Privacy Policy - Southwark Removals

Southwark Removals is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers in the area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. It applies to all Southwark Removals customers in area, including individuals and businesses who use our removal, packing, storage, and related services.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Southwark Removals acts as a data controller in relation to the personal data we collect and process to provide our services. This means we decide how and why your personal data is used.

We are committed to processing personal data fairly, lawfully, and transparently. We only collect information that is necessary for legitimate business purposes, and we take appropriate measures to ensure that it is handled securely.

2. Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity information such as your name, title, and business name, where applicable.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information including property details, moving dates, inventory lists, access instructions, and special handling requirements.
Payment information such as billing details and transaction records.
Communication records including emails, calls, messages, and notes relating to your enquiry or booking.
Contract and account information such as quotations, booking records, invoices, and service history.
Technical data if you contact us electronically, such as device or usage information where necessary for security, troubleshooting, or service improvement.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is required and lawful to do so. If such information is provided to us by you, we will only process it where there is a valid legal basis and additional safeguards are in place.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations and respond to enquiries.
To manage bookings and deliver removal services.
To plan routes, allocate staff, and arrange equipment or vehicles.
To communicate with you before, during, and after the service.
To issue invoices, receive payments, and manage accounts.
To keep records of services provided.
To deal with complaints, claims, and insurance matters.
To comply with legal and regulatory obligations.
To improve our services, business operations, and customer experience.
To protect against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose and that use is permitted by law.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotations, confirming bookings, carrying out removals, and providing related services.

Legal obligation

We may process personal data where it is needed to meet legal obligations, such as tax record-keeping, accounting requirements, or responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided that your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This may include managing our business efficiently, preventing fraud, improving services, or maintaining secure records.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where specific optional communications or uses of data require it. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Important: We do not rely on consent where another lawful basis is more appropriate and robust for service delivery. If you are asked for consent, it will be clear what you are agreeing to.

5. Sharing Your Personal Data

We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to run our business and provide our services. These recipients may include:

Service providers and processors who help us deliver administrative, communication, IT, storage, payment, or operational services.
Subcontractors or labour providers assisting with removals, packing, or related work, where appropriate.
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, legal advisers, and auditors.
Payment providers used to process transactions securely.
Authorities or regulators where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect our rights, customers, or property.

When we engage processors, they are only permitted to process your data on our instructions and must implement appropriate security and confidentiality measures. We do not sell your personal data.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying any legal, accounting, insurance, or reporting requirements.

The retention period may vary depending on the type of information and the reason it was collected. In general:

Quotation and booking records may be kept for a reasonable period after service completion.
Invoice, payment, and accounting records may be retained for the period required by tax and financial laws.
Service communications and complaint records may be kept to manage disputes and demonstrate how matters were handled.
Data no longer required is deleted, anonymised, or securely destroyed.

We review retention periods periodically to ensure data is not kept longer than necessary. Retention is based on operational need and legal requirements, not convenience.

7. Security of Your Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unlawful access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limited data access based on need.

Although no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take data protection seriously and regularly review our safeguards to maintain a high standard of security.

8. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place as required by law. This may include using adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections designed to keep your information protected to a suitable standard.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

Right of access ??? to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification ??? to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure ??? to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction ??? to request that we limit how your data is used 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 are not usually required to pay a fee to exercise your rights. However, we may refuse or charge a reasonable fee where a request is manifestly unfounded, excessive, or repetitive, as permitted by law.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to respond within the legal time limits applicable under data protection law.

10. Children???s Data

Our services are generally intended for adults arranging removals and related services. We do not knowingly collect children???s personal data unless it is incidentally included in service-related communications or documentation. Where such data is provided, we process it only as necessary and in accordance with applicable law.

11. Complaints and Further Rights

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, you may raise them with us so that we can review and address the issue. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner???s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

We encourage you to contact us first where possible so we can try to resolve any issue promptly and fairly.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, regulation, business practices, or the services we provide. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how your information is protected.

13. Scope of This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all Southwark Removals customers in area and covers personal data collected through quotations, bookings, service delivery, customer communication, and associated administrative processes. By using our services, you acknowledge that your information may be processed in line with this policy and with applicable data protection laws.

In summary: we collect only the data needed to provide a reliable removals service, process it lawfully, keep it secure, retain it only as long as necessary, and respect your rights at every stage.