Last updated: May 6, 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 an online marketplace 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
- 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
- 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 track your sales or earnings (we have no way to know what you sell or for how much)
- We do NOT report your income to HMRC (we are exempt as a classified ads platform)
- 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
Information Sharing in Our Marketplace
Important: As a marketplace, certain information is shared between buyers and sellers:
- When you list a part or vehicle, your username and any contact details you choose to share become visible to potential buyers
- When you express interest in a part or vehicle, the seller can see your username
- Messages sent through our platform are only visible to you and the recipient
We recommend using our messaging system rather than sharing personal contact information.
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
Our website uses cookies to improve your experience. We use the following types of cookies:
- Essential cookies: Required for the website to function, including keeping you logged in and managing your session
- Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use our site so we can improve it
- Preference cookies: Remember your settings and choices on our platform
You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling essential cookies may affect how the website functions. By continuing to use our site, you consent to our use of cookies as described above.
How Long We Keep Your Data
We keep your information only as long as necessary:
- Account information: Kept while your account is active
- Listings and messages: Retained for up to 6 years after account deletion for fraud prevention and dispute resolution (UK GDPR legitimate interest)
- Subscription and billing data: Retained for 7 years after cancellation (UK tax law requirement)
- Payment methods: Card fingerprints kept indefinitely 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 is classified as a "listing or advertising platform" and is exempt from HMRC digital platform reporting requirements.
What This Means:
- We do NOT process payments between buyers and sellers
- We do NOT track or have access to your sales earnings
- We are NOT required to collect your National Insurance number or tax ID for HMRC reporting purposes
- We do NOT report seller information or earnings to HMRC
This exemption applies because we operate as a pure classified ads platform (like Gumtree or traditional newspaper classifieds), where 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 only collect basic account information (name, email, contact details) and subscription/billing information necessary to provide our listing service. We do not collect financial data about your sales activities.
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 and messages are retained for up to 6 years as transaction evidence
- Billing and payment records are retained for 7 years (HMRC requirement)
- Stripe retains payment history automatically for 7 years
- After 6 years: All retained personal data is permanently and irreversibly deleted from our systems.
Why we retain data after deletion: Under UK GDPR, we are permitted to retain data beyond a deletion request where we have a legitimate interest — including fraud prevention, resolving disputes, complying with legal obligations, and responding to law enforcement requests. This is standard practice for UK marketplaces.
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.