Privacy policy

Who we are

Motor Salvage Group is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. Our premises are at Unit 1a, Mt Alexander, Camaghael Road, Fort William PH33 7NF.

You can contact us about anything in this policy by email at info@motorsalvagegroup.co.uk, by phone on 07979 603739 or on WhatsApp at 07946 135229.

The data we collect

We collect only what we need to price your vehicle, collect it, pay you and meet our legal duties as a buyer of scrap vehicles.

• When you use the quote form: the form asks for the vehicle registration and the postcode where the vehicle is, then your name, your mobile number, the vehicle's condition and an optional note. When you send it, the website saves a copy in its own database and opens WhatsApp with the same details written into a message for you to send. Alongside your answers the record holds the service and town of the page you were on, that page's address, the type of page, the route the enquiry came through (the normal form or its fallback for browsers without JavaScript), the date and time, your IP address and your browser's user-agent, which is a short text describing the browser and device.
• When you message, call or email us: your phone number or email address, your WhatsApp profile name if you use WhatsApp, and the messages and photos you send. WhatsApp is operated by Meta, which handles your messages under its own terms and privacy policy; we do not control that processing.
• When we buy the vehicle: your full name and address, the details of the photo ID you show, proof of address where needed, the V5C details, the name, sort code and number of the account we pay, the collection address, the driver's notes on the vehicle and, if someone hands the vehicle over for you, their name, ID details and your written authority.
• Website security: to stop automated spam, the quote form keeps a count of recent submissions for 10 minutes, filed under a one-way hash of your IP address rather than the address itself. Our hosting provider also keeps server logs of the IP addresses and browsers that request pages.

This website sets no cookies and no browser storage for visitors, and runs no analytics or advertising trackers. Our cookies policy has the detail.

Why we use it and our lawful basis

• To price, collect and pay for your vehicle. This is necessary to take the steps you ask for before a contract and to perform the contract of sale set out in our terms and conditions.
• To keep the records the law requires. A buyer of scrap vehicles must verify and record the seller's name and address and how payment was made: under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 in England and Wales, and in Scotland under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 as amended by the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015. When a vehicle is scrapped, the Authorised Treatment Facility needs the keeper details to issue the Certificate of Destruction and notify the DVLA. This is necessary to comply with a legal obligation.
• To prevent fraud and vehicle theft, handle disputes and keep the website secure. This is our legitimate interest, balanced against your rights. It is why we check ID, keep purchase records and run the spam protection described above.
• Marketing. We do not use your details to market to you. If that ever changes, we will ask for your consent first.

You do not have to give us any personal details, but we need a phone number or email address to send you a price, and we cannot buy a vehicle without the identification and records the law requires. We do not make decisions about you by automated means.

Where your data is kept

Quote form records are stored in this website's own database on our web host. The website does not email your enquiry anywhere: the details reach us when you send the WhatsApp message from your phone. WhatsApp conversations are held on our business phone and on Meta's services. Purchase records are kept by us. Access is limited to the people who need it to deal with your enquiry or sale.

WhatsApp messages are processed by Meta, which may transfer them outside the UK under its own safeguards.

Who we share it with

We never sell personal data. We share it only with:

• the driver collecting your vehicle: your name, phone number, the collection address and the vehicle details;
• the Authorised Treatment Facility that takes the vehicle when it is scrapped: the vehicle and registered keeper details it needs to issue the Certificate of Destruction and notify the DVLA;
• the DVLA, where the law requires it;
• our bank, to make the transfer to you;
• the companies that host our website and email, acting on our instructions under contract;
• the police, a licensing authority or a court where the law requires it, including inspections of metal dealer records.

How long we keep it

• Quote form records and enquiries that do not lead to a sale: deleted once they are no longer needed to answer you.
• Records of vehicles we buy: kept for as long as metal dealer law and tax law require.
• The spam-protection count: expires after 10 minutes.
• WhatsApp conversations: deleted when no longer needed, unless linked to a purchase record.
• Server logs: kept for the period set by our hosting provider.

Your rights

Under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 you can ask for a copy of the data we hold about you, ask us to correct it, ask us to delete it, ask us to limit how we use it, object to processing based on our legitimate interests, ask for data you gave us in a portable format, and withdraw any consent you have given. Contact us by email, by phone or on WhatsApp and we will respond within one month. We cannot delete records the law requires us to keep, but we will tell you when that applies and when they will be deleted.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113. We would appreciate the chance to put things right first.

Cookies

This website does not set cookies or use browser storage for visitors. The map on the contact page stays off until you press Show the map. If you do, your browser loads it from Google Maps, which receives your IP address and browser details and may set its own cookies, all under Google's privacy policy. WordPress sets login cookies only for the people who log in to manage the site. Our cookies policy lists them.

Security

The website is served over HTTPS, and the quote form is protected against automated spam without cookies. Access to enquiries and purchase records is limited to the people who need it. No system is perfectly secure, so if we discover a breach that puts you at risk we will tell you, and the Information Commissioner's Office, as the law requires.

Children

Our service is for adults selling a vehicle. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children, and we will delete it if we learn we have.

Changes to this policy

We will update this page if the way we handle data changes, and the date at the top will change with it. Questions about this policy go to info@motorsalvagegroup.co.uk.