Privacy Policy
This policy explains what personal data Cousins Mechanical Services Ltd collects, why we collect it, and what rights you have under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
1. Who is responsible for your data
Cousins Mechanical Services Ltd is the data controller. We are registered in England & Wales, company number 16045339, registered office 7 Watton Park, Bridport, England, DT6 5NJ. For anything to do with your data, contact us at help@cousinsmechanicalservices.co.uk or on 01308 538046.
2. What we collect
We collect the details you give us when you book or create an account: your name, contact details (phone, email), your vehicle registration and details, the service address or location of the job, and any notes you send us about the work. If you book while signed in, we keep a record of your jobs so you can see them in your account. When you pay, the payment is handled by our card provider — we do not store full card numbers.
3. Why we use it, and our lawful basis
We use your data only to arrange, carry out and support the jobs you book. Our lawful bases are: performance of a contract (to quote, book and complete your job); legitimate interests (service messages about a job you have booked, keeping business records, preventing fraud and misuse); and consent (optional marketing messages, which you can withdraw at any time). Where the law requires it we also rely on legal obligation — for example keeping records for tax.
4. Messages we send you
If you book a job we may send you service messages by email and WhatsApp or SMS — booking confirmations, reminders the day before, and updates such as “your mechanic is on the way”. These are part of the service you asked for. Marketing messages are only ever sent with your explicit opt-in, and you can turn them off at any time in your account or by replying to ask us to stop.
5. Vehicle registration lookups
When you enter a registration or tyre size, we may look it up with UK vehicle data providers to identify the correct tyre fitment for your vehicle. This uses only the registration or size you provide.
6. Who we share it with
We never sell your data. We share it only with the suppliers who make the service work, each acting on our written instructions:
| Who | What they do for us | What they see | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare, Inc. | Hosts the website and stores our booking records | Everything you give us | UK/EU edge; US company |
| Resend (Plus Five Five, Inc.) | Sends booking confirmations and receipts | Name, email, job details | US |
| Twilio Inc. | Calls and text messages about your job | Name, mobile number, job details | US |
| Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd | WhatsApp job updates, where you use it | Mobile number, message content | EU/US |
| HubSpot, Inc. | Our customer records, and website analytics if you accept cookies | Name, email, phone, job history | EU data centre; US company |
| Google Ireland Ltd | The diary our jobs are booked into | Your first name, postcode, job type and time | EU/US |
| Stripe Payments Europe Ltd | Takes card payments, when you pay online | Your card details, which we never see or hold | EU/US |
| UK Vehicle Data | Looks up a registration you type in | The registration only | UK |
| Postcodes.io | Turns a map pin into a postcode | Approximate location only | UK |
We may also share your details with our own IT contractor, who maintains this system for us under a written data processing agreement.
6a. Sending data outside the UK
Some of the suppliers above are based in the United States. Where your data is transferred outside the UK we rely on the UK Government's adequacy regulations, or on the International Data Transfer Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, together with the supplier's own technical safeguards. You can ask us for a copy of the safeguards that apply to any particular transfer.
7. How long we keep it
We do not keep anything indefinitely. Our system deletes it automatically:
| What | How long | Why that long |
|---|---|---|
| Completed and cancelled jobs | 6 years | The period you could bring a claim about our work, and HMRC's record-keeping requirement |
| Your contact details, if you have no jobs on file | 3 years from your last contact | After that you are no longer a customer of ours |
| Messages between us | 2 years | The conversation about a job outlives the job briefly |
| Our security and activity logs | 12 months | Long enough to investigate a problem, not a permanent record |
| Marketing contact details | Until you unsubscribe | We stop the moment you tell us to |
An open job is never deleted on a timer, however old it is. You can ask us to erase your data sooner at any time — see section 8.
8. Your rights
You have the right to access, correct, export or erase the data we hold about you, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to withdraw consent for marketing at any time. If you have an account you can use Download my data and Delete my account in your account area to do this yourself, immediately. Otherwise contact us and we will action your request within one month.
8a. Automated decisions
We do not make any decision about you by automated means alone, and we do not profile you. Prices shown on the site are worked out from the tyre you choose and our standard margins — they are the same for everyone and are not personalised to you.
9. Cookies
Our website uses only the storage needed to make the site work and to keep you signed in. See our Cookie Policy for details.
10. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, please contact us first and we will try to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Last updated: 16 August 2026. Cousins Mechanical Services Ltd, registered in England & Wales no. 16045339, 7 Watton Park, Bridport, England, DT6 5NJ.