­­­Privacy Notice

At Hatfields, your privacy is important to us, and this privacy notice explains what personal data we collect from you, how and why we use it, and how you can correct any inaccuracies.

We take your privacy seriously and are fully committed to adhering to the guidelines published in the United Kingdom Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Act 2018, which is applicable from the 25th May 2018.

You can contact us in relation to your privacy and this notice by emailing [email protected] or writing to us at Data Manager, Hatfields, Columbus Quay, Riverside Drive, Liverpool, Merseyside L3 4ED.

 

What data we collect

Hatfields collects data from you both directly, when you send us an enquiry online, over the phone or in one of our dealerships, and indirectly, for example interacting with our website. We may also obtain data from third parties.

The data we collect varies on the interactions you make with us and the products you purchase.  This data may include:

  • Name & contact information – e.g. First & last name, email address, mailing address, phone number and permission on how we use these to contact you
  • Financial data – e.g. Your date of birth, proof of identification, residence and income
  • Payment data – e.g. Your payment instrument number (for example credit card number) and the security code associated with your payment. These details are handled by a payment provider and we never store your payment information
  • Behavioural data – e.g. how you use our online products and services, information from communications sent between us such as emails & phone calls, the devices and technology you use to access our online service and the location you access it from
  • Vehicle data – e.g. Your vehicles servicing & MOT history, registration number, VIN and registration date
  • Legally required data – e.g. A copy of your driving licence when using a courtesy car in case of any motoring offences, you and your vehicle may be present on CCTV recordings from visits to our dealerships

We also collect information you provide to us and the content of any messages you send to us electronically, by post and over the telephone.  Any phone conversations may be monitored and recorded. We may monitor, record, store and use any telephone, email or other communication with you in order to check any instructions given to us, for training purposes, for crime prevention and to improve the quality of our customer service.

When you use our website, we may record how you use our site to help us improve the online service we provide to you.

 

How we collect your data

Data you give to us:

  • When you request information about one of our products or services
  • When you speak to us over the phone or in one of our dealerships
  • When you contact us via our website, social media or via our webchat
  • From emails, letters and SMS
  • From financial account reviews if you have any financial products with us
  • When you participate in competitions or promotions
  • When you participate in surveys or give us feedback

Data when you use our services:

  • Payment and transactional data
  • Profile and usage data, including how you use our online services such as our website, online tools, emails and social media

Data from third parties:

  • Companies who introduce you to us e.g. vehicle advertising platforms
  • Insurers
  • Social networks
  • Government agencies
  • Finance Houses
  • Search Engines

 

How we use your data

We use this to provide you with the best experience we can, including using your data to make sure we are providing you with information that is relevant and specific to you and your vehicle.  We may use your information to contact you about new products which may be of interest as well as safety and maintenance information, and to show you more relevant advertising using 3rd party platforms.

We have three basic uses for your information

  • To provide you with the products you purchase from us and to operate our business
  • To communicate with you electronically, letter, SMS and phone
  • To show relevant advertisements to you in products offered by 3rd parties

Providing our products – We use your data to provide you with products, such as vehicles, servicing and repairs to your vehicle and offer financial services.  We require this data to meet the legal requirements for providing you with these products and services.  We also use your data to offer you high levels of customer service and support.  We use data to develop aggregated analysis and intelligence that enable us to operate, protect, make informed decisions and report on the performance of our business.

Communications – We use data we collect from you to communicate with you and personalise these communications to make them relevant to you.  We may contact you by phone, email, letter or SMS to inform you of any safety or maintenance work which is due or overdue on your vehicle, to provide you with information relevant to you and your current vehicle, to update you regarding your vehicle status, to give you information which you have requested, to request feedback about a service you have received from us or to let you know when a contract for a product or service you have purchased from us is ending.

Advertising – We may use data which we collect in your interactions with us, and some 3rd party services to show advertising.  For example:

When you visit our website, your browser stores a unique identifier in a cookie, which is then used by 3rd parties such as Google or Bing to show you adverts relevant to the products or services you have viewed on our site.  We may also share this data with third parties, such as Facebook so that they can deliver our advertisements to you within their platform.

The ads that you see may also be based on data we process about you, such as your previous transactions with us, search queries or the content you view.  We will hold indirectly obtained data for advertising purposes.  We may share reports with the third parties we use for advertising on the performance of the campaign, but this is aggregated and will never contain personally identifiable data.

 

What lawful ground do we rely on to use your data?

There are different lawful grounds we rely on to use and collect your personal information, including Contract, Legitimate Interests, Legal or Regulatory Obligations, Vital Interests and Consent.

Contract – When the use of your personal data is needed to perform our obligations of a contract we have with you, or to take steps you request before entering into a contract.  This could include entry into a competition or contracts for services we broker or directly provide to you.

Legitimate Interest – We may use your data to fulfil our legitimate business interests where we have ensured your information and your rights to that information have been protected.  Some examples of this may include using your data to understand our products, services and marketing activity and take steps to improve them; to identify products and services which are likely to be of interest to you and share these offers and information with you; to personalise your experience both online and within our dealerships; to communicate important safety information to you and to detect or prevent fraud, security, safety or privacy issues.

Legal or Regulatory Obligations – Where we believe it necessary we may use your information to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation we must meet.  This could be information from an accident report for Health and Safety records or for taxation and auditing purposes.

Consent – We will rely on your consent to collect information from you such as cookie information and to send you promotional messages.  For instances where we require your consent to use your data you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

Retention Periods

Our data retention periods are reviewed regularly, and we only hold your personal information if deemed necessary for the required use, to meet legal requirements or as stated in any contract we have in place with you.  View our retention periods ­here.

How we share your data

We only share your personal data when it is necessary for us to provide you with a product you have requested or purchased.  We may also share data with companies working on our behalf or when it is required by law.  We never sell or rent your data to third parties.

When you purchase a product or service from us where we act as a broker or franchisee we will share your data with the manufacturer or service provider to enable them to provide it to you.

View the latest list of who we share your data with here.

If your enquiry leads to the purchase of a new car for the purposes of warranty, registration & safety compliance we will share this information with the relevant manufacturer.

We may also share your data with companies we use as agents, for example to provide customer service support or to assist us with protecting, cleansing, managing and securing our systems and databases.  They must abide by this data privacy notice and are not allowed to use the personal data they receive from us for any other purposes.

We will only transfer or disclose your personal data in the following circumstances:

  • If we sell any of our business, we may disclose your personal information to the prospective buyer of the relevant business
  • In the event of a duty of disclosure due to compliance with legal obligations
  • To enforce or to comply with our terms and conditions of use for non-compliance
  • For the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction

Social Networks & External Websites

Our websites may offer you the opportunity to share or follow information about Hatfields using third party social networking functionality such as ‘share’, ‘like’ or ‘follow’ buttons. Our website may also contain links to and from the websites of our partner networks and manufacturers.

We offer you various social media functionality options to generate interest towards our services among members of your social networks and to give you easy access to new information about us and our products.  You should be aware that sharing personal information within a social network may result in the data being collected by the provider of that social network, this could result in your information becoming publicly available in internet search engine results.

In the event you follow any links to social media or other external links, these websites will have their own privacy policies and we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these.  We would always advise you check those policies before submitting any information to those websites.

Cookies

We use cookies and other similar technology to provide you with our website and other online services and to collect data.  Cookies are small text files which allow us to store your preferences, provide relevant advertising and analyse how our website and online services are performing.

We use cookies and other similar technologies for several purposes, including:

Storing your preferences – This enables us to maintain your preferences over time and make your experience on our site more relevant.  For example, if you enter your location information to show vehicles closest to you we will store this, so you will still see relevant information when you return to the website.

Security – We use cookies to protect against malicious activity.

Efficiency – This helps us to find out what the website doesn’t do well to make improvements and to make features that you use more efficient.

Analytics – We use these to gather usage and performance data, for example counting how many unique visitors have visited a web page.  This data is aggregated and there is no personal identifiable data.

You can at any time refuse the use of cookies by updating your browser settings.  We would suggest that cookies are accepted to improve your experience on our website as you will not be able to use all features on our site without them.

These features are not limited to but may include:

  • Customisation of website layout & content
  • Remembering your preferences and settings (i.e. if you have specified you only wish to see vehicles with images this setting will not be remembered when you return to the website)
  • Recognition of devices, reducing the need to provide the same information on multiple visits to the site
  • Identification of errors for resolution
  • Identification of what is relevant to you and your needs
  • The use of our live chat feature

View our cookie policy here.

Security

We are committed to protecting the security of your personal information using a variety of security technologies and procedures.  We demonstrate our commitment to cyber security, and ultimately protecting your data.

We will do everything within our power to keep your information safe, however data transmission via the Internet is not completely secure therefore we cannot guarantee the security of your data in transit.  Once we have received your information we will use clear policies and procedures to protect your data from unauthorised access, use or disclosure.  We will never ask you to email sensitive information such as password details.

If you suspect you are a victim of fraud, please report this to the police through ‘Action Fraud’ via the website www.actionfraudpolice.co.uk or by calling 03001 232 040.  We would also advise you contact the Information and Commissioners Office (ICO) via the website www.ico.gov.uk.

We store your data on secure, protected servers inside the EU.  Most of our partner networks are mainly based inside the EU but some may be based outside and these countries may have different data protection rules.  We will take measures to ensure that any such transfers comply with applicable data protection laws and that your data remains protected to the standards described within this privacy notice.  You can read about the EU e-privacy Directive and the UK’s Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 at www.ico.gov.uk.

The EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Frameworks were designed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the European Commission and Swiss Administration to provide companies on both sides of the Atlantic with a mechanism to comply with data protection requirements when transferring personal data from the European Union and Switzerland to the United States in support of transatlantic commerce. Learn more at www.privacyshield.gov/welcome.

How to access and control your data

You can request a copy of the information we hold on you at any time and make choices about how we collect and use your data, including what information we hold about you and your communication preferences.

If you wish to request a copy of the information we hold about you, you can email us at [email protected] or send a written request to: Data Manager, Hatfields, Columbus Quay, Riverside Drive, Liverpool, Merseyside L3 4ED.

We will respond to requests to access or delete data within 30 days.  If you are concerned we are not using your data in accordance with these processes and not meeting our legal obligations or you are not satisfied with our response to your data request you can refer to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) www.ico.gov.uk.

You can choose whether you wish to receive communications from us by phone, email, SMS or post at any time.  If you receive an email or SMS and wish to unsubscribe you can follow the directions in the message. This does not apply to mandatory communications which are part of the service we provide to you or important safety information regarding your vehicle.

You can control your cookie settings within your browser, the following links give more information on how to do this – Chrome,  Internet ExplorerFirefox and Safari.

This privacy notice may be updated at any time so we recommend you review it regularly.