Privacy Policy

Who We Are

This website is operated by [Your Registered Company Name], trading as Car Audio Shop, a company registered in England and Wales under company number [Company Number], with its registered office at [Registered Address, Town, Postcode].

For the purposes of UK data protection law we are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy. That means we decide what is collected and why, and we are responsible for keeping it safe.

Our registration with the Information Commissioner's Office is [ICO Registration Number]. You can ask us anything about this policy by emailing privacy@caraudioshop.co.uk.

Information We Collect

We collect different information depending on how you use the site. In every case we only ask for what the task actually requires.

When you place an order

• Your name, billing address and delivery address
• Your email address and phone number, so we can send confirmations and the courier can reach you
• What you bought, when, and how much you paid
• Vehicle details you choose to give us, so we can check fitment

We do not see or store your full card number. Payments are handled entirely by our payment providers, and we only receive confirmation that a payment succeeded plus the last four digits for reference.

When you create an account

• Your name, email address and a password, which is stored encrypted and cannot be read by us
• Your saved addresses and order history
• Any wishlist items you save

When you contact us

• Your name, email address and phone number if you provide one
• Your vehicle details and the content of your message
• Any photos or documents you send us

Automatically, when you browse

• Your IP address, browser type and device type
• Pages you visited, how you arrived and how long you stayed
• Cookie identifiers, covered in section nine

We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will remove it.

Why We Use Your Information

Under UK GDPR we have to have a lawful basis for everything we do with your data. This table sets out ours.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have considered whether our reason outweighs your privacy and concluded it does. You can object to this at any time, and we will stop unless we have a compelling reason not to.

Marketing And Email

We only send marketing emails to people who asked for them. Ticking a newsletter box, or agreeing at checkout, counts as asking. Sending us a question through the contact form does not, and we will not add you to a list because you bought something once.

Every marketing email has an unsubscribe link that works immediately. You can also email us and we will remove you by hand. Unsubscribing from marketing does not stop order confirmations, dispatch notices or replies to your questions, because those are part of the service rather than advertising.

Who We Share Information With

We do not sell your personal information to anyone, ever. We share it only with the companies that make the shop function, and only with the minimum they need to do their job.

We may also disclose information where the law requires it, for example to HMRC, a court, or the police responding to a valid request. We will not hand over your data on an informal request without a proper legal basis.

Where Your Data Is Stored

We keep your data within the UK and the European Economic Area wherever we can. Some of the services listed above operate outside that area, which means your information may be transferred internationally.

When that happens we make sure the transfer is protected by one of the safeguards UK law recognises, normally an adequacy decision by the UK government or the International Data Transfer Agreement. If you want to know exactly where a particular service stores data, ask us and we will tell you.

How Long We Keep It

We do not keep personal information for longer than we need it. In practice that means:

When a period ends we delete the data or anonymise it so it can no longer identify you.

How We Keep It Secure

• The whole site runs over an encrypted HTTPS connection
• Passwords are stored hashed, so nobody here can read yours
• Card details never touch our servers. Payment providers handle them directly
• Access to customer data is limited to people who need it to do their job
• Software and plugins are kept up to date, and backups are taken regularly

No system is perfect and anyone claiming otherwise is overselling. If a breach happens that puts your rights at risk, we will tell the ICO within 72 hours and contact you directly where the law requires it.

Cookies

Cookies are small files stored by your browser. Some are needed for the site to work at all. Others are optional and only set if you agree through the cookie banner.

You can change your mind at any time through the cookie settings link in the footer, or by clearing cookies in your browser. Blocking strictly necessary cookies will stop the basket and checkout working.

Your Rights

UK data protection law gives you the following rights. Using any of them is free and we will respond within one month.

To use any of these, email privacy@caraudioshop.co.uk. We may ask you to confirm who you are first, so we do not hand your data to someone else.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, tell us first. Most problems are a misunderstanding and we would rather fix it quickly than have it escalate.

If we cannot resolve it, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK regulator for data protection. You can reach them at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113. Complaining to the ICO does not cost anything and does not affect your rights against us.

Changes To This Policy

We update this policy when the law changes or when we start using a new service. The date at the top always shows the current version. If a change materially affects how we use your data, we will make it obvious rather than quietly editing the page.