Privacy policy

Who we are

Safe Journey Driving School is run by Hatifa Isaqzais, a self-employed driving instructor teaching across North Harrow and the HA0–HA9 postcode area. She is responsible for your personal information (the “data controller”). You can reach her at hatifa.safejourney@gmail.com or on +44 7578 614963.

What we collect, and why

When you ask for a lesson using the form on the Book a Lesson page, we collect your name, phone number, email address (if you give one), the lesson you’re interested in, when suits you, and anything else you choose to tell us. We use it to get back to you and arrange your lessons. If you leave an email address, you’ll get an automatic confirmation that your request arrived. Your name and phone number are needed so Hatifa can contact you; everything else is optional. The legal basis is that you’ve asked us to take steps towards giving you lessons.

While you’re learning with us, we keep your contact details, where you’d like to be picked up, your lesson bookings and payments, and whether you passed your test and at which attempt. Hatifa also checks your provisional driving licence before your first lesson, to make sure you’re allowed to drive on the road. We need this to teach you and to run the business (the legal basis is our contract with you), and records of payments are something the law requires us to keep. We use pass results to publish an accurate overall pass rate — never with your name — which is in our legitimate interest in giving learners accurate information.

If you choose to tell us about a health condition, or anything else that affects how you drive or learn, we use it only to teach you safely and in the way that suits you, and we don’t share it. Health information is especially sensitive, so we only use it with your explicit consent, which you can withdraw at any time.

When you leave a review using the form on the Testimonials page, we collect your review and rating, how you’d like to be credited, your name and area if you give them, and a way to contact you if you give one. Nothing is published until Hatifa has approved it, and then only with the credit you chose — your full name and contact details are never published. We may also share an approved review on Safe Journey’s social media. The legal basis is your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.

Reviews on Google. If you leave a review of Safe Journey on Google, it may also be shown on this site, with the name Google displays with it. Like every review here, it only appears once Hatifa has approved it, and it comes down if you ask. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in showing genuine reviews of the business.

Pass photos. A photo of you on test day only appears on this site if you have agreed to it — and, if you’re under 18, a parent or guardian too. Photos carry no names: the pass certificate, which shows your name and driver number, is blurred, and location information is removed from every photo before it goes online. The legal basis is your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.

When you call, WhatsApp or email, we keep what’s needed to arrange and teach your lessons. WhatsApp messages are also handled by WhatsApp under its own privacy policy.

Paying. Lessons are paid by cash or bank transfer. A bank transfer shows us your name and the amount; we keep payment records for tax purposes, as the law requires.

Who else sees your details

We never sell your details, and we don’t use them for marketing. They are only seen by the services that run the business on our behalf:

• Google — email, the private spreadsheet the website forms send your details to, and the calendar.
• Squarespace — hosts this website.
• WhatsApp (Meta) — only if you message us there.

Some of these companies store information outside the UK. Where they do, they use safeguards recognised under UK data protection law. We will only pass your details to anyone else if the law requires it.

How long we keep it

• Lesson requests that don’t lead to lessons — deleted within 12 months.
• Your student record and payment records — kept for as long as HMRC requires business records to be kept (five years after the 31 January tax-return deadline for that year), then deleted.
• Reviews and pass photos — kept while they’re published, and removed when you ask. Removing a review or photo from the site also removes it from our records, unless you ask us to keep it.

Your rights

You can ask to see the information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it, delete it, stop using it, or give you a copy to take elsewhere. Where we rely on your consent — reviews and photos — you can withdraw it at any time, and we’ll take the review or photo down. Just email or message Hatifa. It’s free, and we’ll reply within one month. We don’t make automated decisions about you, and we don’t use your details for profiling.

If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your information, please tell us first so we can put it right. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.

Cookies

This website uses a few cookies and similar technologies. The ones it needs to work are always on; analytics cookies, and the Google Calendar on the Book a Lesson page, are only used if you agree. Our cookie policy lists each one and explains how to change your choice.

Changes

If we change how we use your information, we’ll update this page and the date at the top.