Privacy Policy
Last updated: 17 June 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how OwnerCars collects, uses, and protects your personal data when you use our website and services at www.ownercars.co.uk ("the Service"). We are committed to protecting your privacy — it is at the heart of what OwnerCars does.
1. Who we are
OwnerCars is a UK private car marketplace that lets people sell their vehicles privately while keeping their personal contact details private.
The data controller responsible for your personal data is OwnerCars Limited (company number 17257243), with Ben Wheeler as the responsible data controller.
- Postal address: 128 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX
- Email: contact@ownercars.co.uk
We are registered with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a data controller.
2. What personal data we collect
Depending on how you use OwnerCars, we may collect:
Account information — your name, email address, and a password (which is stored only in encrypted/hashed form; we never see or store your password in plain text).
Location information — the postcode you provide. For sellers, we use this to display the nearest town to your vehicle publicly; your full postcode is never shown to other users. For buyers, we use your postcode to show you the approximate distance to vehicles. We derive approximate coordinates from your postcode for this purpose.
Vehicle information — details of the vehicle you list (make, model, year, mileage, price, photographs, description). If you use our registration lookup, we collect your vehicle registration number and retrieve vehicle and MOT history data from the DVSA. Your registration number is used only to populate your advert's details and is never displayed publicly on your advert.
Messages — messages you send and receive through our on-platform messaging system between buyers and sellers.
Documents — files you choose to upload and share through our Secure Vault feature.
Payment information — when you pay to publish an advert, payment is processed by our payment provider, Stripe. We do not collect or store your full card details; these are handled directly by Stripe. We retain a record that a payment was made.
Technical information — your IP address, browser type, and similar technical data, including for security purposes such as preventing abuse and rate-limiting.
3. How and why we use your data (legal bases)
Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing your data. We use your data as follows:
| What we do | Why | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Create and manage your account | To provide the Service you signed up for | Performance of a contract |
| Publish and display your advert | To deliver the listing service | Performance of a contract |
| Show nearest town / distance | To make listings useful while protecting your address | Legitimate interests |
| Enable buyer–seller messaging | To let you communicate about a sale | Performance of a contract |
| Retrieve vehicle/MOT data via DVSA | To help you complete your advert accurately | Legitimate interests / your request |
| Process payments | To take payment for publishing | Performance of a contract |
| Send service emails (confirmations, password resets, notifications) | To operate your account | Performance of a contract |
| Prevent fraud, abuse and secure the platform | To keep the Service safe | Legitimate interests / legal obligation |
| Keep financial records | Tax and accounting | Legal obligation |
We do not sell your personal data to anyone. We do not show third-party advertising that profiles you.
4. Who we share your data with
We use trusted third-party providers ("data processors") to run OwnerCars. They process data on our behalf, under contract, and only as needed to provide their service:
- Supabase — database, authentication, and secure file storage
- Vercel — website hosting
- Stripe — payment processing
- Resend — sending service emails
- DVSA — vehicle and MOT history lookup (we send a registration number; we receive vehicle data)
- Geocoding services (e.g. postcodes.io) — converting postcodes to approximate locations
Some of these providers may process data outside the UK. Where they do, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as UK adequacy regulations or standard contractual clauses) to protect your data.
We may also disclose data if required by law, to enforce our terms, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of OwnerCars or others.
What other users see: other users of OwnerCars can see the information in your public advert (vehicle details, photos, description, and the nearest town) and can message you through the platform. They cannot see your postcode, email address, phone number, registration number, or other contact details.
5. How long we keep your data
We keep personal data only as long as necessary:
- Account data — while your account is active; deleted within 30 days of account closure.
- Adverts — while live; removed within 12 months of the vehicle being sold or the advert being withdrawn.
- Messages — retained for up to 12 months to help resolve any disputes, then deleted.
- Secure Vault documents — deleted when the related advert is removed, or on your request.
- Vehicle registration and lookup data — deleted when the related advert is removed.
- Payment records — retained for 6 years to meet UK tax and accounting obligations.
6. Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you
- Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data
- Erase your data ("right to be forgotten"), subject to legal retention obligations
- Restrict or object to certain processing
- Data portability — receive your data in a portable format
- Withdraw consent where we rely on consent
To exercise any of these rights, email us at contact@ownercars.co.uk. We will respond within one month.
You also have the right to complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we handle your data: www.ico.org.uk / 0303 123 1113. We'd appreciate the chance to address your concern first.
7. Security
We take the security of your data seriously. Passwords are encrypted, documents in the Secure Vault are held in private storage, sensitive details such as your registration number and contact information are never exposed publicly, and access to data is restricted. However, no online service can be completely secure, and you share information with us at your own risk.
8. Cookies
We use a small number of essential cookies needed to operate the Service — for example, to keep you logged in. We do not currently use third-party advertising or analytics/tracking cookies. If this changes, we will update this policy and seek your consent where required.
9. Children
OwnerCars is not intended for use by anyone under 18, and we do not knowingly collect data from children.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version here with a revised "Last updated" date. Significant changes will be communicated where appropriate.
11. Contact us
For any questions about this policy or your personal data, contact:
OwnerCars Limited 128 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX Email: contact@ownercars.co.uk