Privacy notice
What we collect
Your name, email address, the date, time and type of your Sevenoaks driving test, and the dates you'd like to swap to. Once you've agreed a swap, we also keep your DVSA booking reference, because DVSA needs each learner to give the other's when they phone. We never ask for your driving licence number, theory test pass certificate number, address or payment card details.
Why
Only to find you a test swap and help you complete it. Once you've both agreed to swap, we show the other learner your first name, your test details and your booking reference. Following DVSA's advice, we never share your email address or phone number with other learners.
Messages between learners
Once you've both agreed to swap, you can message each other on your swap page instead of sharing contact details. We store your messages, encrypted, together with both learners' names, email addresses and test details, so there's a record if something goes wrong. We keep them for 6 months after your swap ends (even though your other details are deleted sooner), then delete them. We only read messages if one of you reports a problem, or to investigate misuse of the service or a safety concern. We do this because we have a legitimate interest in keeping the service safe and resolving disputes.
Marketing emails (optional)
If you tick the optional box, and only after you've confirmed your email address, we'll also email you about our Sevenoaks test guide book, narrated test routes and real test examples. Some of these are paid products. For this we keep your email address, your test date and when you agreed. This is separate from the swap service: stopping swaps doesn't unsubscribe you unless you ask, and every email has an unsubscribe link. [Decide how long you keep marketing contacts, for example until 3 months after the test date.]
Contact form
If you send us a message, your name, email, telephone number (if given) and message are emailed to us so we can reply. They aren't stored on this website.
Statistics
We keep anonymous counts, such as how many swaps were agreed. These contain no personal details.
How it's protected
Your details are encrypted in our database and the site only works over a secure connection. Our website and database are hosted in London, UK.
To stop misuse, we also keep a short-lived security record: a scrambled (one-way) version of your email address each time we send you a confirmation or "manage my swap" email, deleted after 24 hours, and a count of swaps you've backed out of, deleted with the rest of your details. We use these to limit how many emails can be sent to one address and to spot anyone wasting other learners' time.
Who helps us
We use Amazon Simple Email Service (Amazon SES), provided by Amazon Web Services, to send our emails. We use its London region, so emails are processed in the UK. Amazon is a US-owned company; its data processing terms [confirm the safeguards in the AWS Data Processing Addendum] cover any access from outside the UK. We use it only to send emails, not for any other purpose.
We keep a backup copy of our encrypted database in Amazon S3, also in Amazon's London region, so we can recover the service if something goes wrong. Backups are kept for 7 days, so when we delete your details they're also gone from our backups within 7 days.
How long we keep it
Until you stop using the service or your test date has passed, whichever is sooner. Unconfirmed sign-ups are deleted after 48 hours. Deleted details stay in our encrypted backups for up to 7 days. When you tell us DVSA has completed your swap, we delete both learners' details straight away. Messages between learners are kept for 6 months after the swap ends, as explained above. Every email we send has a link to stop and delete your details.
We never sell your details
This service is free. We will never sell, rent or pass on your details to anyone else. The only time we share them is with your swap partner (first name, test details and booking reference), and only once you've both said yes.
Who we are
This service is provided by Sevenoaks Driving Lessons. [Contact email, ICO registration number]