Privacy Policy
How The Auction House North Shields Ltd collects, uses, stores and protects your personal data — and the rights you have over it.
This notice explains what personal data we collect when you buy, sell, bid or enquire with us, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and how to have it corrected or removed. It applies to our website, our online bidding platform, and everything we do in the saleroom. In this notice, “we”, “us” and “our” mean The Auction House North Shields Ltd, the data controller for the personal data described below.
What we collect
We only collect the information we need to run our auctions and look after your account with us. Depending on how you deal with us, that may include:
- Your name, postal address, email address and phone number
- Bidder registration details, bidding history and purchase or consignment records
- Identification documents where the law requires us to verify who you are
- Records of valuations, correspondence and enquiries
How we use it
We use your data solely for the purposes of our business and your relationship with us. That means:
- To perform our contract with you — registering you to bid, invoicing, paying out after a sale, arranging collection or delivery
- To meet our legal obligations — keeping financial records and complying with anti-money-laundering rules
- With your consent — sending you auction notifications, valuation communications and news of forthcoming events. You can opt out at any time
Cookies and analytics
Our website uses a small number of cookies to keep the site working properly and to give us anonymous statistics about how it is used. These statistics do not identify you personally. You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings at any time without affecting your ability to browse the site.
Who we share it with
Your personal data is treated as confidential and is only handled by authorised staff. We will not share it with any third party without your prior written consent, with two practical exceptions:
- Online bidding and payments — when you bid or pay through our online bidding platform, your payment details are handled by our auction bidding platform provider. We do not hold your card or payment information ourselves.
- Legal requirements — where we are obliged to disclose information by law, for example to HMRC or under anti-money-laundering regulations.
How long we keep it
Financial and transactional records from previous financial years are held for 7 years, stored in a locked safe within a secure locked building that only our staff can access. Once expired, paper records are destroyed at least once per quarter by Shred-it UK, a registered confidential-waste disposal company.
If your relationship with us becomes inactive, your personal data is retained electronically for 2 years and then deleted.
Keeping your data accurate
The data we hold can only be as accurate as the information you give us, so please let us know if your details change. You can ask us to correct anything we hold about you at any time.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to access the personal data we hold about you, to have it corrected, to object to or restrict how we use it, and to ask us to delete it. To exercise any of these rights — including requesting the removal of your personal data — email us at info@theauctionhousenorthshields.co.uk and we will respond promptly.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. For full details of your rights, visit ico.org.uk/for-the-public.
Questions
If anything in this notice is unclear, get in touch and we will be happy to explain.
North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE30 1EG 0191 429 1773 Max Sinclair — 07496 172 866 Matthew Watts — 07871 506 720 info@theauctionhousenorthshields.co.uk
Last updated 21 July 2026.