Privacy Policy

01. About this policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Car Shipping Direct LTD collects, uses, stores, shares and protects personal data when you visit our website, request a quotation, make a booking, ship a vehicle or cargo with us, or otherwise contact us. It also explains the rights you have under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003.

International shipping by its nature requires personal data to be passed between shippers, forwarders, carriers, customs authorities and consignees in different countries. We want you to understand exactly what happens to your information at each stage, why it is necessary and how we keep it safe.

02. Who is responsible for your data

The data controller is Car Shipping Direct LTD, company number 17331791, registered office Unit 62A, Thames Industrial Park, Princess Margaret Road, East Tilbury, RM18 8RH. You can contact us about any data protection matter by email at info@shipcarsuk.co.uk or by telephone on 020 3807 1033. Please mark correspondence for the attention of the Data Protection Lead.

03. Personal data we collect

Information you give us

• Identity data: your full name, title, date of birth where required by customs, and copies of passport or driving licence for identity and ownership verification.
• Contact data: postal address, collection and delivery addresses, email address and telephone numbers.
• Shipment data: vehicle registration, VIN, V5C details, make, model, dimensions, cargo descriptions, values, packing lists, invoices and photographs of goods.
• Consignee data: names, addresses and contact details of the person receiving goods overseas, and their tax or importer identification numbers.
• Financial data: bank account details for refunds, payment references and transaction records. We do not store full card numbers.
• Correspondence: emails, form submissions, call notes and messages exchanged with our team.

Information collected automatically

• Technical data: IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, time zone and screen resolution.
• Usage data: pages viewed, links clicked, time on page and the website that referred you, collected through cookies as described in our Cookie Policy.

Information from third parties

We may receive data from carriers and terminals (tracking and event updates), customs systems (declaration status), our overseas agents (delivery confirmations), credit reference and identity verification providers, and people who book on your behalf, such as a vehicle dealer or relocation company.

Special category data

We do not intentionally collect special category data. Please do not include health, religious or similar information in cargo descriptions or messages unless it is strictly necessary, for example when shipping medical equipment.

04. How and why we use your data

UK GDPR requires us to have a lawful basis for each use of your personal data. The table below summarises our purposes and the basis we rely on.

• Providing quotations and responding to enquiries: steps taken at your request before entering a contract.
• Booking, collecting, shipping and delivering your goods: performance of a contract.
• Preparing export declarations, safety and security filings and carrier documentation: legal obligation and performance of a contract.
• Verifying identity and vehicle ownership, and screening against sanctions lists: legal obligation and legitimate interests in preventing fraud and vehicle theft.
• Processing payments, refunds and maintaining accounting records: performance of a contract and legal obligation.
• Handling complaints, claims and insurance matters: legitimate interests and legal claims.
• Improving our website and services through analytics: consent, where cookies are not strictly necessary.
• Sending service updates about your shipment: performance of a contract.
• Sending occasional news and offers to existing customers: legitimate interests, with an easy opt out in every message.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have considered your rights and concluded that our interests do not override them. You can ask for details of that assessment.

05. Quotation and booking forms

When you submit a quotation, contact or booking form on this website, the details you enter are transmitted securely to our email system so that our export desk can respond. Form submissions are delivered through a reputable transactional email provider acting as our processor. We do not use form data for automated decision making or profiling.

If you submit a form on behalf of someone else, such as the vehicle owner or consignee, please make sure they are aware of this policy.

06. Who we share data with

We share personal data only where necessary to perform the service, comply with the law or protect our rights. Recipients include:

• Shipping lines, airlines, hauliers, terminals, warehouses and packers who physically handle your goods.
• HM Revenue & Customs, Border Force, the DVLA and the customs and border authorities of the destination country.
• Our overseas agents and clearing brokers who handle import clearance and delivery.
• Insurers, loss adjusters and surveyors where insurance is arranged or a claim is made.
• Banks and payment processors handling your payments and refunds.
• IT, hosting, email and software providers acting on our instructions under written contracts.
• Professional advisers such as accountants, auditors and solicitors.
• Police and law enforcement agencies where required by law or to prevent crime.

07. International transfers

Because we ship worldwide, your data will often need to be transferred outside the United Kingdom, for example to a shipping line headquartered in Denmark, a customs authority in Australia or our agent in Ghana. Transfers to the destination of your shipment are generally necessary for the performance of your contract.

Where we transfer data to service providers outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as UK adequacy regulations, the International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. You can request a copy of the relevant safeguards by contacting us.

08. How long we keep your data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy:

• Enquiries that do not result in a booking: up to 24 months, so we can respond if you return.
• Booking, shipping and customs records: 6 years from the end of the financial year in which the shipment took place, to meet HMRC and Companies Act requirements.
• Records relating to claims or disputes: until the matter is resolved plus 6 years.
• Marketing preferences: until you unsubscribe, after which we retain a suppression record.
• Website analytics data: up to 26 months.

At the end of the retention period, data is securely deleted or anonymised.

09. How we protect your data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including encrypted connections (HTTPS) across this website, access controls limited to staff who need the information, multi factor authentication on business systems, secure storage of documents and confidentiality obligations on staff and contractors.

No transmission over the internet is completely secure. If we become aware of a personal data breach likely to result in a risk to you, we will notify you and the Information Commissioner's Office as required by law.

10. Your data protection rights

You have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• Right of access: to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: to have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected.
• Right to erasure: to have data deleted where there is no compelling reason to keep it.
• Right to restrict processing: to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to object: to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing.
• Right to data portability: to receive data you provided in a machine readable format.
• Right to withdraw consent: at any time, where we rely on consent.

To exercise any right, email info@shipcarsuk.co.uk. We will respond within one month and there is normally no charge. We may need to verify your identity first. Some rights are limited where we must retain data by law, for example customs records.

11. Marketing communications

We send marketing only to existing customers about similar services, or to people who have opted in. Every message contains an unsubscribe link, and you can also opt out by contacting us. Opting out of marketing does not affect service messages about an active shipment.

12. Children

Our services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with data, please contact us and we will delete it.

13. Complaints and the ICO

If you have concerns about how we handle your data, please contact us first so we can try to resolve them. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK supervisory authority, at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

14. Changes to this policy

We review this policy regularly and may update it to reflect changes in law, technology or our services. The latest version will always be published on this page with the date it was last updated. Significant changes will be notified to active customers by email.