Privacy Policy

1st Auto Clear ("we", "us", or "our") operates the website at https://1stautoclear.co.uk and provides scrap car collection services across London and the South East of England.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and what rights you have regarding your data. We are committed to handling your personal information responsibly and in full compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Please read this policy carefully. If you have any questions, contact us at info@1stautoclear.co.uk.

We collect the following categories of personal data:

We do not collect sensitive personal data (such as health information or financial account details beyond what is strictly necessary to process payments).

We use your personal data to:

• Respond to your enquiry and provide a quote for your vehicle
• Arrange and confirm vehicle collection
• Process payment and issue receipts
• Complete DVLA notification and issue a Certificate of Destruction
• Send service-related communications (booking confirmations, collection reminders)
• Handle customer service queries and complaints
• Maintain records required by law (including Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 compliance)
• Improve our website and services through anonymised analytics
• Detect and prevent fraud or misuse of our services

We will not use your data for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects without your explicit consent.

We process your personal data under the following legal bases:

• Contract performance: Processing necessary to provide the services you have requested, including responding to enquiries, arranging collection, and processing payment.
• Legal obligation: Processing required to comply with our legal obligations, including Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 record-keeping requirements and DVLA notification obligations.
• Legitimate interests: Processing necessary for our legitimate business interests, including fraud prevention, service improvement, and business analytics — where these interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Consent: Where we have obtained your specific consent, such as for optional marketing communications.

We may share your personal data with:

• Service providers: Third-party providers who assist us in operating our business, including email delivery (Resend), SMS notifications (Twilio), cloud infrastructure (Vercel, Supabase), and photo storage. These providers process data only on our instructions and are bound by data processing agreements.
• Google LLC (Google Analytics): Processes anonymised website usage data on our behalf when you consent to analytics cookies. Google's privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy.
• DVLA: Vehicle registration details shared as required by law for change-of-keeper notification when vehicles are scrapped.
• Environment Agency: Compliance data as required for ATF licence obligations.
• Law enforcement or regulatory bodies: Where required by law or to protect our legal rights.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We do not share your data with advertisers or data brokers.

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, or as required by law:

• Enquiry data (no collection completed): 12 months from last contact
• Transaction records (completed collections): 7 years, to comply with Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 and HMRC requirements
• Account data: for the duration of your account plus 3 years after closure
• Vehicle photographs: 12 months from collection date, unless required longer for a specific legal purpose
• Server logs: 90 days

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted or anonymised.

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• Right of access: To request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: To have inaccurate data corrected.
• Right to erasure: To request deletion of your data, subject to legal retention obligations.
• Right to restrict processing: To limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability: To receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to object: To object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, to withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@1stautoclear.co.uk. We will respond within one month.

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

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies. We use:

• Essential cookies: Required for the website to function, including session management and security (Cloudflare Turnstile bot protection). These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies: We use Google Analytics 4, provided by Google LLC, to understand how visitors use our website on an anonymised basis. Analytics cookies are only set after you give explicit consent via our cookie banner. They are never loaded by default.

Essential cookies are set without consent because they are strictly necessary for the site to function. Analytics cookies require your explicit opt-in before any tracking takes place. You can change your cookie preferences at any time via the cookie banner or your browser settings.

For full details, see our Cookie Policy.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the revised policy on this page with an updated effective date. For significant changes, we will notify you by email if we hold your contact details. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

For any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us: