Privacy notice

Who we are

J Brown Autos & Recovery is a 24/7 vehicle recovery, A to B moves and scrap car business based in NE16 and covering the whole of the North East. The owner of this business is the data controller for anything you send us. You can reach us at Brownieeneww@icloud.com or on 07984 871841.

We're a mobile business without public premises, so please contact us by email or phone about anything in this notice.

What we collect and why

• When you send a quote request we receive what you enter: your name, phone number, email if you give it, where the vehicle is, what you need, the vehicle's make, model and registration if you give them, and your message. A registration number counts as your information too.
• Please leave out any details of injuries or health: we don't need them to recover or move a vehicle.
• If you call, email or message us on WhatsApp or Facebook, we keep that conversation so we can reply and quote.
• We use these details only to reply to you, give you a price and carry out the job you book. The legal basis is that you have asked us for a quote and, if you go ahead, the agreement between us. We keep quote requests that don't go ahead for a while in case you come back to us, and records of finished jobs and vehicles we buy because tax rules require it and claims about a job can be made later; that is our legitimate interest in running the business.
• You don't have to use the form. To reply we need your name, phone number, where the vehicle is, what you need and a few details; the rest is optional. If you'd rather not use the form, call us instead.
• If you sell us a car for scrap, the law (the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013) requires us to check your full name and address against photo ID (and, if it doesn't show your address, a recent bank statement, council tax letter or utility bill), keep copies of the documents, and record the vehicle, the date and how we paid you. We can't buy the vehicle without this, and the council and the police can inspect these records.
• Sometimes we're given details about someone else, for example the owner of a vehicle someone books a recovery for, or another driver after an accident. These are usually a name, phone number, address and vehicle details. They come from the person booking, or from the police, insurers or garages who arrange a recovery. We use them only to do the job and keep only what the job needs.
• We never use your details for marketing, and we do not sell them or pass them to anyone else for their marketing.

How it is sent and stored

• This site is hosted by Cloudflare, Inc., which also delivers quote requests to our email inbox. Like any web host it handles your IP address and browser details when you visit, to deliver the site and protect it from attacks, and it uses some of that security information for its own purposes under its own privacy policy. When you send the form, your IP address is also used for about a minute to stop the same connection sending lots of requests. It isn't added to your request and we don't keep it.
• Our email inbox is Apple iCloud Mail, under Apple's privacy policy.
• Cloudflare is a US company, and Apple stores iCloud email mainly in the US. Those transfers are covered by the safeguards UK data protection law allows: the UK–US "data bridge" for Cloudflare, and standard contractual clauses. You can ask us for details.
• How long we keep things:
  • Quote requests, calls and messages that don't lead to a job: up to 12 months, then deleted.
  • Details of jobs we do and vehicles we buy, including invoices and payment records: 6 years from the end of the tax year (tax law requires at least 5 years after the filing deadline, and claims about a job can be made for up to 6 years).
  • Copies of scrap sellers' ID and proof-of-address documents, and the other records the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 requires: 3 years from the date we receive the vehicle.
  • Data protection complaints: 2 years after the complaint is closed.
• We do not sell your details. We only share them where we have to, for example with the yard that takes a scrapped vehicle, a garage or insurer involved in a recovery, our accountant, or where the law requires it, such as the police, the DVLA or HMRC.

Cookies and analytics

This site sets no cookies and uses no analytics, advertising or tracking. The fonts are served from this site, so nothing goes to a font company. That's why there is no cookie banner. The Facebook and WhatsApp links take you to Meta's services, where Meta's own privacy policies apply.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR you can ask what we hold about you, ask us to correct it, ask us to delete it, ask us to stop or limit using it, or ask for a copy to take elsewhere. Some records, such as tax and scrap purchase records, we have to keep by law. Email or call and we will sort it, normally within a month. We may ask you to confirm who you are first, and a complicated request can take up to two months longer; if so, we'll tell you why. No decisions about you are made by computer alone.

Your right to object: where we rely on our legitimate interests (for example keeping a quote request that didn't go ahead, keeping the site secure, or using details someone else gave us about you for a job, such as a vehicle's owner, another driver after an accident or the person receiving a vehicle), you can object at any time, and we will stop unless we have a strong reason to carry on or need the information for a legal claim.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, please tell us: we will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days, look into it and tell you the outcome. You can also complain at any time to the Information Commission, the UK's data protection regulator (still known as the ICO), at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.

Under 18s

This site is for adults arranging vehicle recovery, moves or scrap car sales. We do not knowingly collect details from anyone under 18. If you're under 18 and need help with a vehicle, please ask a parent or guardian to contact us.

Last updated 12 October 2026. If this notice changes, the new version goes up here.