Personal Information
What Personal Information We Collect and How We Collect It
Vines Limited collects personal information from a variety of sources to enable us to provide our products and services, meet our contractual and legal obligations, protect our legitimate business interests, and improve our customer experience.
How We Collect Your Personal Information
We may collect personal information directly from you when you:
- Contact us through our website, by telephone, email, live chat, social media, or in person at one of our dealerships.
- Enquire about or purchase one of our products or services.
- Book a vehicle service, MOT, repair, or test drive.
- Respond to our marketing communications or promotional campaigns.
- Register for events, competitions, or customer surveys.
- Apply for vehicle finance or insurance products.
- Create or manage an online account or customer profile.
- Visit one of our premises or use our website.
We may also receive your personal information from third parties where you have authorised them to share it with us or where there is another lawful basis for doing so. These may include:
- BMW AG, BMW (UK) Limited and other BMW Group companies.
- Finance providers.
- Vehicle manufacturers.
- Insurance providers.
- Business partners and service providers.
- Credit reference and fraud prevention agencies.
- Publicly available sources, where permitted by law.
Where your vehicle is serviced or repaired, certain vehicle information, including the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), may be shared with BMW AG or the relevant manufacturer to enable diagnostics, warranty administration, software updates, safety recalls, technical support, quality assurance, and product improvement.
If you are under the age of 16, please do not provide us with your personal information unless you have the consent of your parent or legal guardian.
Categories of Personal Information We Collect
Depending on the products or services you receive, we may collect the following categories of personal information.
Contact Information
- Name
- Postal address
- Telephone numbers
- Email address
- Preferred method of contact
- Marketing preferences
Customer Profile Information
- Your interests and preferences.
- Information relating to your current or previous vehicles.
- Purchase history.
- Service history.
- Customer enquiries, feedback, complaints, and claims.
Website and Online Usage Information
When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain technical information including:
- IP address.
- Browser type and version.
- Device information.
- Operating system.
- Website usage statistics.
- Pages visited and time spent on our website.
This information helps us improve website performance, understand customer behaviour and enhance user experience. Much of this information is aggregated or anonymised and does not directly identify individual users.
Our website also uses cookies and similar technologies. Further information can be found in our Cookie Policy.
Google Advertising
We may use Google Ads and Google Remarketing technologies to display advertisements that are more relevant to your interests based on your previous visits to our website.
These technologies use cookies to recognise previous visits but do not identify you personally or provide access to your computer or mobile device.
You can manage your advertising preferences through Google’s Ads Settings or opt out of personalised advertising through the Network Advertising Initiative.
Social Media
Our website includes links and functionality that enable you to share content using third-party social media platforms.
Any information you choose to share through these platforms is subject to the privacy policies of the relevant social media provider. Vines Limited is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third-party websites or social networking platforms.
Identity Verification and Fraud Prevention
Where necessary to provide our services or comply with legal and regulatory obligations, we may collect information to verify your identity and prevent fraud.
This may include:
- Driving licence.
- Passport.
- Utility bills.
- Credit reference information.
- Fraud prevention checks.
- Information relating to financial crime, sanctions screening and politically exposed person (PEP) checks where required by law.
Vehicle Information
Where relevant to the services we provide, we may collect information relating to your vehicle, including:
- Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
- Vehicle configuration and specification.
- Service and maintenance records.
- Diagnostic information.
- Technical performance information.
- Software version information.
- Warranty information.
Where connected vehicle services are enabled, we may also receive vehicle location information where necessary to provide requested services, or where permitted by law.
Device Information
Where you use connected services, mobile applications, or digital services, we may collect limited information relating to the device used to access those services, including technical identifiers required for the operation and security of those services.
CCTV
For the purposes of crime prevention, public safety, staff protection, and the security of our premises, Vines Limited operates CCTV systems at its dealerships and business locations.
Images captured may include customers, visitors, employees, and vehicle registration numbers. CCTV footage is retained only for as long as necessary in accordance with our CCTV Retention Policy, unless required for the investigation of an incident or to comply with legal obligations.
Live Chat
Where you use our Live Chat service, we collect the information you choose to provide during your conversation together with limited technical information required to operate the service securely. Our Live Chat platform is provided by a carefully selected third-party service provider acting on our behalf.
Call Recording
Most incoming and outgoing telephone calls are recorded for legitimate business purposes. Calls during which payment card details are taken are not recorded, or the recording is suspended to protect your payment information.
Call recordings may be used to:
- Monitor and improve customer service.
- Train and develop our employees.
- Assess service quality.
- Investigate complaints and resolve disputes.
- Detect and prevent fraud.
- Protect the safety and welfare of our employees and customers.
Sharing Your Personal Information
Vines Limited shares personal information only where necessary and where there is a lawful basis to do so.
We may share information within the Vines Limited group of companies to provide our products and services, maintain accurate customer records, and improve the customer experience.
We may also share personal information with carefully selected third-party organisations acting on our behalf or where necessary to fulfil a contract, comply with legal obligations, protect our legitimate interests or where you have provided your consent.
These organisations may include:
- BMW AG and BMW (UK) Limited and MINI (UK) Limited.
- Alphabet (GB) Limited.
- DSG Group.
- Automotive Compliance Limited.
- Motability Operations Limited.
- Keyloop (UK) Limited.
- Codeweavers Limited.
- EMaC Limited.
- HPI Limited.
- Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency licence verification services.
- Department for Transport, where required.
- Trafficmaster / Trackstar.
- Vizion Network Limited.
- FingerprintJS Inc.
- Marketing, printing, and communications providers.
- IT, software hosting, cloud storage, and cybersecurity providers.
- Professional advisers, auditors, and regulatory authorities where required by law.
All third-party service providers are required to protect your personal information, process it only in accordance with our instructions and comply with applicable UK data protection legislation.
How We Use Your Personal Information
Vines Limited uses your personal information only where there is a lawful basis to do so under UK data protection legislation. The purposes for which we process your personal information include the following:
Customer Support and Marketing
We use your personal information to provide customer support, respond to your enquiries, and, where appropriate, keep you informed about products, services, events, and offers that may be of interest to you.
This may include:
- Responding to your enquiries and providing customer support.
- Delivering relevant information about our products, services, promotions, and events.
- Creating and maintaining a customer profile to help us understand your preferences and provide a more personalised customer experience.
- Presenting content on our website in the most effective manner for your device and browser.
- Enabling you to participate in interactive features of our website or services where you choose to do so.
- Notifying you of important changes to our products, services, or policies.
- Sending marketing communications by email, telephone, post, SMS, or other electronic means where you have provided your consent or where we are otherwise permitted to do so under applicable law.
Where appropriate and necessary, we may share your personal information within the BMW Group, with other Vines Limited businesses, and with carefully selected suppliers and service providers who support the provision of BMW, MINI, or BMW Motorrad products and services. Any sharing of personal information is undertaken in accordance with applicable data protection legislation and appropriate contractual safeguards.
Vehicle Sales, Finance and Aftersales Services
We use your personal information to manage your relationship with us throughout the purchase, ownership, servicing, and maintenance of your vehicle.
This may include:
- Processing vehicle purchases, orders, and deliveries.
- Arranging vehicle finance, insurance, warranties, and associated products where requested.
- Managing vehicle servicing, repairs, MOTs, recalls, and maintenance.
- Processing payments and maintaining accurate customer records.
- Contacting you regarding appointments, service reminders, safety recalls, or other information relating to your vehicle.
- Managing warranties and liaising with manufacturers where necessary.
- Presenting website content securely and effectively when you access our online services.
Quality Assurance, Research and Product Development
To help improve the quality, safety, reliability, and performance of BMW, MINI, and BMW Motorrad products and services, certain information may be shared with BMW AG, BMW (UK) Limited, or other authorised companies within the BMW Group.
This information may be used for purposes including:
- Product quality monitoring.
- Service improvement.
- Technical support.
- Product development and research.
- Safety and reliability analysis.
Where personal information is used for research, analytics, or product development, it will, wherever reasonably possible, be anonymised or pseudonymised so that it cannot be used to identify you directly. Where anonymisation is not possible, appropriate technical and organisational safeguards will be applied to protect your personal information.
FingerprintJS Inc – Website Security
Vines Limited uses carefully selected third-party service providers to support the delivery, security, and performance of our website and services.
To help protect our website against spam, automated abuse, fraudulent activity, and other malicious behaviour, we use FingerprintJS Inc. When you interact with our website, FingerprintJS may process certain technical information on our behalf, including:
- Device and operating system information.
- Browser type and configuration.
- IP address.
- Approximate geographical location.
- Other technical identifiers necessary to distinguish legitimate users from automated or potentially fraudulent activity.
FingerprintJS processes this information in accordance with our instructions and its own Privacy Policy and Data Processing Agreement. Where personal information is transferred outside the United Kingdom, including to the United States, appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the use of the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, as applicable, to ensure your personal information continues to receive an adequate level of protection.
FingerprintJS retains information only in accordance with its documented retention policies and applicable legal obligations.
Further information about how FingerprintJS processes personal information can be found in its Privacy Policy and Data Processing Agreement (DPA).
All processing is carried out in accordance with UK data protection legislation and only for legitimate business purposes.