Privacy Policy
Who is responsible for your information
Engine Finders UK Ltd is the controller responsible for personal information processed through EngineCode.uk, except where this policy identifies another organisation acting as a separate controller. We are registered in England and Wales under company number 13157944. Our registered office is 113 Park Road, Ilford, England, IG1 1SQ.
For privacy questions or rights requests, email privacy@enginefinders.co.uk or write to our registered office, marked “Privacy — EngineCode”. Engine Finders UK Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under registration reference ZC271494.
This policy covers visits to EngineCode.uk, vehicle lookups, replacement-engine enquiries, reports and messages sent to us. Other websites and suppliers may have their own privacy notices. The fact that a website is connected with us does not automatically make its processing identical to ours.
Information we use and where it comes from
Depending on how you use the site, we process:
- Technical visit information, such as IP address, browser/device information, request times, pages requested and security logs, generated when your device connects to our services.
- Cookie and preference information described in the Cookie Policy.
- A vehicle registration you enter and vehicle details returned by our lookup provider, or make, model, year and engine information you enter manually.
- Enquiry information you submit, including your name, contact details, postcode, vehicle details, requested service and relevant notes.
- Reports, complaints and correspondence, including a page URL, the issue reported, supporting information and optional contact details.
- Records of enquiry routing and follow-up needed to operate the service, respond to your requests and investigate problems.
Please avoid sending payment details, identity documents or unrelated sensitive information through enquiry or correction forms. We do not need these to identify a website error or receive an initial engine enquiry.
Vehicle lookup arrangements: When you enter a registration number, it is transmitted to our vehicle data partner to retrieve standard vehicle details (make, model, engine code). This lookup step does not share your data with suppliers.
Purposes and legal bases
We use information for the following purposes. A legal basis applies to a particular use, not automatically to everything we might do with the same information.
| Purpose | Information involved | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Provide a lookup and handle an enquiry you request, including matching and sending it to relevant participating suppliers | Vehicle, contact, location and enquiry details | Taking steps at your request before entering into a contract, or performing our enquiry-service contract with you, where necessary for that service |
| Respond to technical reports, general questions and complaints | Report/message and contact information | Our legitimate interests in maintaining accurate information, resolving problems and operating a responsible service; where a specific legal duty applies, compliance with that duty |
| Maintain service security and investigate misuse | Technical logs, relevant communications and enquiry records | Our legitimate interests in protecting users, systems and the service |
| Meet applicable legal duties and handle legal claims | Relevant records required for the particular obligation or claim | Compliance with a legal obligation where applicable; otherwise legitimate interests in establishing, exercising or defending legal claims |
| Store or access information through optional analytics or advertising technologies under our selected consent-based design | Information listed in our Cookie Policy | Consent, where those technologies are offered and you choose them |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the impact on your rights and use information only where those interests are not overridden by your interests or fundamental rights. You can object to processing based on legitimate interests.
We do not treat submitting a correction report as permission to market to you. An enquiry requests responses about that enquiry; it does not provide blanket permission for unrelated marketing. If we introduce an optional marketing subscription, we will explain it separately and provide the necessary choice and unsubscribe route.
Vehicle lookup and supplier enquiries
Entering vehicle details allows you to identify the vehicle and prepare an enquiry. Under our enquiry journey, a lookup alone does not send an enquiry to suppliers. You can review the details before choosing whether to submit.
When you send an enquiry, we share the contact, vehicle and requirement details needed for relevant participating suppliers to respond. Up to 12 participating suppliers may receive your enquiry and contact you about it. These suppliers are generally responsible for their own use of information to respond, prepare offers and provide services; their own privacy information applies to that processing. You can ask us which suppliers received your enquiry.
Our service is commercially operated. Suppliers pay a subscription or fee to participate on the network and receive quote requests. You do not pay a fee to submit an enquiry or receive quotes. The Ownership and Commercial Disclosure explains this relationship. Commercial arrangements do not remove our responsibility to explain and justify how we share personal information.
We do not send reports about content accuracy or accessibility to engine suppliers as sales leads.
Service providers, other recipients and international transfers
We use service providers to operate the website and enquiry handling. They may process information on our behalf under appropriate arrangements; some providers or recipients may act as separate controllers for particular activities. We may also disclose relevant information where required by law or necessary to handle a legal claim.
The providers/recipient categories, roles, processing locations and transfer arrangements applying to this service are:
| Provider (legal/trading name) | Role (service provider / separate controller) | What it does | Information involved | Where processed | Safeguard for any transfer outside the UK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vercel Inc. | Service provider (processor) | Hosts the website and serverless application functions | Technical logs, IP addresses, temporary request payloads | United States, European Union, United Kingdom | UK International Data Transfer Addendum / Standard Contractual Clauses |
| Supabase, Inc. | Service provider (processor) | Database hosting and enquiry webhook management | Contact and vehicle details, submission records | AWS London region (eu-west-2), United Kingdom | Processed within the UK |
| Google LLC (Google Workspace / Gmail SMTP) | Service provider (processor) | Delivers transactional emails, issue reports and notifications | Name, email address, message and report content | United States and global data centres | UK International Data Transfer Addendum / Standard Contractual Clauses |
| Check Car Details Ltd | Service provider (processor) | Vehicle registration (VRM) technical data lookup | Vehicle registration number (ephemeral, not persisted after lookup) | United Kingdom | Processed within the UK |
| ClickRank AI | Service provider (processor) | Search visibility and site indexing performance | Technical usage data, device and browser signals (strictly necessary storage) | United States / European Union | Standard Contractual Clauses |
| Google LLC (Google Analytics 4) | Service provider (processor) | Measures website usage (optional; active only after affirmative consent) | Device identifiers, client ID, page interactions, country-level geography | United States and global data centres | Consent mechanism; UK International Data Transfer Addendum |
| Participating engine suppliers (up to 12 per enquiry) | Separate controllers | Prepare quotes, contact you, and supply or fit replacement engines | Name, telephone number, email, UK delivery postcode, vehicle details, requirement notes | United Kingdom | Their own privacy notices apply to their processing as separate data controllers |
The information above explains any international transfers and the safeguards used where required. You can contact us for further information about those arrangements.
How long information is kept
We retain information for the purpose for which it is needed, applying the periods below. Documented legal obligations, disputes or security investigations may require particular records to be kept longer; access is restricted and the exception is reviewed.
| Record | Retention period / deletion rule |
|---|---|
| Submitted enquiries, routing and associated communications | Up to 3 years after your last interaction with us, so that we can deal with complaints, disputes and legal claims, then deleted or anonymised. Anonymised data may be kept for analysis. Suppliers who receive an enquiry apply their own retention policies as separate controllers. |
| Lookups and incomplete or abandoned form information | Vehicle registration lookups and partially completed forms are not retained unless you complete and submit the enquiry form. |
| Reports, complaints and related correspondence | Up to 3 years after the case is closed, then deleted or anonymised. Public correction notes contain no personal details and may be kept. |
| Technical and security logs | Server and security logs are retained for 90 days for network security, diagnostics, and fraud prevention. |
| Cookie choices and consent records | 12 months. |
Suppliers who receive an enquiry apply their own retention policies as separate controllers. We can help you identify the relevant recipient; deleting our record does not automatically delete theirs.
Children
The reference content on EngineCode.uk is not directed at children, and the enquiry service is for adults aged 18 or over. We do not knowingly collect enquiry information from children. If you believe a child has submitted an enquiry, contact privacy@enginefinders.co.uk and we will review it.
Visitors outside the UK
Engine Finders UK Ltd is a UK company and this policy is written for UK data-protection law. If you are outside the UK you can still read the reference content without giving us any personal information. The enquiry service is intended for vehicles in the UK with UK delivery or fitting addresses, and we may not be able to act on an enquiry from outside the UK. Any transfer of information outside the UK is explained in the section on service providers and international transfers above.
Your choices and rights
Providing enquiry details is optional, but we cannot send or match an enquiry without the information marked as necessary for that service. You can read the reference content without submitting an enquiry. Where manual vehicle entry is offered, you can use it instead of a registration lookup.
Depending on the circumstances, you may request access to your personal information, correction, erasure, restriction or portability. You may object to processing based on legitimate interests and to direct marketing. Where processing relies on consent, you can withdraw it without affecting processing that was lawful before withdrawal. Cookie choices can be changed through Cookie settings.
We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that have legal or similarly significant effects.
Contact privacy@enginefinders.co.uk to exercise these rights. We may need proportionate information to confirm your identity or understand the request. We normally respond to rights requests within one month; where the law permits an extension or other exception, we will explain it. Rights are subject to the conditions and exemptions set out in law.
Privacy complaints
Please contact privacy@enginefinders.co.uk if you are concerned about our use of your information. We acknowledge data-protection complaints within 30 days, investigate without undue delay, keep you informed and explain the outcome. This acknowledgment period is separate from the timescale for a rights request.
You can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk. Our Complaints Procedure explains how to raise concerns with us. Using our procedure does not remove your right to contact the regulator.
Changes
We update this policy when processing or relevant requirements change. The date at the top identifies the version. Where a material change requires an additional notice or choice, we will provide it rather than relying only on a silent policy update.