Privacy Policy

18. Privacy Policy

18.1 This policy explains how MOTORCHAIN LTD acts as controller of personal information used to operate MotorChain. Contact support@motorchain.co.uk for privacy questions or to exercise your rights. A dealer, private seller or other recipient may act as a separate controller of information they receive and is responsible for their own use of it.

Information we collect

18.2 Information may include your name, contact details, account identifier, account type, business identity, registration and verification details, saved preferences and information you provide to support. Where required for seller verification or tax reporting, we may collect identification, date of birth, address, business registration and tax information.

18.3 We process vehicle listing information, registration identifiers, descriptions, images, documents, bids, offers, auction results, saved vehicles, enquiries and messages. Vehicle information may be personal information when it is linked to an identifiable person. Avoid uploading documents or images containing unnecessary personal information.

18.4 Transaction information includes purchases, membership and renewal records, credit balances, promotion use, payment status, refunds and payment-provider references. Payment providers process card information under their own notices. We do not store your full card number or card security code.

18.5 Technical information may include IP address, device and browser information, login and security events, time stamps, usage events and consent preferences. Optional analytics or advertising information is collected only where enabled and permitted by your choices and the law.

Where information comes from

18.6 We receive information from you, your activity on MotorChain, sellers and buyers you interact with, authorised dealer feeds, publicly available listings and records, specialist vehicle-data services, payment providers and verification or communications services. Public information does not lose its data-protection protection simply because it is publicly accessible.

18.7 Where we obtain personal information about you indirectly, we provide the source and categories of information as required by law, including identifying a specific known source where necessary. Contact support@motorchain.co.uk if you need information about the source of a record or wish to challenge its accuracy.

Why we use information and our lawful bases

18.8 We rely on contractual necessity to create and manage your account, provide services you request, operate listings and auctions, handle enquiries, administer benefits, collect our fees and process cancellations and refunds. Contractual necessity applies only where processing is necessary to perform our contract with you or take steps you request before a contract.

18.9 We rely on legal obligations where applicable to accounting, tax records and reporting, lawful regulator requests and other legally required records or disclosures.

18.10 We rely on legitimate interests, where these are not outweighed by your rights, to protect users and the platform, investigate fraud or misuse, maintain security, resolve disputes, keep proportionate audit records, improve service reliability and administer business operations. You may object to processing based on legitimate interests.

18.11 We rely on consent where required for optional marketing, optional tracking and other consent-based processing. You can withdraw consent without affecting the lawfulness of earlier processing. Providing a service does not give us unrestricted permission to use your information for unrelated purposes.

18.12 Where you provide information for a legal or contractual requirement, failure to provide it may prevent us from verifying an account, operating a requested service or meeting a legal obligation. We explain material requirements when requesting the information.

Sharing information

18.13 We share information necessary for an enquiry or transaction with the relevant buyer or seller. Public listings can be viewed by other users and indexed by search engines. We do not publish private account, identification or payment information merely because you list a vehicle.

18.14 We use service providers for hosting, account authentication, payment processing, email and SMS delivery, support, security, verification, vehicle-data services and, where enabled, analytics. Providers receive information relevant to their role and appropriate contractual safeguards apply. A provider acting as a separate controller is responsible for its own processing.

18.15 Information may also be disclosed to professional advisers, regulators, tax authorities, law enforcement or courts where necessary and lawful, and to parties involved in a business transfer subject to appropriate confidentiality and data-protection safeguards. We do not sell personal information for unrelated third-party marketing.

International transfers and security

18.16 Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we use an applicable adequacy decision or appropriate safeguards, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or UK Addendum, and any required transfer assessment. Contact support@motorchain.co.uk for details of the applicable safeguards and how to obtain a copy, subject to lawful redactions.

18.17 We use proportionate technical and organisational measures to protect information, including access controls and security monitoring. You should protect your account credentials and report suspected unauthorised access promptly. No online service can promise absolute security.

How long we keep information

18.18 We retain information only for as long as necessary for its purpose. Account and listing records are retained while needed to provide the service and for proportionate periods afterwards for support, disputes, fraud prevention and legal duties. Financial and tax records are retained for the applicable statutory recordkeeping period.

18.19 Retention of bid and transaction records depends on audit, dispute and legal requirements. Support records depend on the matter and whether it is resolved. Security logs depend on security and investigation needs. Consent records are kept while needed to demonstrate preferences and compliance. A limited suppression record may be retained to honour an unsubscribe request.

18.20 We delete or anonymise records when no longer needed, subject to legal holds and backup cycles. Closing an account does not require immediate deletion of records we lawfully need to retain. Contact us for the retention criteria applicable to a particular record.

Your rights and complaints

18.21 Depending on the circumstances, you may request access, correction, erasure, restriction, data portability or object to processing. You may withdraw consent at any time and object to direct marketing at any time. These rights have legal conditions and exceptions; they are not all absolute.

18.22 Send requests to support@motorchain.co.uk. We may need proportionate identity verification. We normally respond within one month, subject to extensions or other rules permitted by law, and explain any refusal or limitation.

18.23 You may complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or by telephone on 0303 123 1113. You may contact us first to seek a resolution, but you do not have to do so before contacting the ICO.

Automated processing and children

18.24 Automated processes may calculate auction results, apply benefits, synchronise listings and detect suspicious activity. These processes use the relevant auction settings, bids, balances, feed changes and security signals. They do not themselves establish a binding vehicle-sale contract under a non-binding auction. Contact us to query a result or request review of a restriction. Any solely automated decision with legal or similarly significant effects requires the notices and safeguards applicable by law.

18.25 MotorChain is intended for people legally able to use its services and enter the relevant contracts. If we become aware that information has been collected unlawfully from a child, we will investigate and take appropriate action.

18.26 Changes to this policy will be shown with an updated effective date. We will provide additional notice or obtain fresh consent where required for a material change in processing.