Privacy Policy

Oaks Driving School is run by Mark Gregory, a sole trader and DVSA Approved Driving Instructor based in Bolton. Mark is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy, which means he decides how and why it is used.

If you have a question about your information, email grego1967@sky.com or call 07399 594996.

When you get in touch. Whether you use the contact form, phone, email, WhatsApp or Messenger, we receive your name, your contact details and whatever you tell us in your message.

When you send the contact form on this website we also record the IP address and approximate location (city, region and country) the message was sent from. This helps us spot spam.

When you become a pupil. We keep:

• Your name, phone number, email address and pick-up address.
• Your driving licence details, which we check using the DVLA View or share your driving licence information service.
• A record of your lessons, your progress and the payments you have made.

When you visit this website. We collect anonymous statistics about which pages are viewed, the type of device and browser used, the country visitors are in and how quickly pages load. This does not use cookies and does not identify you.

• Replying to your enquiry and arranging lessons. We do this because you have asked us to, as a step towards a contract with you.
• Providing your lessons. Booking lessons, tracking your progress and taking payment are necessary for our contract with you.
• Checking your licence. We have a legitimate interest in making sure every pupil is legally entitled to drive.
• Keeping business and tax records. The law requires us to keep these.
• Protecting the contact form from spam and abuse. We have a legitimate interest in keeping the form usable.
• Understanding how the website is used. We have a legitimate interest in improving it, and we only use anonymous statistics to do so.

We never sell your information or share it for advertising.

We only share your information with the services we need to run the business:

• Vercel hosts this website and provides its anonymous visitor statistics.
• Amazon Web Services delivers messages from the contact form to our inbox.
• Google provides reCAPTCHA, which protects the contact form from spam, and the map on our Where We Work page. When you open either page your browser connects to Google, which receives your IP address and information about your device. See Google's privacy policy (opens in new tab).
• Our email provider and the messaging service you choose (for example WhatsApp or Messenger) carry the messages we exchange with you.
• DVLA, when we check your driving licence.

Some of these providers are based in, or use servers in, other countries, including the United States. Where that happens they rely on safeguards recognised under UK data protection law.

We may also share information where the law requires us to.

• Enquiries that do not lead to lessons are deleted within 12 months.
• Pupil records are kept for 6 years after your last lesson, so that we can meet our tax and insurance obligations.
• Website statistics are anonymous and are not linked to you.

This website does not use advertising cookies or analytics cookies.

• Your choice of light or dark theme, and your progress in our guide for new drivers, are saved in your browser so they are still there when you come back. They stay on your device and are never sent to us. Clearing your browser's site data removes them.
• Google reCAPTCHA on the Contact page and Google Maps on the Where We Work page may set their own cookies when you open those pages.

You have the right to:

• Ask for a copy of the information we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct anything that is wrong or incomplete.
• Ask us to delete your information.
• Ask us to limit how we use your information.
• Object to us using your information.
• Ask for your information in a form you can pass to another provider.

To use any of these rights, contact us using the details at the top of this page. It is free, and we will reply within one month.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first so we can put it right. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days and tell you the outcome without undue delay.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint (opens in new tab) or by calling 0303 123 1113.

We will update this page if the way we use your information changes. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.