Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

TrueMotor is the trading name of Sheldon Simons, of 15 Elmcroft Crescent, London, NW11 9TB. For data-protection purposes, TrueMotor is the controller of the personal information described in this policy.

Contact us about privacy at hello@truemotor.co.uk. ICO registration reference: ZC264336.

2. Information we collect

• Vehicle-check information: the vehicle registration number you enter and the vehicle information returned for that check.
• Account information: email address, account identifier, display name where supplied, sign-in method and account-session information when you create or use an account.
• Saved reports and purchases: saved vehicle registrations, report summaries, report-balance and transaction records. Card details are handled by Stripe and are not stored by TrueMotor.
• Contact information: information you send to us by email or WhatsApp.
• Technical information: limited security and service information, such as browser, device and IP-address information held in server, hosting or provider logs.

3. How and why we use information

• To provide the vehicle checks, reports, saved-report features and account services you request.
• To take payment, administer report-bundle purchases and provide customer support.
• To protect the website, prevent misuse, investigate problems and improve service reliability.
• To meet legal, tax, accounting and record-keeping obligations, and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Our lawful bases are performance of a contract or steps taken at your request before a contract, our legitimate interests in operating a secure and reliable service, and legal obligations where applicable. We will ask for consent where the law requires it, including for non-essential cookies or direct marketing.

4. Vehicle data providers

Where a free vehicle check is offered, we may obtain MOT-history information from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) MOT History API and vehicle information from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) through official DVLA data services.

Where a paid report includes third-party vehicle-history information, we may send the registration number and, where required, the VIN to One Auto API and its data suppliers, including Experian. Reports that include Experian data will identify the relevant information as “Data provided by Experian”.

5. Companies that help us provide the service

We share information only where needed to provide the service, comply with law or protect our rights. This can include:

• Supabase for account authentication, saved reports and account data.
• Stripe for payment processing and payment-confirmation records.
• Google if you choose Google sign-in or accept optional Google Analytics.
• DVSA, DVLA, One Auto API and relevant data suppliers for the vehicle information you request.
• Hosting, security, email and technical-service providers that support TrueMotor.

Some of these providers may process information outside the UK. Where that happens, we will use an appropriate lawful transfer mechanism and safeguards required by UK data-protection law.

6. How long we keep information

• Free vehicle checks: displayed for the session and not saved by TrueMotor unless you choose to save a report or create an account.
• Paid reports bought without an account: kept securely for 90 days after the report is completed, so you can reopen it using your purchase link.
• Paid reports saved to an account: kept for up to three years after purchase. You can delete a saved report from your account earlier.
• Accounts and other saved reports: while your account remains open, then deleted or anonymised when no longer needed after a deletion request, unless we must keep a record for legal reasons.
• Payment and transaction records: up to six years after the end of the relevant financial year, where required for tax and accounting purposes.
• Support messages: up to 24 months after we resolve the request, unless a longer period is needed for a dispute or legal obligation.
• Security and service logs: normally up to 90 days, unless we need them longer to investigate misuse or a security incident.

7. Your rights and automated report summaries

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to ask for access to, correction of, deletion of, restriction of or objection to our use of your personal information, and to ask for a portable copy. You may also withdraw consent where we rely on it. Contact us at hello@truemotor.co.uk to make a request.

TrueMotor may automatically organise vehicle information into a report summary. It does not make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you.

You can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

8. Cookies, browser storage and analytics

We use browser storage that is necessary to keep an account session working securely. If you choose Google sign-in, Google may set cookies or use similar technologies as part of that sign-in service.

With your choice, we use Google Analytics to understand aggregated website use, such as pages viewed, scrolling, links selected and the device or browser used. We use this to improve TrueMotor. We do not use advertising cookies or use analytics to make decisions about you. Google Analytics is not loaded unless you select Accept analytics.

You can change or withdraw your choice at any time using the Cookie settings link in the footer. Analytics information is kept in Google Analytics according to the retention setting for our property and Google’s applicable terms.

9. Children

TrueMotor is not intended for children. Please do not provide personal information if you are under 16.

10. Dealer accounts and shared reports

For dealer enquiries and approval, we process the account email, business name, optional dealership logo and supplied business contact details. An authorised TrueMotor administrator links the existing account to a dealer profile. We use this information to administer the dealer arrangement and automatically personalise reports. The account login email is not published merely because it is used for approval; the business support email, phone number and address supplied for reports may be shown to recipients. Supply only details you are authorised to share.

We store the vehicle registration, report or free-check snapshot, dealer details and report link/code to provide a read-only copy to a buyer. For an approved dealer, a paid share is created when a report purchased using account balance completes; a free-check share is created when the dealer requests a PDF download. This is an exception to the usual session-only handling of unsaved free checks. We rely on the dealer contract and our legitimate interests in providing and securing report sharing.

The QR code, report code and web link allow access without a buyer account: anyone holding them may view the copy and business details. Buyers can enter the code through the View a report link in the header. Dealers should avoid publishing codes openly and must not include unnecessary buyer personal information. Changing a dealer profile may also change the contact details and logo shown on existing online copies.

Shared copies are accessible for up to 12 months from creation, unless withdrawn earlier for security, legal, data-quality or misuse reasons. Expiry ends online access; it does not necessarily delete underlying purchases, snapshots or records retained under section 6. Dealer profiles are retained while needed for the arrangement, shared-report support or legal claims, then deleted or anonymised when no longer required. Contact TrueMotor to request correction or removal of a shared copy. We cannot recall PDFs already downloaded by recipients.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as TrueMotor develops, including when new data sources or services are introduced. The latest version will always be available on this page, with the date of the latest update shown above. We will update this policy before starting a materially new use of personal information.