Legal
Privacy Notice
How RMCMS Ltd collects, uses and protects personal data, and your UK GDPR rights.
Version 1.0 · effective 25/10/2026
Last updated: 25 October 2026
1. Who we are and what this notice covers
1.1 Trusted Garage Network is operated by RMCMS Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (we, us). We are the controller of the personal data described in this notice, and we are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
1.2 This notice explains how we collect and use personal data when you use trustedgaragenetwork.com, our apps, emails and related services (the Platform), whether you are a visitor, a registered motorist, or someone who works for or runs a garage.
1.3 We comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).
1.4 We never sell your personal data.
1.5 Contact. For any privacy question or to exercise your rights, email privacy@trustedgaragenetwork.com.
2. The personal data we collect
| Category | Examples | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity and contact | Name, email address, phone number, postcode | You |
| Account | Login details (passwords are stored hashed), preferences, verification status | You, us |
| Vehicle | Registration number, make, model, MOT and tax due dates, service history you add | You, DVSA, DVLA and licensed vehicle data providers |
| Booking Requests and messages | The work you need, preferred dates, messages with Verified Garages | You, garages |
| Reviews | Ratings, comments, proof of the job such as an invoice or job card | You |
| Garage business data | Business name, owner or director identity, trading address, insurance, accreditations, staff names or photos on profiles | Garages, Companies House, credit and identity check providers |
| Payments (garages) | Billing contact and subscription status; card details are held by Stripe, not by us | Garages, Stripe |
| Technical and usage | IP address, device and browser type, pages viewed, referring site, approximate location, cookie identifiers | Your device, cookies and analytics tools |
| Marketing preferences | Whether you have opted in or out, email open and click activity | You, our email provider |
| Support and complaints | Correspondence, complaint details, call notes | You, garages |
We do not intentionally collect special category data, such as health information. Please do not include it in reviews or messages.
3. How we use your data and our lawful bases
| Purpose | Lawful basis (UK GDPR Article 6) |
|---|---|
| Creating and running your account | Contract |
| Showing garages and offers relevant to your location and vehicles | Contract; legitimate interests (a useful, relevant service) |
| Sending your Booking Request to the Verified Garage you choose | Contract |
| MOT, tax and service reminders you switch on | Contract; you can switch them off at any time |
| Verifying and moderating reviews before publication, and calculating ratings | Legitimate interests (keeping reviews genuine); legal obligation (consumer protection law on fake reviews) |
| Vetting garages, including identity, insolvency and insurance checks | Legitimate interests (protecting motorists); contract with the garage |
| Billing garage memberships | Contract; legal obligation (tax and accounting records) |
| Preventing fraud, abuse and security incidents | Legitimate interests; legal obligation |
| Handling complaints and support requests | Contract; legitimate interests |
| Analytics to understand and improve the Platform | Consent (through our cookie banner) |
| Marketing emails and SMS about our services, including RepairMyCar.io | Consent for motorists; legitimate interests (soft opt-in) for garages and existing customers, with an unsubscribe link in every message |
| Personalised advertising and remarketing | Consent (through our cookie banner) |
| Meeting legal requests from courts, police or regulators | Legal obligation |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have balanced our interests against your rights. You can ask us for details of that assessment.
4. Who we share your data with
4.1 Verified Garages. When you send a Booking Request, we share your name, contact details, vehicle details and message with the Verified Garage you choose. When you leave a review, we share it with the garage concerned, with enough booking detail to identify the job. Each garage is an independent controller of the data it receives and has its own privacy obligations. We never share your details with unverified or unclaimed listings.
4.2 Service providers (processors) who act only on our instructions, under contracts requiring confidentiality and security:
- website and database hosting;
- Stripe, for garage payments;
- email and SMS delivery providers;
- analytics and advertising tools, only where you have given consent (see our Cookie Policy);
- identity, business and fraud-check providers used to vet garages;
- customer support and review moderation tools.
4.3 Vehicle data sources. When you add a vehicle, we send its registration number to the DVSA, DVLA or licensed vehicle data providers to retrieve vehicle and MOT information.
4.4 Our group. RMCMS Ltd also runs other services, such as RepairMyCar.io. We may use your data across these services where needed to run shared systems, but we will only send you marketing about them if you have agreed.
4.5 Legal and safety. We may disclose data to the police, courts, Trading Standards, the ICO or other authorities where the law requires it, or to protect the rights, property or safety of our users or others.
4.6 Business changes. If our business, or part of it, is sold or restructured, your data may transfer to the new owner, who must use it as this notice describes.
5. International transfers
We store data in the UK or the European Economic Area wherever possible. Some service providers, such as analytics and email platforms, may process data in other countries, including the United States. Where that happens, we make sure the transfer is protected by a UK adequacy regulation (including the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework), the ICO's International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum, or another lawful safeguard. You can ask us for details.
6. How long we keep your data
| Data | How long |
|---|---|
| Motorist account and vehicles | While your account is open, then deleted within 30 days of closure |
| Accounts inactive for 3 years | We email you first, then delete or anonymise the account |
| Booking Requests | 2 years from the request; garages see them in their dashboard for 30 days |
| Published reviews | While the review is live; reviewer shown by first name and surname initial only; anonymised if you close your account and ask us to |
| Proof of job submitted for review verification | 12 months after the review decision |
| Garage vetting records and membership | Length of membership plus 6 years |
| Billing and tax records | 6 years from the end of the financial year (legal requirement) |
| Complaints and support | 3 years after the matter is closed |
| Marketing preferences and opt-outs | Until you opt out; we keep a minimal suppression record so we do not contact you again |
| Analytics data | Up to 14 months |
| Security and server logs | Up to 90 days, unless needed to investigate an incident |
We may keep data longer where needed for a legal claim or a regulator's investigation.
7. Marketing, reminders and automated checks
7.1 Marketing. We send marketing only where you have agreed, or as the law allows for existing customers. Every message includes an unsubscribe link, and you can change your preferences in your account at any time. Unsubscribing from marketing does not stop service messages such as Booking Request confirmations.
7.2 Reminders. MOT, tax and service reminders are part of our service, not marketing. You choose which reminders you receive and can turn them off in your account.
7.3 Automated checks. We use automated tools to help spot fake reviews, fraud and spam. They flag content for human review. We do not make decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you based solely on automated processing.
8. Security
We protect your data with technical and organisational measures, including encryption in transit (HTTPS), hashed passwords, role-based access controls, regular backups, monitoring and staff confidentiality obligations. We review these measures as technology changes. No online service is completely secure, so please use a strong, unique password and tell us straight away at security@trustedgaragenetwork.com if you think your account has been compromised. If a breach is likely to put your rights at high risk, we will tell you and the ICO as the law requires.
9. Your rights and how to complain
You have the right to:
- access a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
- rectify data that is inaccurate or incomplete;
- erase your data in certain circumstances;
- restrict how we use your data;
- object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time;
- data portability, to receive data you gave us in a reusable format; and
- withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent. This does not affect processing already carried out.
To exercise any right, email privacy@trustedgaragenetwork.com. We may need to confirm your identity. We will respond within one month, which may be extended by two further months for complex requests. There is normally no charge.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, please contact us first so we can try to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
10. Children, links, changes and contact
10.1 Children. The Platform is for adults. You must be 18 or over to register, and we do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has given us data, contact us and we will delete it.
10.2 Other websites. Links to other websites, including garages' own sites, are covered by their privacy policies, not this one.
10.3 Changes. We may update this notice. We will tell registered users about significant changes by email or on the Platform, and show the date of the latest version at the top.
10.4 Contact. privacy@trustedgaragenetwork.com. Trusted Garage Network is operated by RMCMS Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales.
Version 1.0, effective 25 October 2026.