Privacy Policy - Kingston Upon Thames Removals

This Privacy Policy explains how Kingston Upon Thames Removals collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Kingston Upon Thames Removals customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and businesses who use our removal, packing, storage, and related services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Kingston Upon Thames Removals acts as the data controller for the personal data we collect and use in connection with our services. This means we decide why and how your personal data is processed. In some cases, we may also use third-party processors who act on our behalf and only under our instructions.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following types of personal data:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as telephone numbers and email addresses.
Address information including collection and delivery addresses, property access details, and parking or loading instructions.
Service details such as moving dates, property size, inventory information, packing requirements, storage needs, and quotations.
Payment and billing details necessary to manage invoices, receipts, and payment records.
Communication records including emails, call notes, text messages, and service-related correspondence.
Identification and verification information where required for fraud prevention, security, or legal obligations.
Special instructions you provide concerning fragile items, access arrangements, or health and safety considerations.

We may also collect limited technical data when you interact with our digital systems, such as device information, IP address, browser type, and usage data, where this is relevant to security, troubleshooting, or service improvement.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data only where we have a lawful reason to do so. Typical uses include:

providing quotations and managing bookings;
planning and delivering removal, packing, dismantling, reassembly, and storage services;
communicating about your job, changes to arrangements, or service issues;
issuing invoices, processing payments, and maintaining financial records;
meeting legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations;
protecting against fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access;
responding to complaints, claims, or disputes;
improving our services, training staff, and maintaining operational quality.

We do not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected unless we have a lawful basis to do so.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis before processing your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, Kingston Upon Thames Removals may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotations, confirming bookings, arranging your move, handling storage, and completing related customer service tasks.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where needed to comply with legal requirements, such as tax rules, accounting obligations, insurance requirements, or other applicable laws.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include operational planning, service improvement, fraud prevention, security, record keeping, and handling customer queries.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is necessary to send certain types of optional marketing communications. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests

In rare situations, we may process personal data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in an emergency affecting health or safety.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to deliver our services or comply with the law. These parties may include:

Payment providers who process transactions securely;
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who support financial administration;
IT and cloud service providers who host systems, email, backups, or business software;
Storage providers where items are held as part of your service;
Insurance providers, surveyors, or claims handlers where relevant to damage, liability, or risk management;
Professional advisers such as lawyers, auditors, and tax advisers;
Regulators, law enforcement, or courts where disclosure is required by law.

Where third parties process data on our behalf, they act as processors. They are only allowed to process personal data according to our instructions and must keep it secure and confidential. We take reasonable steps to ensure that processors provide appropriate safeguards and comply with data protection requirements.

6. International Transfers

In some cases, our service providers may store or access data outside the UK. If this happens, we will ensure suitable safeguards are in place so that your personal data remains protected to a standard required by law. These safeguards may include approved contractual terms or equivalent protection measures.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, insurance, and reporting obligations. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of record and the reason for processing.

Customer and booking records are generally kept for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Claims, complaints, and dispute records may be retained longer where needed to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
Consent records may be retained for as long as necessary to demonstrate compliance with legal obligations.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in accordance with our retention practices.

8. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, destruction, alteration, unauthorised access, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, and restricted data handling procedures. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection appropriate to the risk.

9. Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply in full or in part depending on the legal basis for processing and the circumstances of the request.

Right of access to obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure in certain circumstances, also known as the right to be forgotten.
Right to restrict processing where you want us to limit how data is used.
Right to data portability for data you provided to us in a structured, commonly used format, where applicable.
Right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
Right to challenge automated decisions if such decisions ever apply.

We will respond to valid rights requests in line with legal requirements and may ask for information to verify your identity before proceeding.

10. Complaints and Supervisory Authority

If you have concerns about how we handle personal data, you should raise them with us first so that we can try to resolve the issue. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) or the relevant UK data protection authority if you believe your data rights have been infringed.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are generally intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where necessary in relation to a move, household arrangement, or lawful service requirement, and only with appropriate care and lawful basis.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services, or our data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it becomes effective. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

13. Summary of Key Points

In summary, Kingston Upon Thames Removals collects only the personal data needed to provide and manage our services, relies on lawful bases such as contract, legal obligation, legitimate interests, and consent where appropriate, and shares data only with trusted processors or when legally required. We retain data for no longer than necessary and respect your rights under data protection law.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Kingston Upon Thames Removals customers in the area and is intended to provide clear, fair, and transparent information about our data handling practices.