Acceptable Use Policy
The standards everyone must follow when using CarZoon, creating an account, advertising a vehicle, operating a dealer profile, contacting another user or using any marketplace feature.
Plain-English summary: Use CarZoon lawfully, honestly and safely. Publish only genuine and accurate vehicle information, respect other users, protect account security and do not misuse the platform, its data or its communications tools.
This policy forms part of our Terms & Conditions. Depending on how you use CarZoon, our Private Seller Terms, Dealer Terms, Privacy Policy and other service-specific terms may also apply.
1. About this policy
This Acceptable Use Policy is issued by CarZoon Automotive Ltd ("CarZoon", "we", "us" or "our"), a company registered in Scotland under company number SC882384.
It applies to visitors, buyers, private sellers, dealers, business users, account holders and anyone acting on their behalf. By using CarZoon, you agree to follow this policy. If you do not agree, you must not use the platform.
You must be at least 18 years old to create an account, submit an advert, contact an advertiser for the purpose of buying a vehicle, request a test drive or use a paid service.
2. General standard of acceptable use
You must use CarZoon lawfully, honestly, safely and only for genuine vehicle-marketplace purposes.
You must not use CarZoon to:
- commit, facilitate or encourage fraud, theft, deception, money laundering or any other criminal activity;
- mislead, impersonate, threaten, harass, abuse or discriminate against another person;
- publish illegal, unsafe, deceptive, defamatory, obscene or rights-infringing material;
- circumvent platform controls, moderation, payment rules, eligibility checks or security measures;
- damage CarZoon, its users, its reputation or the operation of the marketplace.
3. Accounts and identity
Information supplied when registering or using an account must be accurate, current and complete. You must not create an account using a false identity, another person's information without authority, or details intended to conceal who is responsible for the account.
Your account responsibilities
- Keep passwords, verification codes and sign-in links confidential.
- Use appropriate security on your device and email account.
- Tell us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access or misuse.
- Do not sell, transfer, share or rent an account without our written permission.
- Remain responsible for activity carried out through your account, subject to applicable law.
4. Vehicle advert standards
You may advertise only a genuine vehicle that you own or are properly authorised to sell. An advert must give buyers a fair, accurate and up-to-date description of the vehicle and its status.
Every advert must
- use the correct registration and vehicle details;
- state the true asking price and any unavoidable charges;
- use recent images of the actual vehicle;
- disclose known material damage, faults, category status and outstanding finance;
- be updated or removed promptly when no longer available.
Adverts must not
- contain false, manipulated or stock images presented as the vehicle;
- hide a dealer or trader behind a private-seller account;
- use bait pricing, false urgency or misleading claims;
- advertise stolen, cloned, unsafe, prohibited or non-existent vehicles;
- duplicate, spam or repeatedly repost substantially the same advert.
Vehicle information may include data from third-party providers. You remain responsible for checking your advert before publication. See our Vehicle Data Disclaimer.
5. Content standards
These standards apply to text, photographs, videos, documents, reviews, profile information, messages and any other material you upload, publish or send through CarZoon.
Content must be accurate where it states facts, genuinely held where it states opinions, relevant to the marketplace and compliant with UK law. It must not infringe intellectual property, privacy, confidentiality or other rights; include malicious code; expose another person's personal data without a lawful reason; or promote violence, hatred, discrimination, sexual exploitation, illegal goods or dangerous conduct.
You must have the rights and permissions needed to publish your content. Our rights to host and use submitted content are explained in the applicable CarZoon terms.
6. Enquiries and communications
CarZoon communication tools must be used for genuine enquiries and lawful marketplace activity. Messages must be relevant, respectful and not excessive.
You must not send spam, bulk marketing, phishing links, malware, abusive content, fake payment confirmations or messages designed to move another user into an unsafe transaction.
Fraud warning: Never ask another user to reveal passwords or one-time security codes. Do not claim that CarZoon holds funds, guarantees payment or provides escrow unless that service is expressly confirmed on the CarZoon website.
7. Dealers and business users
Dealers and other business users must identify themselves accurately, maintain current business and contact details, and comply with all laws, professional obligations and CarZoon dealer requirements that apply to their activity.
- Do not present trade stock or commercial activity as a private sale.
- Display prices, fees, warranties and material vehicle information clearly and lawfully.
- Ensure staff and authorised users follow this policy.
- Keep records reasonably needed to support the accuracy and authority of listings.
- Make financial promotions or finance-related statements only where lawfully authorised or approved, and ensure they are clear, fair and not misleading.
Further requirements appear in our Dealer Terms & Conditions.
8. Viewings and test drives
Users arranging a viewing, inspection or test drive must act responsibly and take reasonable safety precautions. Do not pressure another person to meet, share unnecessary personal information, hand over keys or permit a test drive where they are not comfortable doing so.
- Meet in a safe and suitable place and tell someone where you are going.
- Check the driver's identity, driving licence and insurance before any test drive.
- Do not drive unlawfully, dangerously or without valid permission and insurance.
- Do not leave keys, documents, a vehicle or valuables unsecured.
Read our Test Drive Safety Terms before arranging a test drive.
9. Technical misuse and security
You must not attempt to interfere with the availability, integrity, security or proper operation of CarZoon or any connected system.
- Do not introduce viruses, ransomware, spyware, harmful code or corrupted data.
- Do not probe, scan, test or exploit a vulnerability without our prior written permission.
- Do not bypass access controls, rate limits, authentication, moderation or anti-fraud systems.
- Do not carry out denial-of-service attacks or place an unreasonable load on the platform.
- Do not reverse engineer or attempt unauthorised access to accounts, servers, databases or source code.
Unauthorised access or interference may be a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. We may report suspected offences to law-enforcement authorities.
10. Data and automated access
Unless CarZoon has given prior written permission or provides an approved interface for the purpose, you must not use bots, crawlers, scrapers, scripts or other automated means to access, copy, extract, monitor, index, aggregate or republish CarZoon content or user data.
You must not build a competing database, reuse listings outside their intended purpose, harvest contact details, match users across services, or use CarZoon data to train an artificial intelligence or machine-learning system without an appropriate lawful basis and our prior written permission.
Search engines may crawl publicly available pages in accordance with our technical instructions, including robots.txt.
11. Moderation and enforcement
We may investigate suspected breaches and take proportionate action. Depending on the circumstances, we may:
- request information, evidence, identity or ownership checks;
- reject, edit, restrict, suspend or remove content or adverts;
- limit features, block communications or suspend or close an account;
- cancel access to a service where permitted by the applicable terms and law;
- preserve evidence and cooperate with regulators, payment providers or law-enforcement authorities.
We may act immediately where we reasonably believe there is fraud, illegality, danger, a security risk or serious harm. Moderation does not make CarZoon the seller, buyer, dealer, owner or agent in a vehicle transaction.
12. Reporting and complaints
Report a suspicious advert, message, account, security issue or suspected breach to support@carzoon.co.uk. Include the relevant URL, advert or account details, a clear explanation and any evidence you can lawfully provide.
Do not put yourself at risk to collect evidence. If you believe a crime is taking place or anyone is in immediate danger, contact the police or emergency services.
Service complaints are handled under our Complaints Handling Policy.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy to reflect changes to CarZoon, the law, regulatory guidance, security risks or marketplace standards. The current version will be published on this page with its effective or review date. Where a change materially affects registered users, we may also provide an additional notice where appropriate.
14. Applicable law
This policy and any non-contractual dispute or claim arising from it are governed by the laws of Scotland, subject to any mandatory consumer rights that apply. The courts identified in the applicable CarZoon terms will have jurisdiction.
15. Contact us
CarZoon Automotive Ltd
5 South Charlotte Street
Edinburgh, EH2 4AN
United Kingdom
Email:
support@carzoon.co.uk
Website:
https://carzoon.co.uk/