Guidance

Report someone making or selling unsafe or illegal vehicles or parts: privacy notice

Updated 12 November 2024

1. About this service

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) provides this service to report a vehicle manufacturer, supplier or a distributor if you think they’re breaking the law. This includes if they are:

• selling vehicles that have not been approved to the right safety and environmental standards
• selling parts that do not meet safety standards
• offering to remove or change emission control systems

DVSA is an executive agency of the Department for Transport (DfT). We carry out enforcement activity in Great Britain to protect people from unsafe drivers and vehicles, and to make sure businesses follow the professional and legal standards expected of them. You can report cases to DVSA by email, telephone or letter. This service or activity lets you make the report without giving your name.

The data controller for DVSA is DfT – a data controller determines the reasons and how personal data is processed. For more information, see the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Data Protection Public Register. DfT’s registration number is Z7122992.

2. What data we need

The personal data we collect from you will include:

• your name - unless you want to make a report anonymously
• your email address or postal address
• the business you’re reporting

The personal data collected from you about the business or individual you’re reporting is:

• name of person involved
• business names
• what they are doing
• where they are doing it
• when they are doing it
• vehicles involved including registration plates (number plates) if provided

The lawful basis for processing this data is ‘consent’ for your data and ‘public task’ for that of the business. Where you have consented to giving your personal details, it may not be possible to withdraw consent where a court could demand to see it.

If you originally gave your consent and would like to withdraw it, please email information.handling@dvsa.gov.uk.

Our statutory powers are contained within:

• Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
• Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996
• Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
• Fraud Act 2006

We investigate reports to make sure individuals and business meet the rules set out in the Road Traffic Act 1988..

If you email, call or write anonymously, we will not:

• ask for your name, address or telephone number
• try to trace you in any way

Depending on the incident you’re reporting, it might be possible for the individual or business to work out that you reported it - even if you’re anonymous.

We will not reveal that you made the report if you asked to remain anonymous, but we cannot stop the individual or business from working it out themselves.

3. Why we need it

We need the personal data (including that of the individual or business) we collect from you to:

• investigate the alleged report
• use as evidence in any case against the individual or business
• detect and prevent crime
• contact you for more information to help us investigate the incidents (if you did not make an anonymous report)
• tell you what happened at the end of the investigation (if you’ve asked us to, and we’re able to do so)

4. What we do with it

We collect, use and store the data you give us for the reasons set out in this policy.

We will not:

• sell or rent your data to third parties
• share your data with third parties for marketing purposes

We will review the information you’ve sent and decide what to do next. This may include:

• sharing the data with DVSA vehicle examiners and asking them to investigate the case
• asking you for more information or a statement if you did not make the report anonymously
• working with other government departments and law enforcement agencies

We will share your data if required to do so by law – for example, by court order, or to prevent fraud or other crime.

5. How long we keep your data

We’ll only keep your personal data for as long as it is needed for the reasons set out in this policy or as long as is required by law.

We will hold your personal data for whichever of these is longest:

• no more than 7 years after the end of an investigation
• 7 years after the end of any court sentence has expired following information you gave to us

6. Where it might go

Our IT infrastructure and technology has been checked to make sure it’s safe and secure. All investigation data is held on DVSA servers based in the UK or hosted within cloud services based in the European Economic Area (EEA). They meet security safeguards equivalent to those required by data protection legislation.

7. Protecting your data and your rights

The DVSA personal information charter sets out what steps are taken to protect your data, and the rights you have over your data.

8. Automated decision making and profiling

Your data is not subject to automated decision making or profiling as defined in data protection legislation.

9. Changes to this notice

We may change this privacy notice at our discretion at any time.

When we change this notice, the date on the page will be updated. Any changes to this privacy notice will be applied to you and your data as of the revision date.

We encourage you to periodically review this privacy notice to be informed about how your data is protected.

10. How to contact us

If you have any questions about anything in this document or if you consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled you can contact the DVSA data protection manager.

DVSA data protection manager

Data Protection Manager
DVSA
1 Unity Square
Nottingham
NG2 1AY

Email information.handling@dvsa.gov.uk

Contact DVSA customer service if you have a query that is not about how your personal data is used.

You may also make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an independent regulator.