Your enquiry and account information

Last updated: 26 September 2026

Who is responsible for your information

Driving Schools Directory is responsible for the personal information described in this policy. The website is driving-schools-directory.co.uk. Privacy questions and requests can be sent to [email protected].

Information we collect

• Instructor accounts and listings: name, business name, email address, telephone numbers, website, operating areas, services, description, listing image, account activity and approval or membership status.
• Pupil enquiries: name, email address, telephone number, town, requested lesson type, message, consent and the status of the request.
• Direct enquiries: the contact details and message a pupil chooses to send to one named instructor.
• Pupil reviews: the reviewer's name, email address, comments, submission date and approval status. The email address is used for moderation and is not published.
• General contact messages: the name, email address, subject and message supplied through the Contact page.
• Payments: PayPal transaction references, amount, currency, status and dates needed to verify and administer a Featured Listing. We do not receive or store your full card details or PayPal password.
• Security and technical records: sign-in, password-reset, submission, delivery and server records used to operate and protect the service.

How and why we use it

We use instructor details to consider applications, publish and maintain listings, provide the members area, deliver enquiries, administer Featured Listings and communicate about the account. This is necessary to take requested steps and provide the listing service, and for our legitimate interests in running and protecting the directory.

If an instructor actively chooses Featured Listing emails, we use the account address to send the limited Featured promotion sequence described at registration. This choice is recorded separately from essential account communications and can be withdrawn in the members area or through the preference link in any Featured promotion.

We use pupil details to send the requested confirmation, share a town-wide enquiry with matching approved instructors, send a direct enquiry to the selected instructor, manage or close the request, prevent duplicate or abusive submissions and operate the enquiry service. We do this at the pupil's request and with the consent recorded on the form. We may also process information where necessary to meet a legal obligation or establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

We use review details to notify the relevant Featured instructor, provide an administrator copy, publish reviews approved by that instructor and deal with misuse or disputes. The instructor can approve and publish, decline to publish or delete a review attached to their own listing. A reviewer's email address is available to the directory administrator for handling enquiries or disputes but is not shown to the instructor or displayed publicly.

We use general contact messages to answer questions and administer the directory. Cloudflare Turnstile checks anonymous school registrations, pupil enquiries, direct instructor enquiries, pupil reviews and Contact-form submissions for automated abuse before we accept them.

Who receives the information

A shared pupil enquiry is available to matching Featured instructors immediately. Matching Standard instructors receive access after two days, or immediately when no Featured instructor matches the town and lesson type. A direct enquiry is sent only to the selected instructor and the directory administrator.

We use service providers to host and secure the website, send email and process payments. At present these include the hosting provider, Cloudflare, SendPulse and PayPal. They receive only the information needed to provide their service and process it under their own terms or our instructions, as applicable. We may disclose information where the law requires it or where reasonably necessary to protect legal rights or safety. We do not sell pupil enquiry details.

Some providers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where a restricted international transfer applies, we require an applicable UK adequacy regulation or appropriate contractual safeguards under UK data-protection law. You may contact us for more information about the safeguard relevant to a particular provider.

How long we keep it

Pupil enquiries and stored copies of direct enquiries are removed by the daily retention process once they are more than 16 days old. A pupil can use the private link in the confirmation email to close a shared enquiry sooner; closing it removes instructor access and cancels pending follow-ups.

Instructor account and listing information is kept while the account or listing remains active and for a reasonable period afterwards where needed to deal with administration, disputes, security or legal obligations. Payment and accounting records are retained for the period required for administration, tax and legal purposes. Password-reset links are short lived, may be used only once and expire after one hour.

Pupil reviews and their moderation details are retained while the review remains associated with the listing. The reviewer may ask the directory administrator to remove their review and related contact information.

Security and cookies

Passwords are stored as one-way hashes. We use access controls, validation, encrypted web connections and other reasonable measures to protect information. No internet service can guarantee absolute security.

The directory uses essential session cookies to keep sign-ins and forms working securely. These do not require the analytics choice.

On the production website, Google Analytics and StatCounter may be offered to help us understand visits, popular pages and how the directory is used. Their tags remain blocked unless you choose Accept analytics. If you decline, no data is sent to either analytics service. Your choice is remembered for 180 days and can be changed using Cookie settings in the footer. Analytics remain disabled throughout staging.

Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may ask for access to your personal information, correction, deletion, restriction, transfer or an objection to its use. Where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw that consent for future use. Some rights have legal limits, and we may need to confirm your identity before acting.

To make a request, email [email protected]. You may also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Changes to this policy

We will update this page when the service, providers or legal requirements change. The date at the top shows the latest revision.