Removal Company Swiss Cottage Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Removal Company Swiss Cottage collects, uses, stores and shares personal data relating to customers and prospective customers in our service area. It is designed to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation and relevant UK data protection laws. By using our services, requesting a quote, or otherwise engaging with us, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all Removal Company Swiss Cottage customers, prospective customers and visitors to our services in our operating area, including anyone who contacts us to request information, a quotation, or to make a booking. It covers personal data processed in connection with residential and commercial removals, storage, packing, and any related services that we provide.

Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with us and which services you request. The categories of data we typically collect include:

Identification and contact details: name, title, postal address, service address, delivery address, and other relevant address details; contact information such as email address and any telephone or mobile number you choose to provide when you request a quote or make a booking.

Service and contract information: details of your removal or storage requirements, access details for properties, inventory or list of items to be moved or stored, preferred dates and times, special instructions, and records of communications we have with you in relation to your enquiry or contract.

Billing and payment information: information necessary to process payments and invoices, such as billing address and limited payment details. Payment card data is processed by our chosen payment service providers and is not retained by us beyond what is necessary for accounting and fraud-prevention purposes.

Technical and usage data: if you visit our online services, we may collect technical data such as IP address, device information, and basic analytics data about how you access and use any website or online forms we operate. This may be collected using cookies or similar technologies, where permitted by law and subject to your preferences.

Special category data: we do not intentionally seek to collect special category personal data, such as health information, unless it is directly relevant to the service you request, for example, specific access or safety requirements. Where such information is provided, it will be processed only where lawful and necessary.

Purposes and Lawful Bases for Processing

We process your personal data only where we have a valid lawful basis under data protection laws. The main purposes and associated lawful bases are as follows:

To provide quotations and respond to enquiries: we use your contact and service details to provide quotes for removals and related services, answer questions, and follow up on your enquiries. The lawful basis is taking steps at your request prior to entering into a contract and our legitimate interests in operating and growing our business.

To perform our contract with you: once you decide to use our services, we process your personal data to plan and carry out the removal or storage service, manage bookings and schedules, handle payments, and provide customer support. The lawful basis is performance of a contract with you and taking steps required to enter into that contract.

To manage our business and records: we retain certain information for accounting, tax, operational and administrative purposes, as well as to manage disputes and complaints. The lawful basis is compliance with legal obligations and our legitimate interests in proper business administration.

To improve services and for analytics: we may use non-identifying or pseudonymised data for service improvement, quality assurance, and analytics about our customer base. The lawful basis is our legitimate interests in improving and developing our services, provided such use does not override your rights and freedoms.

To send service-related communications: we may contact you with information necessary for your booking, such as confirmations, reminders, updates on service changes, and post-service follow-up. The lawful basis is performance of our contract and our legitimate interests in ensuring efficient communication.

To comply with law and protect our rights: we may process and share personal data where necessary to comply with legal or regulatory requests, enforce our terms, or protect our rights, property or safety, or that of our staff and customers. The lawful basis is compliance with legal obligations and our legitimate interests in protecting our business and customers.

Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, accounting or reporting requirements.

In general, we apply the following retention principles:

Customer and contract records: data related to quotations, bookings, contracts and completed services is typically retained for a period aligned with applicable limitation periods for legal claims and statutory accounting and tax requirements. After this period, records are securely deleted or anonymised.

Communication records: correspondence and service notes are retained for as long as needed to manage your enquiry, contract or any follow-up issues and then archived or deleted in accordance with our internal retention schedules.

Technical and analytics data: data collected for analytics or service improvement is kept for a shorter period, and where possible, stored in a form that does not directly identify you.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will ensure it is permanently and securely deleted or anonymised so that you can no longer be identified from it.

Data Processors and Third Parties

We may share your personal data with carefully selected third parties that act as data processors on our behalf. These processors only process your data according to our instructions, are bound by confidentiality obligations, and must implement appropriate security measures. Examples include:

IT and hosting providers that host our systems and data.

Payment service providers that process payments and manage payment security.

Customer management or booking system providers that help us manage enquiries and contracts.

Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers, where necessary for our lawful business operations.

We may also share personal data with other controllers where required by law, such as regulatory bodies, law enforcement agencies, or tax authorities, or where necessary in connection with legal proceedings or the sale or restructuring of our business. In such cases, sharing will take place only where there is a lawful basis and appropriate safeguards.

International Transfers

Where we use service providers located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, or where personal data is otherwise transferred internationally, we will ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to protect your data. These may include the use of standard contractual clauses approved by the relevant data protection authorities or ensuring that the recipient is located in a country with an adequate level of protection as recognised by applicable law.

Data Security

We take the security of personal data seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage. Measures may include access controls, encryption, secure storage solutions, staff training and regular review of our security practices. While we strive to protect your information, no system can be guaranteed as completely secure, and you share information with us at your own risk.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to the personal data we hold about you, subject to certain conditions and exemptions. These rights include:

Right of access: you have the right to request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and to obtain a copy of that data, together with certain additional information.

Right to rectification: you have the right to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data that we hold about you.

Right to erasure: in certain circumstances, you may request that we delete or remove your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected or where you have withdrawn consent, if consent was the legal basis.

Right to restriction of processing: you may request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, such as where you contest the accuracy of the data or object to our processing.

Right to data portability: in limited circumstances, you may request that we provide your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, or ask us to transmit it directly to another controller, where technically feasible.

Right to object: where we rely on legitimate interests as the lawful basis for processing, you may object to that processing on grounds relating to your particular situation. We will consider your objection and stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds or the processing is required for legal reasons.

Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on your consent to process personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority if you believe that your data protection rights have been infringed.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements or the services we provide. Any significant changes will be communicated where appropriate. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we process your personal data.