Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Auto Locksmith Peterborough (“we”, “us”, “our”) is a mobile automotive locksmith business operating across Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the surrounding counties. We provide emergency vehicle entry, car key replacement, key cutting, transponder programming and vehicle security services, as described on our services page.

For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, we are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy. That means we decide what information is collected, why it is collected and how it is used.

2. Scope of this policy

This policy explains how we handle personal information collected through peterboroughautolocksmith.co.uk, through telephone and WhatsApp enquiries, through our social media pages, and in the course of carrying out work on your vehicle.

It should be read alongside our Cookie Policy, which explains the tracking technologies used on this website, and our Terms & Conditions, which govern the services we provide.

3. Information we collect

3.1 Information you give us directly

When you contact us by phone, by email, through WhatsApp, through our social media pages, or through the enquiry form on our contact page, we typically collect:

• Your name;
• Your telephone number and email address;
• The area or location you are calling from, and the exact location of the vehicle where a call-out is required;
• The service you are enquiring about;
• Vehicle details, including make, model, year, registration number and, where relevant, the vehicle identification number (VIN);
• A description of the problem — for example that keys have been lost, locked inside the vehicle, or are no longer working;
• Any additional information you choose to give us in the course of a conversation.

3.2 Information we collect to verify ownership

Before we open a vehicle or produce a replacement key, we are required to satisfy ourselves that you are entitled to have that work done. This is explained in more detail in section 6 below, and can involve viewing documents such as a V5C registration certificate, photographic identification or insurance documentation.

3.3 Information collected automatically

Like most websites, ours collects certain technical information automatically when you visit. This may include your IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, screen size, the pages you view, the time and date of your visit, the length of time spent on each page, and the website or search term that referred you to us.

Most of this information is collected through cookies and similar technologies. You can control these — see our Cookie Policy for full detail on what is set, why, and how to refuse it.

3.4 Information from third parties

We may receive information about you from:

• Google — if you contact us through our Google Business Profile, or leave a review;
• Meta (Facebook and Instagram) — if you message us or interact with our page or advertising;
• Insurance companies, breakdown providers, fleet operators, dealerships and vehicle recovery firms — where they instruct us to attend a vehicle on your behalf;
• Key and component suppliers — where a security-restricted part has to be ordered against your vehicle.

4. How we use your information

We use the personal information we hold in order to:

• Respond to your enquiry and provide you with a quotation;
• Confirm the correct key type, transponder and programming method for your specific vehicle;
• Locate you and attend the vehicle;
• Verify that you are entitled to have the vehicle opened or a key produced;
• Carry out the work, including ordering parts and keys where necessary;
• Take payment and issue invoices and receipts;
• Keep a record of the work carried out, which supports any warranty claim and helps us assist you again in future;
• Deal with complaints, disputes, insurance claims and any legal claims;
• Meet our legal, accounting and tax obligations;
• Improve our website and understand which services and areas customers are looking for;
• Send you service information or offers where you have asked to receive them.

5. Our lawful bases for using your information

UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for each use of your personal information. The table below sets out the basis we rely on in each case.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have considered whether those interests are outweighed by your rights and freedoms, and have concluded that they are not. You may object to processing based on legitimate interests at any time — see section 13.

6. Proof of ownership and identity checks

Auto locksmithing carries an obvious risk of misuse. Opening a vehicle or producing a working key for someone who is not entitled to it would facilitate theft. For that reason, and in line with responsible industry practice, we carry out checks before undertaking work.

Depending on the job, we may ask to see:

• The V5C vehicle registration certificate, or other documentary evidence of keepership;
• Photographic identification, such as a driving licence or passport;
• Proof of address matching the registered keeper address;
• Insurance documentation, a hire or lease agreement, or a company letter of authority where the vehicle is not registered to you personally.

In most cases we visually inspect these documents and make a short written note that verification was completed. Where we do retain a copy — for example on a high-value all-keys-lost job, or where an insurer requires it — we hold it only for as long as necessary for our records and any subsequent claim or police enquiry.

We reserve the right to decline any job where entitlement cannot be established. This is set out in our Terms & Conditions.

7. Job photographs and vehicle images

We sometimes photograph completed work — for example a cut and programmed key, a diagnostic screen, or a vehicle we have gained entry to — and use those images on this website, on our homepage gallery and on our social media pages.

Where we do so, we take reasonable steps to ensure the image does not identify you. Number plates are obscured or cropped, and we do not publish your name, address or the location of the job alongside the image. Photographs are taken for our own record-keeping and promotional purposes on the basis of our legitimate interest in demonstrating the work we do.

If you would prefer that no photograph of your vehicle is taken or published, tell the locksmith at the time or contact us afterwards and we will remove it.

8. Marketing and electronic messages

We will only send you marketing emails, text messages or WhatsApp messages where you have given us consent, or where you are an existing customer, the message concerns similar services, and you were given the opportunity to opt out when we collected your details. This reflects the requirements of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR).

Every marketing email we send contains an unsubscribe link. You can also opt out at any time by replying STOP to a text message, or by emailing hello@peterboroughautolocksmith.co.uk.

Opting out of marketing does not stop us contacting you about a job you have booked — for example to confirm an appointment time, or to tell you that a key has arrived.

9. Who we share your information with

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing purposes. We do share it in the following limited circumstances:

Where we use a supplier who processes personal data on our behalf, we put a written agreement in place requiring them to keep it secure and to use it only on our instructions.

10. International transfers

Some of the service providers we use — particularly analytics, email and social media platforms — are based outside the United Kingdom, or store data on servers outside the UK. Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we rely on one of the safeguards permitted by UK data protection law, such as UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

You can ask us for further detail about the safeguards applying to a specific transfer by contacting us at hello@peterboroughautolocksmith.co.uk.

11. How long we keep your information

We keep personal information only for as long as we need it. In practice:

12. How we protect your information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse and unauthorised access. These include an SSL certificate securing all data submitted through this website, password protection and access controls on the devices and accounts we use, restricting access to job records to those who need it, keeping software and plugins updated, and using reputable suppliers who maintain their own security standards.

No transmission over the internet can be guaranteed completely secure. If we become aware of a personal data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the Information Commissioner’s Office within 72 hours and, where the risk is high, notify you directly.

13. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the following rights, free of charge in most cases:

• Right of access — to be told what personal information we hold about you, and to receive a copy of it.
• Right to rectification — to have inaccurate information corrected and incomplete information completed.
• Right to erasure — to ask us to delete your information, where there is no continuing reason for us to hold it.
• Right to restrict processing — to ask us to pause our use of your information in certain circumstances.
• Right to object — to object to processing based on legitimate interests, and an absolute right to object to direct marketing.
• Right to data portability — to receive certain information in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
• Right to withdraw consent — where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting processing already carried out.
• Rights relating to automated decision-making — we do not carry out automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@peterboroughautolocksmith.co.uk or call 01733 590409. We will respond within one month. If your request is complex we may extend this by a further two months, and will tell you if that is the case. We may ask you to confirm your identity before we release information.

14. Complaints to the ICO

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please contact us first so we have the chance to put things right. You also have the right to complain to the UK supervisory authority.

You can read more about your rights on the ICO’s guidance for the public, and read the underlying legislation at the Data Protection Act 2018.

15. Children’s privacy

Our services are directed at vehicle owners and keepers, and are not intended for children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

16. Third-party websites

Our website contains links to other websites, including social media platforms, manufacturer resources and reference sources. This privacy policy applies only to our website. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other operators, and we encourage you to read the privacy policy of any website you visit.

17. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, our suppliers, or the law. The version published on this page is always the current one, and the date it was last revised appears at the foot of the page. Where a change materially affects how we use your information, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to your attention.

18. Contact us

This privacy policy was last updated on 7 August 2026.