Privacy Policy - Removals Shepherdsbush

This Privacy Policy explains how Removals Shepherdsbush collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our removal services. It applies to all Removals Shepherdsbush customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and businesses that use our services or communicate with us in relation to a move, storage arrangement, quotation, survey, or related service.

We are committed to processing personal data in a lawful, fair, transparent, and secure manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy is designed to help you understand what data we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and what rights you have.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data that is necessary to provide our services, manage our business, and meet our legal obligations. Depending on the nature of your enquiry or booking, we may collect the following categories of data:

Identity data such as your name, title, and, where relevant, business name.
Contact data such as telephone number, email address, and service address.
Service information including move dates, inventory details, access notes, property type, and special handling requirements.
Payment and billing data such as invoicing details, payment status, and transaction references.
Communication data including emails, messages, call notes, feedback, and complaint records.
Technical data where applicable, such as basic website or device information if you submit an online enquiry.
Special category data only if you voluntarily provide it and only where strictly necessary, for example information relating to access needs or health-related moving arrangements.

We generally collect data directly from you when you request a quotation, make a booking, complete forms, correspond with us, or provide information during a survey or service delivery. In some cases, we may also receive data from third parties such as estate agents, landlords, solicitors, employers, or other people authorised to arrange a move on your behalf.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data only for clearly defined purposes. These include:

providing quotations and assessing service requirements;
planning and carrying out removals, packing, storage, and related services;
communicating with you about bookings, schedules, and operational matters;
issuing invoices, processing payments, and maintaining financial records;
handling complaints, claims, and customer support requests;
improving our services, staff training, and internal administration;
meeting legal, accounting, insurance, and regulatory obligations;
protecting our business, customers, and property against fraud or misuse.

We do not use your personal data for unrelated purposes without a valid legal basis and, where required, your consent.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each processing activity. Depending on the situation, Removals Shepherdsbush relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes preparing quotes, scheduling your move, delivering services, and managing payment arrangements.

Legal Obligation

We process certain information to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, and record-keeping requirements. This may also include responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include business administration, service improvement, preventing fraud, maintaining security, and resolving disputes.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, particularly for optional communications or where special category information is supplied voluntarily and consent is appropriate. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to operate our business and provide services. These third parties may act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers.

Our processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers that host our systems or store records;
accounting and invoicing providers;
payment processing services;
customer relationship or booking management tools;
professional advisers such as insurers, auditors, or legal advisers;
subcontracted removal crews or logistics partners acting on our instructions;
storage facilities or delivery partners used to complete a service.

Where we use processors, they are required to act only on our instructions, protect your data, and implement appropriate security measures. We do not sell your personal data. We also do not permit processors to use your information for their own unrelated purposes.

We may disclose data where necessary to comply with law, enforce our terms, protect rights, or prevent harm. If a third party is independently responsible for how your data is used, we will expect them to provide their own privacy information.

5. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and in accordance with applicable legal, tax, insurance, and contractual requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the nature of our relationship with you.

Quotation and enquiry data may be retained for a reasonable period to manage follow-up, customer service, and business analysis.
Contract and service records are kept for the duration of the service and for a further period where required for claims or dispute handling.
Financial and tax records are retained in line with statutory obligations.
Complaint and incident records may be held longer where necessary to resolve issues, defend claims, or meet legal obligations.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you. Retention is based on necessity, not convenience, and we review stored information periodically to ensure we do not keep it longer than required.

6. Security of Your Data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, and data minimisation practices. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to reduce risk and handle information responsibly.

Only authorised personnel and approved processors may access personal data where needed to perform their duties.

7. Your Rights

You have a number of rights under data protection law. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the legal basis for processing:

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 data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain situations.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how your data is used in certain cases.
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 also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your data has been handled unlawfully or unfairly. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so that we can address them promptly.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental to a household move and necessary for service provision. Where such information is encountered, we handle it with care and only to the extent required.

9. International Transfers

If any of our service providers or systems involve the transfer of personal data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect that information in line with data protection law.

10. Changes to This Policy

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

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Removals Shepherdsbush respects your privacy and is committed to using personal data responsibly, transparently, and securely. We collect only the information needed to deliver our services, rely on appropriate lawful bases, work with processors under proper controls, retain data for no longer than necessary, and uphold your rights under data protection law. This policy applies to all Removals Shepherdsbush customers in the area, and it reflects our commitment to protecting your information at every stage of the service relationship.