Privacy Policy - Removal Van Putney

This Privacy Policy explains how Removal Van Putney collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Removal Van Putney customers in the area, including individuals who request quotes, book services, communicate with us, or otherwise use our moving and removal services.

We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent way under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. We only collect information that is necessary for delivering our services, managing our business, meeting legal obligations, and improving the customer experience. This policy is intended to be clear and easy to understand so you know what happens to your data.

1. Personal Data We Collect

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

• Identity details: name, title, and any other information needed to identify you.
• Contact details: address, email address, telephone number, and preferred communication method.
• Service details: property access information, moving dates, inventory details, delivery requirements, and any instructions you give us.
• Payment information: billing details, transaction records, and payment confirmation information. We do not store full card details unless strictly necessary and permitted by the payment method used.
• Communication records: emails, messages, notes from calls, complaint details, and feedback.
• Usage and technical information: basic website or system interaction data where applicable, such as device information, log data, and security-related records.
• Special category data: in limited circumstances, information that may be provided indirectly and only where necessary, for example accessibility requirements or health-related access needs. We handle this carefully and only when there is a lawful basis to do so.

We generally collect data directly from you when you request a quotation, confirm a booking, ask a question, or provide service instructions. We may also receive information from third parties involved in the move, such as landlords, estate agents, solicitors, building managers, or payment providers, where this is necessary for service delivery or administrative purposes.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

• to provide removal and moving services;
• to prepare quotations and confirm bookings;
• to plan routes, schedules, staffing, and vehicle requirements;
• to communicate with you about the service;
• to process payments and maintain financial records;
• to handle complaints, claims, and service enquiries;
• to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
• to protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud, misuse, or security risks;
• to improve our services, customer support, and operational efficiency.

We only use your data for the purpose for which it was collected, unless we reasonably need to use it for a compatible purpose that is permitted by law.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis before we process your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we 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 providing quotes you request, arranging your move, delivering removal services, and managing payments.

Legal Obligation

We process certain data because we must comply with legal obligations, including tax law, accounting requirements, business record-keeping, and other statutory duties.

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 managing operations, preventing fraud, maintaining security, responding to enquiries, improving services, and keeping internal records.

Consent

In some cases, we may rely on your consent, particularly where it is appropriate to do so. If we ask for consent, you are free to withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as data processors or independent controllers depending on their role. We only share the information necessary for the relevant task and ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place.

Examples of processors and third parties may include:

• IT and hosting providers: for secure storage, system maintenance, and technical support.
• Payment service providers: for handling transactions and payment verification.
• Accounting and bookkeeping providers: for invoicing, reporting, and compliance.
• Customer communication tools: for managing emails, messages, and service records.
• Professional advisers: such as legal, insurance, or tax advisers where necessary.
• Delivery and operational partners: where subcontracted support is required to complete a move safely and efficiently.

All processors are required to handle personal data securely, use it only on our instructions, and comply with applicable data protection laws. We do not sell personal data.

5. International Transfers

If any of our service providers store or process data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place before the transfer occurs. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, contractual protections, or other legally recognised transfer mechanisms.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for legal, accounting, insurance, or reporting requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data and the reason it is held.

As a general principle:

• quotation and booking records are kept for the period needed to manage the service and any follow-up matters;
• financial and tax records are retained for the length required by law;
• complaints, claims, and dispute-related records are retained until they are resolved and for any additional period needed to defend legal rights;
• technical and security logs are kept for a limited period unless longer retention is needed for investigation or legal compliance.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete, anonymise, or securely destroy it.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, and internal procedures for handling information safely. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work continuously to reduce risk and protect the information entrusted to us.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your circumstances and the legal basis for processing, you may have the following rights under data protection law:

• 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 data.
• Right to erasure: to request deletion of your data in certain situations.
• Right to restriction: to ask us to limit processing in specific circumstances.
• Right to object: to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing, where applicable.
• Right to data portability: to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where technically feasible.
• Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you make a rights request, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We will aim to respond within the time limits required by law.

9. Automated Decision-Making

We do not use personal data for decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects on you. If this changes in the future, we will update this policy and ensure that any use of automated decision-making complies with data protection law.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business or household customers arranging removals. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally provided as part of service arrangements and only when necessary. If we become aware that we have collected such data without an appropriate lawful basis, we will take steps to delete it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our internal practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage you to review it periodically so you remain informed about how your personal data is handled.

12. Summary of Your Key Choices

You can control much of the information you share with us, but some data is necessary for us to provide removal services properly. If you choose not to provide essential information, we may not be able to offer a quotation, confirm a booking, or complete the service safely and effectively.

Removal Van Putney values privacy, transparency, and accountability. We will only process personal data where we have a lawful basis, retain it only as long as necessary, and use trusted processors under appropriate safeguards. If you are a customer in the area, this policy applies to you whenever you use our services or interact with us in connection with them.

We are committed to respecting your privacy and protecting your information in a responsible and lawful manner. This policy is designed to meet GDPR principles of fairness, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, confidentiality, and accountability.