Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Bloor Engineering Ltd (company number 14230472), trading as BeakCheck ("we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website and services.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Registration number: to be published here once issued.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

• Vehicle Registration Numbers: When you use our service to check a vehicle.
• Payment Information: When you purchase premium reports, payment is processed by Stripe. We do not store your full card details.
• Contact Information: If you contact us for support, we may collect your email address and any information you provide.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Usage Data: Pages visited, time spent, features used.
• Device Information: Browser type, operating system, device type.
• IP Address: For security and rate limiting purposes.
• Cookies: only a cookie needed to run the site, for example to remember a report you have paid for. Our analytics (Umami) does not use cookies.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide our vehicle checking services and generate reports.
• Process payments for premium services.
• Respond to your enquiries and provide customer support.
• Improve our website and services.
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or security incidents.
• Comply with legal obligations.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

Under UK GDPR, we process your personal data on the following legal bases:

• Contract: Processing necessary to provide our services to you.
• Legitimate Interests: For improving our services, security, and fraud prevention.
• Legal Obligation: Where we are required to process data by law.
• Consent: Where you have given specific consent (e.g., marketing communications).

5. Data Sharing

We share the minimum needed to produce your check, with these processors and sources:

• DVLA (Vehicle Enquiry Service): the registration number you enter is sent to DVLA to retrieve the vehicle's make, model, tax and MOT status. DVLA acts as a data controller for its own records.
• DVSA (MOT History API): the registration number is sent to DVSA to retrieve the vehicle's MOT test history and recorded mileage.
• One Auto API (Experian-sourced data): for paid history checks only, the registration number is sent to retrieve finance, stolen, write-off, mileage and valuation data. Experian processes this data as a data controller for its own purposes. See Experian's Privacy Policy.
• Stripe: payment processing. We never see or store your card details. See Stripe's Privacy Policy.
• Hetzner Online GmbH: hosting. The service runs on servers in the European Union (Finland), under the UK GDPR adequacy decision for the EU.
• Umami (self-hosted analytics): page-view statistics run on our own infrastructure, without cookies and without sharing data with any advertising network.
• Legal requirements: we may disclose information if required by law or to protect our rights.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties, and we do not use your data to train AI models.

6. Data Retention

• Search History: Stored locally on your device. You can clear this at any time.
• Payment Records: Retained for 7 years for accounting and legal purposes.
• Server Logs: Retained for 30 days for security purposes.
• Support Enquiries: Retained for 2 years after resolution.

7. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate personal data.
• Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data (subject to legal retention requirements).
• Restriction: Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances.
• Portability: Request transfer of your data in a machine-readable format.
• Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@beakcheck.com

8. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including:

• HTTPS encryption for all data transmission.
• Secure payment processing via PCI-DSS compliant providers.
• Regular security assessments and updates.
• Access controls and authentication measures.

9. International Transfers

Hosting is in the EU (Finland). Experian and Stripe may process data outside the UK. Where this occurs, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the ICO.

10. Children's Privacy

Our services are not intended for individuals under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us:

• Email: privacy@beakcheck.com
• Address: 11 Pennine Way, Swadlincote, Derbyshire DE11 9EX

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.