Privacy Policy - Removal Company

This Privacy Policy explains how Removal Company collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our removal, packing, storage, and related services. It applies to all Removal Company customers in the area, as well as to individuals who request a quote, make an enquiry, or interact with us in connection with our services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with applicable data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Removal Company is the data controller of the personal data we collect and process for our own business purposes. This means we decide why and how your personal data is used. In some cases, we may act as a data processor where we handle information on behalf of another party under their instructions, but this policy primarily describes our role as controller for customer data.

2. Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity data: your name, title, and where relevant the name of your organisation.
Contact data: your address, email address, telephone number, and move-related contact details.
Service data: information about your property, inventory, access details, preferred moving dates, and special handling requirements.
Payment data: billing details, payment confirmations, and limited financial information required to process transactions.
Communication data: records of enquiries, quotes, complaints, feedback, and service-related correspondence.
Technical data: basic device and usage information collected when you interact with our digital services, such as IP address, browser type, and access logs.
Operational data: notes required to plan and deliver a move safely, including parking arrangements, timing information, and service instructions.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and you provide it to us, or it is required to support the service and is permitted by law. If such data is processed, we will ensure an appropriate lawful basis and additional safeguards are in place.

3. How We Collect Personal Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you request a quote, book a service, complete forms, communicate with us, or provide instructions before or during a move. We may also receive data from third parties where this is necessary for service delivery, for example estate agents, landlords, solicitors, building managers, or payment service providers. In some cases, we may obtain information from publicly available sources where this is appropriate and lawful.

4. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotes and assess your moving requirements;
to plan, schedule, and carry out removal services;
to communicate with you about bookings, timings, access, and service changes;
to process payments, refunds, and account administration;
to maintain records for operational, insurance, and legal purposes;
to respond to enquiries, complaints, and feedback;
to improve our services, systems, and customer experience;
to comply with legal obligations and enforce our contractual rights.

We only use personal data where we have a valid lawful basis and where the use is consistent with the purpose for which the data was collected.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

We rely on the following lawful bases under the GDPR:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes, arranging removals, carrying out the service, and managing associated payments and customer support.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where needed to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, record-keeping, fraud prevention, or responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include service administration, internal reporting, business improvement, security, and managing claims or disputes. We ensure that such processing is proportionate and limited to what is necessary.

Consent

Where required, we will rely on your consent, for example for certain optional communications or specific categories of processing. If we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

6. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with carefully selected third parties who help us deliver our services. These parties may act as processors on our behalf or, in limited cases, as independent controllers. We only share data where necessary and under appropriate contractual safeguards.

Examples of processors may include:

IT and hosting providers: to store and secure customer records and service systems.
Payment service providers: to process card or electronic payments securely.
Communication providers: to manage email, messaging, and booking notifications.
Customer management software providers: to support scheduling, quotations, and service administration.
Insurance and claims service providers: where required to handle incidents or loss-related matters.
Professional advisers: including accountants, auditors, or legal advisers where needed.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, to protect our rights, or to prevent fraud, abuse, or security incidents. Where information is shared with processors, they are required to process data only on our instructions, keep it secure, and comply with applicable data protection requirements.

7. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK or the European Economic Area, we will take appropriate steps to ensure a suitable level of protection. This may include the use of standard contractual clauses or other legally approved safeguards. We only transfer data where necessary and where suitable protections are in place.

8. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, tax, insurance, and dispute resolution requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the nature of the information and the reason it was collected.

In general, we may retain:

quotation and enquiry records for a limited period to manage follow-up and service history;
customer and contract records for the duration of the service and for an additional period where required for legal or operational purposes;
financial and accounting records for the period required by law;
incident, claim, or complaint records for as long as needed to handle the matter and protect our legal position.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

9. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures are designed to reflect the nature of the information we hold and the risks associated with processing it. Access to personal data is restricted to authorised personnel and trusted processors who need the information to perform their duties.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take reasonable steps to reduce risk and to respond promptly to any suspected data incident.

10. Your Rights Under Data Protection Law

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to legal conditions and exemptions, these may include:

Right of access: to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure: to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction: to ask us to limit how we process your data in certain situations.
Right to object: to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed. We encourage you to raise any concerns with us first so we can address them promptly.

11. Children???s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is provided by a parent, guardian, or authorised adult in connection with the service and only where lawful and necessary.

12. Automated Decision-Making

We do not use fully automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on individuals. If this changes in the future, we will update this policy and provide any required information about the logic involved and your rights.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal obligations, or service arrangements. Any revised version will apply from the date it is made available. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to remain informed about how we process personal data.

14. Summary of Our Commitment

Removal Company is committed to processing personal data fairly, securely, and in line with GDPR principles such as data minimisation, purpose limitation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, confidentiality, and accountability. We collect only the information needed to deliver our services, use it for clear and lawful purposes, share it responsibly with trusted processors, and retain it only for as long as necessary. Your privacy matters to us, and we aim to handle all customer data with care and respect.