. This Privacy Policy should tell you everything you need to know, but you can always contact us to find out more or to ask any questions using the details in Part 10.
   b) The right to access the personal data we hold about you. Part 9 will tell you how to do this.
   c) The right to have your personal data rectified if any of your personal data held by us is inaccurate or incomplete. Please contact us using the details in Part 10 to find out more.
   d) The right to be forgotten, i.e. the right to ask us to delete or otherwise dispose of any of your personal data that we hold. Please contact us using the details in Part 10 to find out more.
   e) The right to restrict (i.e. prevent) the processing of your personal data.
   f) The right to object to us using your personal data for a particular purpose or purposes.
   g) The right to withdraw consent. This means that, if we are relying on your consent as the legal basis for using your personal data, you are free to withdraw that consent at any time.
   h) The right to data portability. This means that, if you have provided personal data to us directly, we are using it with your consent or for the performance of a contract, and that data is processed using automated means, you can ask us for a copy of that personal data to re-use with another service or business in many cases.
   i) Rights relating to automated decision-making and profiling. We do not use your personal data in this way.
   
   For more information about our use of your personal data or exercising your rights as outlined above, please contact us using the details provided in Part 10.
   
   It is important that your personal data is kept accurate and up-to-date. If any of the personal data we hold about you changes, please keep us informed as long as we have that data.
   
   Further information about your rights can also be obtained from the Information Commissioner’s Office or your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
   
   If you have any cause for complaint about Our use of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. We would welcome the opportunity to resolve your concerns ourselves, however, so please contact us first, using the details in Part 10.

5. What Personal Data Do You Collect and How?

• Our Site collects certain information automatically, including your IP address, the type of browser you are using, and certain other non-personal data about your computer or device such as your operating system type or version, and display resolution.
• If you send us an email, we may collect your name, your email address, and any other information which you choose to give us. For the purposes of the Data Protection Legislation, we are the data controller responsible for such personal data.
  
  Processed under the lawful basis of Contract:
  
  
• When you enquire about or purchase a vehicle, goods or services from us, we will collect personal information to enable us to respond to your enquiry and to process and complete your purchase.
• When you enquire about purchasing a vehicle on finance, we will collect information to enable third parties to provide finance quotes and agreements.
• We collect personal information from you when you apply for a job with us to enable us to contact you and process your application.
  
  Processed under the lawful basis of Legal Obligation:
  
  
• We collect and process your personal information for producing invoices and accounting purposes which is required to meet HMRC legislation.
• We collect personal information from employees to enable us to meet employment law obligations.
  
  Processed under the lawful basis of Consent:
  
  
• If you have given consent to receive marketing communications from us, we will collect information concerning your marketing preferences and send you communications based on those preferences.
• If you enquire through a social media page, such as Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, we will collect the account name or handle you contacted us from, so that we can reply to you there.
• If you sell a vehicle to us, or part-exchange one, we will collect your name, address and telephone number and keep them with that vehicle’s purchase record.
• When you email us, our enquiries mailbox records who the email came from, the subject line and when it arrived, so that we can trace how an enquiry reached us.
• We hold historic sales records transferred from the business system we used before this one. These contain the same kinds of details as a sale made today — your name, contact details, address and the vehicle you bought.
• The lawful basis under the Data Protection Legislation that allows us to use such information is article 6(1)(f) of the UK GDPR which allows us to process personal data when it is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests, in this case, the proper operation and functionality of our Site. If you contact us as described above, you will be required to consent to our use of your personal data to contact you. In this case, our lawful basis for using your personal data will be article 6(1)(a) of the UK GDPR, which allows us to use your personal data with your consent for a particular purpose or purposes.
  
  

6. How Do You Use My Personal Data?
   Where we collect any personal data, it will be processed and stored securely, for no longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected. We will comply with our obligations and always safeguard your rights under the Data Protection Legislation. For more details on security see Part 7, below.
   
   As stated above, we do not generally collect any personal data directly from you, but if you contact us and we obtain your personal details from your email, we may use them to respond to your email. The other technical data referred to above is necessary for the technical operation of our Site [and will not normally be used in any way to personally identify you].
   
   We keep your personal data only for as long as we need it, and then remove it automatically. Records that have a money or legal purpose — a completed sale, a deposit, a part-exchange, an aftersales case, a courtesy loan, a signed agreement, and the emails that go with them — are kept for 6 years. That covers our record-keeping duties to HMRC and the period in which a claim about a contract can be brought. An enquiry that does not lead to a purchase is kept for 2 years from your last contact with us, and that includes the social media handle you enquired from and the record our mailbox keeps of your email — who it came from and its subject line. Driving licence images and driving licence numbers are kept for 2 years. If you sell a vehicle to us or part-exchange one, your name, address and telephone number are kept with that vehicle’s purchase record for 6 years, for the same tax and legal reasons as a sale. The historic sales records transferred from our previous system are kept for 6 years from the date of the sale they record. If you subscribe to stock alerts and later unsubscribe, we remove your details 30 days afterwards; we keep a record that your email address unsubscribed, and nothing else, so that we cannot add you back by mistake. Your customer record is removed once you have been inactive for 2 years and none of the records above is still within its period.
   
   When a record reaches the end of its period, we remove the personal details from it. Your name and contact details are erased, and documents such as a signed agreement or a driving licence image are deleted. We keep a copy of the emails we send you as proof of what was sent; when the record they belong to reaches the end of its period, the copy of the email and the address it was sent to are erased along with it. What remains is the underlying business record — such as the amount, the date and the vehicle — which no longer identifies you. This runs automatically every night.
   
   We use a small number of service providers who process personal data on our instructions. They are listed in Part 8, together with what each one is used for and where it processes your data. We do not sell your personal data and we do not share it with anyone for their own marketing purposes.

7. How and Where Do You Store My Data?
   Most of your personal data is stored in the UK. Our database, our file storage and our website hosting are all located in London.
   
   Some of the service providers listed in Part 8 may process personal data outside the UK. Where that happens, we take steps to ensure that your personal data is treated just as safely and securely as it would be within the UK and under the Data Protection Legislation. For further information about your rights, please refer to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
   
   Personal data security is essential to us, and to protect personal data, we take the following measures:

• limiting access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties with a legitimate need to know and ensuring that they are subject to duties of confidentiality;
• procedures for dealing with data breaches (the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, your personal data) including notifying you and/or the Information Commissioner’s Office where we are legally required to do so;
• Data Encryption: All personal data stored electronically is protected by encryption, ensuring it cannot be accessed without proper authorisation.
• Secure Storage: Physical records containing personal data are kept in locked cabinets accessible only by authorised personnel.
• Access Control: Role-based access is enforced on IT systems, requiring unique user credentials for employees to access specific datasets.
• Regular Security Audits: We conduct regular audits of our IT systems and processes to identify vulnerabilities and ensure compliance with data protection standards.
• Secure Disposal: Personal data that is no longer required is securely shredded (for physical records) or permanently deleted using certified data destruction software.
• Antivirus and Firewall Protection: Our IT systems are protected with up-to-date antivirus software and firewalls to prevent unauthorised access or malicious attacks.
• Training and Awareness: All employees receive regular training on data protection principles, including identifying and reporting potential breaches.
• Data Backup Procedures: Personal data is regularly backed up and stored securely to prevent data loss or unauthorised alterations.

8. Do You Share My Personal Data?
   We do not sell your personal data, and we do not share it with anyone for their own marketing purposes. We share it only as set out below.
   
   (a) Service providers acting on our instructions. We use the following providers to run our business and Our Site. Each of them processes personal data only on our instructions and for no purpose of their own.

   • Supabase — our database and file storage. Holds customer records, uploaded documents and photographs. Processed in London, United Kingdom.
   • Vercel — hosting for Our Site. Handles anything you submit through Our Site while it is being sent to us. Processed in London, United Kingdom.
   • Anthropic — reading documents you upload (such as a driving licence or a V5C logbook) and enquiry messages automatically. Involves your name, date of birth, address, driving licence number and the details of your enquiry. Your data is not used to train AI models. May be processed outside the UK — see (c).
   • Resend — sending and receiving our email. Involves your name, your email address and anything attached to those emails. May be processed outside the UK — see (c).
   • Sage — our accounts and invoicing. Involves your name, email address, telephone number and postal address. May be processed outside the UK — see (c).
   • Dropbox — storing vehicle documents and photographs, which can include documents that name a vehicle’s keeper. May be processed outside the UK — see (c).
   • Sentry — fault reporting, so that we can find and fix problems with Our Site. Involves technical fault reports, which are configured to remove personal details before they are sent. Processed in the European Union.
   • postcodes.io — looking up your address from your postcode on our forms. Your browser contacts this service directly, so it receives your postcode and your IP address. May be processed outside the UK — see (c).

   (b) Others we pass your details to. If you ask us about vehicle finance, we pass your details to finance brokers so that they can provide quotes and agreements. Those brokers decide for themselves how they use your data and act as data controllers in their own right, not on our instructions. Where the law requires it, we also share records with HMRC, the DVLA and our accountants.
   
   (c) Transfers outside the UK. Where a provider listed above processes personal data outside the UK, we take steps to ensure that it is treated just as safely and securely as it would be within the UK and under the Data Protection Legislation, as described in Part 7.
   
   (d) Reviews you leave about us in public. If you leave us a public review on Google or AutoTrader, we may re-publish that review on our own social media pages, such as Facebook and Instagram. The post can show the wording of your review, your star rating, and the reviewer name shown on your review — the same name and the same words that are already published on the review site itself. If you would rather we did not use your review in this way, please contact us using the details in Part 10.
   
   The exceptions below also apply.
   
   If we sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or assets, your personal data may be transferred to a third party. Any new owner of our business may continue to use your personal data in the same way that we have used it, as specified in this Privacy Policy (i.e. to communicate with you).
   
   In some limited circumstances, we may be legally required to share certain personal data, which might include yours, if we are involved in legal proceedings or complying with legal obligations, a court order, or the instructions of a government authority.
   
   If any of your personal data is transferred to a third party, as described above, we will take steps to ensure that your personal data is handled safely, securely, and in accordance with your rights, Our obligations, and the third party’s obligations under the law, as described above in Part 7.
   
   If we sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or assets, your personal data may be transferred to a third party. Any new owner of our business may continue to use your personal data in the same way(s) that we have used it, as specified in this Privacy Policy (i.e. to communicate with you).
   
   Any documents which arrive with a vehicle when it is taken into stock may be shown to any potential buyers and handed to any new owner to ensure the provenance of the vehicle.
   
   In some limited circumstances, we may be legally required to share certain personal data, which might include yours, if we are involved in legal proceedings or complying with legal obligations, a court order, or the instructions of a government authority.

9. How Can I Access My Personal Data?
   If you want to know what personal data we have about you, you can ask us for details of that personal data and for a copy of it (where any such personal data is held). This is known as a “subject access request”.
   
   All subject access requests should be made in writing and sent to the email or postal addresses shown in Part 10. To make this as easy as possible for you, a Subject Access Request Form is available for you to use. You do not have to use this form, but it is the easiest way to tell us everything we need to know to respond to your request as quickly as possible.
   
   There is not normally any charge for a subject access request. If your request is ‘manifestly unfounded or excessive’ (for example, if you make repetitive requests) a fee may be charged to cover our administrative costs in responding.
   
   We will respond to your subject access request within 14 days and, in any case, not more than one month of receiving it. Normally, we aim to provide a complete response, including a copy of your personal data within that time. In some cases, however, particularly if your request is more complex, more time may be required up to a maximum of three months from the date we receive your request. You will be kept fully informed of our progress.

10. How Do I Contact You?
    To contact us about anything to do with your personal data and data protection, including to make a subject access request, please use the following details (for the attention of The Data Protection Officer):
    
    Email address: contact@merseysidevansales.co.uk.
    Telephone number: 0151 272 0326.
    Postal Address: 555 Smithdown Road, Liverpool, L15 5AF.

11. Changes to this Privacy Policy
    We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. This may be necessary, for example, if the law changes, or if we change Our business in a way that affects personal data protection. Any changes will be immediately posted on our Site and you will be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Privacy Policy on your first use of our Site following the alterations. We recommend that you check this page regularly to keep up-to-date. This Privacy Policy was last updated on 23/08/26.