Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 29, 2026

Introduction

Welcome to SpareSeekers. We value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your data when you use our platform.

SpareSeekers operates as a classified advertisements platform connecting sellers of vehicle parts and complete vehicles with potential buyers. We're simply the platform that helps you connect — all transactions take place directly between buyers and sellers.

Information We Collect

To provide our service, we collect:

• Account information: Your name, email address, and contact details
• Profile information: Any details you choose to share on your profile
• Listing information: Details about parts or vehicles you list, including descriptions and images
• Sale records: When you mark a listing or an individual unit as sold, we record which listing it relates to, the part category, the unit number, and the date and time. We do not record any price, value, or buyer details
• Messages: Communications between buyers and sellers through our platform
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, device information, and how you use our site

How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Create and manage your account
• Process your subscription payments via Stripe
• Display your listings to potential buyers
• Track how many units remain available in a multi-unit listing, and produce the sales reports shown in your account
• Enable communication between buyers and sellers through our messaging system
• Enforce our Terms & Conditions and detect prohibited listings
• Improve your experience on our platform through analytics
• Keep our website secure and prevent fraud, stolen goods listings, and account abuse
• Send you important updates about your account, subscription, and service changes
• Send promotional emails (only with your permission - you can opt out anytime)
• Respond to customer support queries

What we DON'T use your information for:

• We do NOT process payments or know the price agreed between buyer and seller — all payments are arranged directly between parties outside our platform
• We do NOT store or have access to your sales earnings or the amounts you receive from buyers
• Sellers may optionally mark their own listings, or individual units within a listing, as "sold" for their own convenience — we record only that a unit was marked sold, in which category, and on what date. We do not store any sale price or transaction value
• We do NOT report your income to HMRC — as a classified advertising platform we do not process payments or hold transaction values, so we do not hold the data those rules are built around
• We do NOT share your data with buyers/sellers beyond what you choose to display in your listings
• We do NOT sell your personal data to third parties

Payment and Subscription Information

If you subscribe to one of our paid plans, we process payment and subscription data:

Payment Processing

• Payment processor: We use Stripe to securely process payments. Stripe handles your payment card details directly - we never see or store your full card information on our servers.
• What we store: We store your subscription status, plan level, billing dates, and a payment method fingerprint (used to prevent trial abuse, not for charging).
• What Stripe stores: Your full payment card details, billing address, and transaction history are stored securely by Stripe. Review Stripe's Privacy Policy for details.

Subscription Data We Collect

• Plan information: Your current subscription tier (Private Seller, Trader, or Dealer)
• Billing information: Subscription start date, renewal date, billing cycle, and payment status
• Usage data: Number of listings created each month (to enforce plan limits)
• Email address: Used to send billing notifications, receipts, and subscription updates
• Customer ID: A unique identifier linking your account to your Stripe customer record

How We Use Subscription Data

We use your subscription data to:

• Provide access to your paid plan features and listing limits
• Process plan upgrades, downgrades, and cancellations
• Send billing notifications and payment receipts
• Prevent subscription fraud and trial abuse
• Provide customer support for billing issues
• Comply with tax and accounting regulations

Email Notifications About Billing

When you have an active subscription, we will send you transactional emails about:

• Subscription creation and trial confirmation
• Plan upgrades with prorated charges
• Plan downgrades scheduled for future dates
• Monthly subscription renewals
• Payment failures and retry attempts
• Cancellation confirmations

Important: These are essential service emails required to manage your subscription. You cannot opt out of billing notifications, but you can unsubscribe from marketing emails separately.

Financial Data Retention

• Active subscriptions: Data retained while your subscription is active
• After cancellation: Billing history retained for 7 years (UK tax law requirement)
• Payment methods: Card fingerprints retained for fraud prevention, but full card details are only stored by Stripe
• Invoices and receipts: Available in your account for the duration of your subscription plus 7 years after cancellation

Sales Records and Reports

If you mark a listing, or a unit within a multi-unit listing, as sold, we keep a record so we can show how many units remain and produce the sales reports in your account. Here is exactly what that involves:

What We Record

• Which listing the sale relates to, and — for multi-unit listings — which unit number
• The part category of the listing
• The date and time you marked it sold
• A running count of units sold, used to produce your sales report
• For vehicle sales, the make, model, year, vehicle type, mileage and registration plate from the listing
• For business accounts, which user in your business marked the item as sold

What We Do Not Record

• The price, value, or any amount of money — we never ask for it and have no way to see it
• Who the buyer was, or whether a sale actually took place
• Any payment, bank, or transaction detail

Marking a unit sold is a record-keeping action you take for your own convenience. We do not verify it, and it is not evidence that a sale occurred.

Deleting Sale Records

• Using "Undo Sale" on a unit deletes that sale record immediately and permanently, and returns the unit to stock
• If you delete your account you will lose access to your sales reports. The underlying records are retained securely for up to 6 years alongside your listings and messages, then permanently deleted

Accuracy

Sales reports reflect only what you have entered. They are provided for your convenience and are not accounting or tax records. Where we identify an error in how figures were recorded, we may recalculate or correct them.

Information Shared Between Buyers and Sellers

Who We Share Your Data With

We do not sell your personal data. We only share your information with:

• Service providers: Companies that help us run our website, including:
  • Stripe (Payment Processing): Processes all subscription payments (fees for listing access) and stores your payment card details securely. Note: Stripe only processes OUR subscription fees - we never process payments between buyers and sellers. See Stripe's Privacy Policy.
  • Email service providers: Send transactional emails like billing notifications and receipts
  • Hosting providers: Store our website data and databases
• Law enforcement: When required by UK law or to prevent fraud
• Tax authorities: When required for VAT/tax compliance
• Anyone else: Only with your explicit permission

Data processors: All third parties we work with are required to protect your data and use it only for the purposes we specify.

How We Protect Your Information

We take security seriously and use appropriate measures to protect your data. However, no online platform is 100% secure, so we can't guarantee absolute security.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies. Under UK rules some of these require your consent and some do not:

• Strictly necessary cookies: Required for the website to work, including keeping you logged in and managing your session. These do not require consent and cannot be turned off.
• Analytics cookies: Used solely to collect aggregate statistics about how the site is used, so we can improve it. They are not used for advertising, and not used to track you across other websites or devices. These do not require your consent, but you can opt out at any time using the cookie settings link below.
• Preference cookies: Remember how the site looks and behaves for you, such as display settings. These do not require your consent, but you can opt out.
• Advertising and tracking cookies: We do not currently use these. If we introduce them we will ask for your consent first, and you will be able to refuse as easily as you accept.

You can change your choices at any time in Cookie settings, or through your browser settings. Turning off strictly necessary cookies may stop parts of the site working.

How Long We Keep Your Data

We keep your information only as long as necessary:

• Account information: Kept while your account is active
• Listings: Retained for up to 6 years after account deletion for fraud prevention and dispute resolution (UK GDPR legitimate interest)
• Messages: Deleted automatically 12 months after the last activity in a conversation. This happens whether or not your account is still open, so save anything you need to keep
• Sale records: Deleted immediately and permanently if you use "Undo Sale" on that unit. Otherwise retained for up to 6 years after account deletion, alongside your listings and messages, for fraud prevention and dispute resolution
• Subscription and billing data: Retained for 7 years after cancellation (UK tax law requirement)
• Payment methods: Card fingerprints retained for up to 7 years after account closure for fraud prevention; full card details stored by Stripe only
• Transaction history: Invoices and receipts retained for 7 years
• Fraud prevention data: May be kept longer if needed to prevent trial abuse or payment fraud

Account deletion: When you request account deletion, your account remains active for 30 days during which you can cancel the request. After 30 days, your public profile is permanently anonymised — your name is replaced with "Deleted User" and your email is removed from public view. Some data is retained securely for legal and fraud prevention purposes as outlined above.

HMRC and Tax Reporting

Important Clarification: SpareSeekers operates as a classified listings and advertising platform. We do not process payments or hold transaction values, so we do not hold the data that HMRC digital platform reporting requirements are built around, and we do not report seller information or earnings to HMRC.

What This Means:

• We do NOT process payments between buyers and sellers — all payments are arranged directly between parties outside our platform
• We do NOT store or have access to your sales earnings or the price agreed between buyer and seller
• Sellers may optionally mark their own listings, or individual units within a listing, as "sold" for their own record-keeping convenience. Where a seller does this, we record only that a unit was marked sold,in which category, and on what date — we do not store, receive, or have access to any sale price or earnings figure
• Any figures shown in a seller's dashboard reflect self-reported listing status only — they are not verified transaction values and do not represent amounts we have processed, received, or can verify
• We are NOT required to collect your National Insurance number or tax ID for HMRC reporting purposes — unlike platforms such as eBay or Vinted, we do not ask for this information
• We do NOT report seller information or earnings to HMRC

This is because we operate as a pure classified advertising platform — connecting buyers and sellers without processing payments, storing transaction values, or verifying what sellers earn. All transactions happen directly between buyers and sellers outside our platform.

Your Tax Responsibilities: While we don't report to HMRC, you are still responsible for declaring any taxable income from your sales in accordance with UK tax law. If you earn over £1,000 per year from selling items, you may need to register as self-employed and file a Self Assessment tax return.

Data We DO Collect: We collect basic account information (name, email, contact details), subscription and billing information necessary to provide our listing service, and listing activity data including whether a seller has marked a listing or unit as sold and in which category. We do not collect, store, or have access to sale prices, transaction values, or seller earnings from sales made through the platform.

Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:

• Access your personal data
• Correct any mistakes in your data
• Request deletion of your data in certain circumstances
• Object to direct marketing
• Download a copy of your data

Account Deletion

You can delete your account at any time from your dashboard or account settings. Here is how the process works:

• 30-day grace period: After requesting deletion, your account remains fully active for 30 days. You can cancel the deletion request at any time during this period.
• After 30 days: Your public profile is permanently anonymised. Your name is replaced with "Deleted User" and your email address is removed from public view.
• Data we retain: To comply with UK law and protect against fraud, we securely retain certain data after deletion:
  • Your original name and email are stored securely (not publicly visible) for up to 6 years for fraud prevention and dispute resolution
  • Your listings are retained for up to 6 years as transaction evidence (messages follow the 12-month rule above and may already be deleted)
  • Billing and payment records are retained for 7 years (HMRC requirement)
  • Stripe retains payment history automatically for 7 years
• After 6 years: We review all retained personal data and permanently delete anything no longer required for fraud prevention, dispute resolution, or legal compliance.

To exercise any of your rights, please contact us at [email protected].

Marketing Communications

We'll only send you marketing emails if you've given us permission. You can opt out anytime by:

• Clicking "unsubscribe" in any marketing email
• Changing your preferences in your account settings
• Contacting us directly

Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to other sites. We're not responsible for their privacy practices, so please read their policies.

Children's Privacy

Our services are not intended for people under 18. We don't knowingly collect data from children.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We'll notify you of any significant changes by posting the new policy on our site and updating the "Last Updated" date.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at [email protected].

If you're concerned about how we handle your data, you can also contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), but we'd appreciate the chance to address your concerns first.