Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Sterling Automotive Design Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) is the data controller for personal data collected through this website and through direct enquiries. If you have any questions about this notice or how we handle your data, please contact us:

• a.Registered address: Sterling Automotive Design Ltd, Units 4–5 Knowsley Road, Haslingden, BB4 4RX, United Kingdom.
• b.Email: sales@sterling-automotive.co.uk
• c.Phone: 01254 947 630

2. What Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data you provide to us or that is generated when you interact with our website and services. This may include:

• a.Identity and contact data — name, email address, phone number, delivery and billing address, and any vehicle details you share when making an enquiry.
• b.Order and transaction data — the products or services you buy, order history, and correspondence about your order. Payment details are processed by our payment provider (Shopify Payments) and are not stored on our servers.
• c.Enquiry data — the content of the messages you send us through the contact form, email or phone.
• d.Technical data — IP address, browser type, device information, referral URL and pages visited. This is collected automatically by our hosting provider (Vercel) and any analytics tools we may enable in future.
• e.Marketing preferences — your choices about receiving marketing communications from us.

We do not knowingly collect data from children under 18. Please do not use this website if you are under 18.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data only for the purposes described in this notice, including:

• a.Responding to your enquiries and providing quotes for goods or services.
• b.Processing orders, taking payment, arranging delivery, fitting or aftercare.
• c.Providing customer service, warranty and product support.
• d.Complying with our legal obligations, including record-keeping for tax, VAT, consumer rights and fraud prevention.
• e.Improving our website and services by understanding how visitors use them.
• f.Sending marketing communications about our own products and services, where you have consented or where you are an existing customer and have not opted out.

4. Our Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following:

• a.Contract — where processing is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you (e.g. fulfilling an order or providing a service you have requested).
• b.Legitimate interests — for responding to enquiries, managing our business, preventing fraud, and improving our website. We only rely on this basis where your rights and interests do not override ours.
• c.Legal obligation — for retaining records where the law requires us to do so (e.g. HMRC requirements).
• d.Consent — for optional marketing communications and any non-essential cookies. You can withdraw your consent at any time.

5. Sharing Your Data

We do not sell your personal data. We only share it with the following categories of third parties as necessary to run our business:

• a.Shopify Inc. — e-commerce platform and payment processing for online orders.
• b.Vercel Inc. — website hosting and infrastructure.
• c.Sanity.io — content management for our website.
• d.IONOS — email hosting used to send and receive enquiry correspondence.
• e.Delivery couriers — for arranging shipment of goods to your address.
• f.Professional advisers, HMRC and law enforcement — where required by law or to protect our legal rights.

All processors act on our instructions under written contracts that require them to safeguard your data. Some may transfer data outside the UK; where that happens, we rely on adequacy decisions or standard contractual clauses approved by the UK regulator.

6. Cookies

Our website uses a small number of cookies and similar technologies. These fall into two groups:

• a.Strictly necessary cookies — required for the site to function (for example, remembering your basket or keeping you signed in). These do not require your consent.
• b.Analytics and performance cookies — help us understand how visitors use the site so we can improve it. These are only set with your consent.

You can manage or refuse cookies through your browser settings. Turning off strictly necessary cookies may affect how the website works.

7. How Long We Keep Your Data

We keep your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this notice and to meet our legal obligations. Typical retention periods:

• a.Enquiries that don’t lead to a sale — up to 12 months from last contact.
• b.Order and financial records — retained for a minimum of six years to meet HMRC requirements.
• c.Marketing records — retained until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete them.
• d.Website analytics — aggregated and anonymised where possible; retained in line with the analytics tool’s default policy.

8. Your Rights

Under the UK GDPR you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• a.The right to be informed about how we use your data (this notice).
• b.The right of access to the personal data we hold about you.
• c.The right to rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• d.The right to erasure (“the right to be forgotten”) where applicable.
• e.The right to restrict processing in certain circumstances.
• f.The right to data portability — to receive your data in a portable format.
• g.The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.

To exercise any of these rights, please email sales@sterling-automotive.co.uk. We will respond within one month.

9. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or loss. Payments are processed over a secure connection by our payment provider and card details are never stored on our servers. If we suspect a data breach that affects your rights, we will notify you and the Information Commissioner’s Office within the timeframes required by law.

10. Changes to This Notice

We may update this notice from time to time to reflect changes in our services, technology or the law. The latest version will always be available on this page. Where changes are significant, we will draw them to your attention.

11. Complaints

If you have a complaint about how we handle your personal data, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it. You also have the right to complain to the UK data protection regulator:

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
Helpline: 0303 123 1113
ico.org.uk