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Last updated: 6 May 2026
Welcome to the VW Owners Club UK (“we,” “our,” or “us”). We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal information when you use our website, member portal, and related services.
This Privacy Policy is the authoritative document on how we handle your personal data. Where any other document we publish (including our Terms of Use) refers to data protection or privacy, this Privacy Policy takes precedence.
The VW Owners Club UK is a community organisation dedicated to Volkswagen enthusiasts. We are the data controller responsible for your personal information.
Contact form: https://vwownersclub.co.uk/contact/
Postal address: Unit 162240, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL
If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK supervisory authority for data protection:
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Website: ico.org.uk
Helpline: 0303 123 1113
Address: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns first, so please contact us before approaching the ICO.
Where you give us consent (e.g., for marketing communications), we keep a record of:
This is required so we can demonstrate compliance with UK GDPR.
Where we ask for information necessary to provide membership services (e.g., name, email, payment details), providing this information is a contractual requirement — if you do not provide it, we will not be able to register you as a member. All other information (e.g., vehicle details, marketing preferences) is optional and will not affect your membership if not provided.
We use your personal information for the following purposes:
Under UK GDPR Article 6, we process your personal data on the following legal bases:
Processing necessary to perform our membership agreement with you, including account administration, access to the member portal and services, and payment processing.
Where you have given us specific, informed, and freely given consent, including:
You can withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before withdrawal.
Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests, including:
You have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests — see Section 9.
Where we are required to process your data to comply with a legal obligation, such as financial record-keeping under HMRC requirements or responding to lawful requests from law enforcement.
We do not sell your personal information. We share data only with the categories of recipient described below.
Third-party providers that process data on our behalf under written contracts that comply with UK GDPR Article 28. These include:
Important details about marketing partner sharing:
A current list of our affiliate partners is available on request via the contact details in Section 2.
When you register for club events, we share necessary information (e.g., name, contact details, dietary requirements) with event organisers, venues, and where applicable insurance providers, solely for the purpose of running that event.
We may disclose personal data where legally required, in response to a lawful request from a public authority, or where necessary to protect our rights, property, or the safety of our members or others.
If the VW Owners Club UK is involved in a merger, acquisition, or transfer of assets, your data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you and ensure any successor is bound by terms equivalent to this Privacy Policy.
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include:
However, no internet transmission or electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a personal data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the ICO within 72 hours and notify affected individuals where required by law.
We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, in accordance with the following retention schedule:
Once retention periods expire, data is securely deleted or anonymised so it can no longer be linked to you.
Under UK data protection law, you have the following rights:
You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
You can ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances. This right is not absolute — we may need to retain some data to comply with legal obligations or for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims.
You can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
Where processing is based on consent or contract and is carried out by automated means, you can request your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
You can object to processing based on legitimate interests. Importantly, you have an absolute right to object to processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes — if you object, we will stop processing your data for that purpose.
Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
We do not carry out automated decision-making (including profiling) that produces legal effects or similarly significantly affects you. Marketing personalisation does not fall into this category.
You have the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO (see Section 2.2).
To exercise any of these rights, contact us via https://vwownersclub.co.uk/contact/. We will respond within one month of receiving a valid request. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request. There is normally no charge, but we may charge a reasonable fee or refuse to act if a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.
Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit our website. We use cookies to:
You can manage your cookie preferences through our cookie banner when you first visit the site, and at any time afterwards via the cookie settings link in the website footer. You can also block or delete cookies through your browser settings, although doing so may affect site functionality.
If you click an affiliate link in our emails or on the website, the partner may set a cookie to track whether you make a purchase, so they can pay us a commission. This does not affect the price you pay. Affiliate cookies are only set where you have given marketing consent.
If you opt in to marketing, you may receive:
Marketing consent is separate and granular: you can opt in to club newsletters without opting in to partner marketing, and vice versa.
You can stop receiving marketing communications at any time by:
Opting out of marketing will not affect:
Our services are directed at adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. Where a child between 13 and 16 wishes to use any service that requires consent as a legal basis (e.g., marketing), we require parental consent. If you believe we have collected information from a child without appropriate consent, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
We primarily process data within the UK. Where data is transferred outside the UK (for example, to service providers based in the US or EU), we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place under one or more of the following mechanisms:
You can request details of the specific safeguards applied to any transfer of your data by contacting us.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top of this document indicates when it was most recently revised. Where changes are significant, we will notify members by email or through a prominent notice on the website. Continued use of our services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.
For any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data:
Contact form: https://vwownersclub.co.uk/contact/
Postal address: VW Owners Club UK, Unit 162240, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL
To exercise your data protection rights or make a complaint, see Section 9.10. To opt out of marketing, see Section 11.3. To complain to the ICO, see Section 2.2.