ECT ("we", "us", "our") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect when you use our service, why we collect it, how we protect it, and what rights you have under UK data protection law.
We act as your authorised agent. We only search for and book your driving test on your behalf with your explicit permission, given when you tick the consent box during booking. You can withdraw that permission at any time.
For the purposes of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, ECT is the data controller of the personal information you provide to us.
1. What information we collect
When you submit a booking, we collect the following from you directly:
| Category | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Identity | Title, first names, surname |
| Contact | Email address, mobile phone number |
| Address | House number / street, town, postcode |
| Driving credentials | UK provisional driving licence number, theory test certificate number, photograph of your provisional driving licence |
| Test preferences | Chosen DVSA test centre, preferred months |
| Live chat | If you use the live-chat widget on our website: the text of every message you send us, plus any contact details you choose to share in the chat (name, phone, email). Stored alongside our reply messages so we have a record of the conversation. |
We also collect, automatically as a result of you using our service:
- The date and time of your booking and any subsequent communications
- SMS conversation history (your replies and our messages to you)
- Live-chat session identifier (a random anonymous ID we store in your browser so your chat conversation continues across page reloads)
- The date, time and DVSA reference of any test we book on your behalf
- Payment status (we do not store any card or bank account numbers; payments are made via a secure payment link and your card details never reach our systems)
- Standard technical log data (IP address, browser, referring page) for security and abuse-prevention purposes only, kept no more than 30 days
2. Why we collect it and our legal basis
| Purpose | Legal basis (UK GDPR Art. 6) |
|---|---|
| To search for and book your driving test on your behalf, acting only with your explicit authorisation | Performance of a contract: the agreement created when you submit a booking and tick the consent box |
| To send you SMS updates about your search and booking | Performance of a contract (these messages are transactional, not marketing) |
| To process your payment and send a payment receipt | Performance of a contract + legal obligation (UK tax record-keeping) |
| To defend against legal claims, fraud, or DVSA enforcement action | Legitimate interests: protecting our business |
| To comply with UK tax law and other regulatory obligations | Legal obligation |
3. Who we share your information with
We only share your personal information with the outside providers strictly necessary to deliver our service:
DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency)
To book your driving test, and only acting on your explicit authorisation as your agent, your booking details (name, address, driving licence number and theory certificate number) are provided to DVSA so that they can register the booking against your licence. DVSA's own Privacy Policy applies to their handling of that data once it reaches them.
Other essential service providers
To deliver our service we work with a small number of vetted external providers (for the technical aspects of running our service, including text messaging, website delivery, and payment processing). Each one processes only the minimum data needed for their role, never uses your data for their own marketing, and is bound by data-protection contracts that meet UK GDPR standards.
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to anyone for marketing purposes.
4. International transfers
Our service operates from the United Kingdom. Some of our service providers may process data in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United States under standard contractual protections approved by the UK data protection regulator.
5. How long we keep your information
| Data | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Active order data (name, address, licence number, theory number) | Until your test is completed or your search is cancelled, then 7 years (UK HMRC tax records requirement) |
| SMS message history | 7 years (alongside the order it relates to) |
| Technical logs | 30 days, then automatically deleted |
6. How we protect your information
- All data submitted to us is encrypted in transit using industry-standard encryption
- Stored data is secured against unauthorised access
- Access to your information is restricted to the small number of people who need it to run the service
- We follow standard industry security practices, with regular security updates and ongoing monitoring
- Backups are stored separately and access-controlled
7. Your rights under UK GDPR
You have the following rights over the personal information we hold about you:
- Right to access: request a copy of all the personal information we hold about you
- Right to rectification: ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete data
- Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"): ask us to delete your data, subject to our legal obligation to retain certain records (e.g. tax)
- Right to restrict processing: ask us to limit how we use your data
- Right to data portability: receive a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format
- Right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests
- Right to withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent
- Right to lodge a complaint with the UK data protection regulator if you believe we have not handled your data properly
To exercise any of these rights, message us via the live chat on our website. We aim to respond within 30 days as required by UK GDPR.
8. Cookies
Our booking form uses only essential browser storage to remember:
- Your selected language (so it stays the same on your next visit)
- Your in-progress booking details (so a refresh doesn't lose your data)
- A random anonymous ID for the live-chat widget (so your chat history stays linked to your browser on your next visit)
We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, analytics cookies, or any cookies that follow you across other websites.
9. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on our website. Material changes will be notified to you by text message.
10. Message us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, message us via the live chat on our website. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK data protection regulator.
The text and content of this Privacy Policy are our original work and are protected by UK copyright law. Unauthorised copying, reproduction, distribution, republication, modification, or commercial use of this content, in whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, is strictly prohibited and may result in legal action.