Privacy Policy

The short version

This website collects almost nothing. It sets no cookies, runs no analytics, and carries no advertising pixels. Fonts are served from this domain rather than a third party, so simply reading this page does not report you to anyone.

Our work is a different matter. As part of running lead generation and appointment setting for car dealerships, we handle personal information belonging to people shopping for a vehicle. We do that on behalf of the dealership, inside the dealership's own systems. We do not sell that information, and we never pass one client's leads to another.

Who we are

tad. The Ad Department operates this website at theaddepartment.com and provides lead generation, appointment setting, CRM management and social media management to independent car dealerships in the United States.

You can reach us about anything on this page at hello@theaddepartment.com, or by post at [Registered business address].

What this website collects

Very little, and we would rather be specific than reassuring. As of the date above:

• No cookies. This site does not set any, so there is no cookie banner to click through.
• No analytics or tracking. There is no Google Analytics, no tag manager, no Meta pixel and no session recording.
• No web fonts from third parties. Typefaces are served from this domain, so your browser does not contact an outside font host.
• No contact forms. Nothing on the public site posts data to a server. Every call to action is a link.

Our hosting provider keeps standard server logs, which typically include IP address, browser type and the pages requested. These are generated automatically by the act of serving a web page, are used for security and troubleshooting, and are not used to build a profile of you.

Booking a call

Our booking links go to Calendly, which is a separate company. If you book a call, you give Calendly your name, email address and whatever else that form asks for, and their privacy policy governs what they do with it. We receive the booking details so we can turn up to the call. You can reach us by email instead if you would rather not use it.

The client area

Clients can view campaign work in progress at a private address using an access code. Two things are worth knowing about it.

Your browser stores that access code locally so you do not have to retype it. That value stays on your own device, is not transmitted to us, and is removed when you choose to use another code. It is not a cookie and is not readable by any other website.

The code is an unlisted address rather than a login. It is unguessable, and no client's material appears in any other client's view, but anybody holding the code can open the page. Treat it as you would a shared document link, and tell us if you think it has circulated further than you intended.

Personal information we handle for our clients

This is the part that matters most. When we run lead generation or appointment setting for a dealership, we handle personal information belonging to that dealership's customers and prospective customers. Typically that means name, phone number, email address, the vehicle somebody asked about, and notes from the conversations we have with them. Depending on what the buyer volunteers, it can include their trade-in, their rough budget, and whether they are looking for finance.

The dealership decides what happens to that information. We act on their instructions. In the language of US state privacy laws, the dealership is the business and we are a service provider. We use the information only to do the job the dealership hired us for.

Where it comes from

• Forms the buyer filled in on the dealership's own website.
• Inquiries sent through advertising campaigns we run in the dealership's ad accounts.
• Messages and comments on the dealership's social media pages.
• Records already held in the dealership's CRM, including older leads we are asked to work again.
• Listing site inquiries the dealership forwards into its own systems.

What we do with it

• Contact the person by phone, text or email to answer their inquiry.
• Ask the questions that establish what they are looking for and when.
• Book an appointment into the dealership's calendar.
• Record the outcome in the dealership's CRM so their team can pick it up.
• Report to the dealership on contact rates, appointments and outcomes.

We do not use it to build advertising audiences for anyone else.

Who sees it

The dealership it belongs to, and the members of our team working on that dealership's account. Beyond that, only the platforms the work runs through: the dealership's own CRM, the calling and messaging tools used to make contact, and the advertising platforms where the campaign runs. Those providers act on our and the dealership's instructions.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not share leads between clients. A record generated for one dealership is never passed, resold or recycled to another. This is not only a policy position: it is the difference between the service we sell and buying a shared lead list, and we would have nothing to offer if we did otherwise.

We may disclose information where the law requires it, or where it is necessary to establish or defend a legal claim.

Calls, texts and email

When we contact somebody, we are doing so on behalf of the dealership they contacted, about the inquiry they made. We work to the consent the dealership has obtained and the contact rules that apply to it, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and CAN-SPAM.

If you have heard from us and you want it to stop, say so on the call, reply STOP to a text, or use the unsubscribe link in an email. You can also email hello@theaddepartment.com and we will pass the request to the dealership and mark the record. Ending contact is not conditional on anything.

How long we keep it

Lead and customer records live in the dealership's CRM, and the dealership sets how long they are kept. Our own working copies, such as call notes and reporting exports, are kept only while we are working on that account and for a short period afterwards for billing and dispute purposes. When an engagement ends, the dealership keeps everything and we remove our access.

How we protect it

Access is limited to the people working on the relevant account. We work inside our clients' systems using individual named accounts rather than shared logins, at the lowest permission level that lets us do the job. We ask clients for the narrowest access that works and to widen it only if they decide to. No system is perfectly secure, and we will tell a client promptly if we believe their data has been exposed.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to know what personal information is held about you, to get a copy of it, to have it corrected, to have it deleted, and to opt out of its sale or sharing. California residents have these rights under the CCPA as amended by the CPRA, and several other states provide similar ones.

We do not sell personal information and we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising.

If you are a car buyer and want to exercise a right over information a dealership holds, the dealership is the right place to ask, because it is their record. Ask us anyway if that is easier and we will point you to the right contact and pass the request along. We will not discriminate against anyone for exercising a privacy right.

If you heard from us and do not know why

The usual explanation is that you contacted a dealership we work with, about a specific vehicle, and we handle their inquiries. Email hello@theaddepartment.com with the phone number or email address we used and we will tell you which dealership it was and stop the contact.

Children

Our services are for businesses, and nothing here is directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If you believe we have, tell us and we will delete it.

Changes

If this policy changes we will update the date at the top of the page. The practices described here are tied to how the site and the service actually work, so a material change to either should mean a change here.

Contact

Email hello@theaddepartment.com, or book a call if you would rather talk it through.