1. Retention principle
Personal information is kept only for as long as reasonably needed for the purpose, legal duties, limitation periods, insurance, security and dispute resolution. Retention is reviewed by category rather than keeping everything forever.
2. Typical default periods
| Category | Typical default | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Uncompleted general enquiries | Up to 12 months after last meaningful contact | Response, follow-up and complaint context |
| Reservation, invoice, payment and tax records | Up to 6 years after the relevant financial period or booking | Contract, accounts, tax and legal claims |
| Guest support and routine correspondence | Normally aligned to the booking record; shorter where no longer needed | Service history and dispute handling |
| Vehicle evidence | Only as long as needed for eligibility, insurer and claim requirements | Insurance and legal claims |
| Accident, damage, safeguarding or insurance records | Relevant statutory/limitation and insurer period, extended for an active matter | Safety, claims and defence |
| External CCTV | Typically about 30 days unless an incident requires preservation | Security and incident evidence |
| Optional marketing preferences | Until withdrawal, suppression or periodic review | Consent/objection management |
| Technical and security logs | A proportionate short period based on security and fault-diagnosis need | Integrity and incident investigation |
These are defaults, not rigid promises. A shorter or longer period may be justified by law, a live dispute, an insurer instruction, evidence preservation or a documented business need.
3. Deletion and anonymisation
At the end of retention, information is securely deleted, destroyed or irreversibly anonymised where reasonably practicable. Backups may take longer to cycle out but should remain protected and unavailable for ordinary use.
4. Legal and incident holds
Routine deletion may be paused when information is relevant to a complaint, chargeback, insurance claim, litigation, investigation, regulatory request, safeguarding issue or security incident. The hold should be documented and lifted when no longer needed.
5. Erasure requests
You may ask for deletion, but the right is not absolute. Some records must be retained for contract, tax, legal claim, safety or regulatory reasons. Where deletion is refused in whole or part, the reason will be explained unless law prevents it.
6. Review and ownership
Retention rules should be reviewed after material service changes and at reasonable intervals. Suppliers must be instructed to delete or return information when their service ends, subject to lawful retention needs.
Contact and version control
Meadway, Mill Road, Writhlington, Radstock, England, BA3 5TY
This policy is reviewed when the service, law, technology or suppliers materially change. The date above identifies the current public edition.
