Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Venture Marketing North West Ltd ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you use the website pcpcarclaims.uk (the "Site") or engage with the "PCP Car Claims" service.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), and the Financial Conduct Authority's rules for claims management companies.

Data controller:

• Venture Marketing North West Ltd
• Registered office: 11 Burscough Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 2XE
• Company No. 10608067
• FCA Registration No. 838123
• ICO Registration No. ZC009231
• "PCP Car Claims" is a trading name of Venture Marketing North West Ltd.

We may collect and process the following categories of personal information:

• Identity data: full name, date of birth, title, gender.
• Contact data: postal address (including previous addresses going back six years), email address, telephone numbers.
• Finance data: details of vehicles you have financed, lender names, agreement dates, agreement reference numbers (where known), and other information needed to identify mis-sold motor finance agreements.
• Credit reference data: results of a soft credit search carried out (with your consent) by Locksley Law via Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, Valid8, or TAL Marketing to help locate your historic finance agreements.
• Technical data: IP address, browser type and version, device identifier, time zone setting, operating system, and other technology on the devices you use to access the Site.
• Usage data: pages viewed, links clicked, referral source, and other information about how you interact with the Site.
• Marketing and communications data: your preferences in receiving marketing from us and your communication preferences.
• Claim data: all information you provide as part of your claim, including any documentation, correspondence, and case notes.

We collect information directly from you when you complete the online form on the Site, contact us by phone, email, post, or live chat, respond to marketing communications, or provide feedback or contact us regarding a complaint.

We also receive information from third parties, including credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, Valid8, TAL Marketing) where you have consented to a soft search; lenders, brokers, and motor dealers when investigating your historic agreements; our solicitor partner Locksley Law (RH Law Ltd) in connection with the progress of your claim; marketing, lead-generation, and advertising platforms; and analytics providers (for example Google Analytics or Meta) about your interaction with our Site.

We process your personal data on one or more of the following lawful bases under Article 6 of the UK GDPR:

• Consent: where you have given clear, freely given, informed consent. For example, for soft credit checks, marketing communications, and the placing of non-essential cookies.
• Contract: where processing is necessary to perform our claims handling service for you, or to take steps at your request before entering into such an agreement.
• Legal obligation: where we must process data to comply with FCA rules, anti-money-laundering requirements, complaints handling rules (DISP), tax law, and other legal obligations.
• Legitimate interests: where we have a legitimate business interest in processing your data and that interest is not overridden by your rights and freedoms. For example, fraud prevention, network and information security, internal record-keeping, and certain analytics.

For any "special category" data (such as health information you may volunteer in support of your claim), we will rely on Article 9(2)(a) of the UK GDPR (explicit consent) or, where applicable, Article 9(2)(f) (establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims).

We use your personal data to:

• Verify your identity and the information you have provided.
• Check whether you are likely to have a valid claim against a lender, broker, or motor dealer.
• Carry out (with your consent) soft credit searches to identify historic finance agreements.
• Refer your case, where suitable, to our solicitor partner Locksley Law.
• Communicate with you about your claim, including updates and outcomes.
• Handle any complaints you may make.
• Comply with our regulatory obligations to the FCA, the Financial Ombudsman Service, the SRA (in respect of our solicitor partner), and HMRC.
• Detect and prevent fraud, money laundering, and other crime.
• Send you marketing communications about our services where you have not opted out (you may opt out at any time).
• Improve our Site and our services through analytics.
• Defend, establish, or exercise legal claims.

We share your personal data with the following categories of recipient:

• Locksley Law (a trading style of RH Law Ltd, SRA No. 659355, ICO No. ZA567603): our solicitor partner, who will progress your claim if you ask us to refer it.
• Credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, Valid8, TAL Marketing, to perform soft searches with your consent.
• Lenders, brokers, motor dealers, and their representatives: to investigate and pursue your claim.
• The Financial Conduct Authority, the Financial Ombudsman Service, and other regulators: where required for compliance, complaints handling, or redress scheme administration.
• HMRC and other government bodies: where legally required.
• Service providers and processors: IT hosting, CRM platforms, telephony, email delivery, SMS providers, cloud storage, and analytics (each acting under a written data-processing agreement).
• Professional advisers: auditors, lawyers, accountants, and consultants where necessary.
• Successor entities: in the event of a sale, merger, or restructuring of our business.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

If you ask us to help locate your historic finance agreements, Locksley Law (acting on your behalf) may request an Electronic Credit Report from one or more of: Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, Valid8, or TAL Marketing. This is a soft search. It will leave a "soft footprint" on your credit file that is only visible to you. It will not be visible to other lenders and will not affect your credit score.

You will see specific consent wording explaining this before any soft search is carried out.

Most of your personal data is stored and processed within the United Kingdom. Where any of our processors or partners store data outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or an adequacy decision under UK data protection law.

We keep your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

• Unsuccessful enquiries (no claim progressed): up to 12 months from your last interaction.
• Active or completed claims: at least 6 years from the conclusion of the claim, in line with FCA and SRA record-keeping requirements.
• Marketing preferences and opt-outs: retained on a suppression list indefinitely so we can honour your opt-out.
• Complaints records: at least 6 years.
• Financial records: at least 7 years for tax and audit purposes.

After these periods, we will securely delete or anonymise your data.

Under UK data protection law, you have the following rights:

• Right of access: to obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: to have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected.
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"): to have your data deleted in certain circumstances.
• Right to restriction of processing: to limit how we use your data.
• Right to data portability: to receive your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
• Right to object: to processing carried out on the basis of legitimate interests, including profiling.
• Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent, at any time, without affecting prior processing.
• Rights in relation to automated decision-making: though we do not currently use automated decisions producing legal effects on you.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in section 13.

We may send you marketing communications about our services and related claims products by email, SMS, telephone, post, or other electronic means, where you have given consent or where we are otherwise lawfully entitled to do so.

You can opt out at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing email, replying STOP to a marketing SMS, or contacting us using the details in section 13.

Opting out of marketing will not affect any communications relating to a live claim or any communications we are legally required to send you.

We use cookies and similar technologies on our Site. Please see our Cookies Policy for full details, including how to manage your cookie preferences.

For any questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your rights:

• Venture Marketing North West Ltd
• 11 Burscough Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 2XE

You can also contact us via the contact form on the Site.

If you are not satisfied with the way we have handled your personal data, you can complain to:

• The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
• Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
• Tel: 0303 123 1113
• Website: ico.org.uk

For complaints about our claims service, please see our Complaints Procedure.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of the page will tell you when the policy was last changed. For significant changes, we will notify you by email or by a prominent notice on the Site.