Privacy Policy - Southkensington Removals

This Privacy Policy explains how Southkensington Removals collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing removal, storage, packing, delivery, and related services. It applies to all Southkensington Removals customers in the area, including individuals, families, landlords, tenants, and business clients who use our services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this Privacy Policy. We only collect information that is necessary for the delivery of our services, the management of our business, compliance with legal obligations, and the protection of our legitimate interests. We do not sell personal data.

1. Information We Collect

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

Identity information: name, title, and any relevant identification details needed to verify your identity where required.
Contact information: address, email address, telephone number, and alternative contact details.
Service information: details about your move, property access, inventory lists, delivery preferences, and service instructions.
Payment information: billing details, transaction records, and payment status. We do not store full card details unless necessary and permitted by our payment provider arrangements.
Communication records: emails, messages, notes from calls, complaint records, and customer service correspondence.
Technical information: limited website or device information if you interact with digital systems we use for administration, such as IP address or browser data, where applicable.
Special category data: we do not usually request special category data. If such information is inadvertently provided, we will only process it where there is a lawful basis and appropriate safeguards.

We generally collect personal data directly from you when you request a quote, book a service, communicate with us, submit a form, or provide instructions related to your removal. In some cases, we may receive data from third parties such as estate agents, landlords, solicitors, insurers, storage providers, or subcontracted service partners, where this is necessary to deliver the service or to manage the contract.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotes and assess service requirements;
to manage bookings, scheduling, and operational planning;
to carry out removal, packing, transportation, storage, and related services;
to communicate with you about your service, changes, or issues;
to process payments, issue invoices, and manage accounts;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
to handle complaints, disputes, insurance matters, and claims;
to improve our services, training, safety, and internal administration;
to prevent fraud, misuse, theft, or other unlawful activity;
to maintain records needed for business and legal purposes.

We only process personal data when it is necessary for a specific and legitimate purpose. We take care to ensure our use of data is proportionate and limited to what is required.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. Southkensington Removals relies on 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 quotes, managing bookings, delivering services, coordinating logistics, and handling payment administration.

Legal Obligation

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

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data based on our legitimate interests where these are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include business administration, improving operations, ensuring security, managing claims, and preventing fraud or misuse. We carry out a balancing assessment before relying on this basis.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on consent, for example where it is needed for optional communications or certain data uses. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for our business operations and service delivery. These may include:

Payment processors that securely process transactions;
IT and software providers that support scheduling, communications, storage, data backup, and administration;
Accountants and professional advisers who assist with financial, legal, or compliance matters;
Subcontractors and logistics partners involved in performing parts of the service;
Storage facilities or warehouse providers when items are stored on your behalf;
Insurance providers in relation to claims or cover;
Public authorities, courts, or regulators where disclosure is required by law.

Where third parties process personal data on our behalf, they act as processors and are required to process data only on our instructions, to keep it secure, and to use it only for the agreed purpose. We take steps to ensure appropriate contractual and security safeguards are in place before sharing data with processors.

5. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, regulatory, contractual, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason it was collected.

For example, service records, invoices, and accounting information may need to be retained for several years to comply with tax and legal obligations. Communications and operational records may be kept for a shorter period, unless needed for dispute resolution, claims handling, or audit purposes. When personal data is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise disposed of in a safe manner.

We review retained data periodically to ensure it is still necessary. We do not keep personal data indefinitely.

6. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, password protection, and restricted processing permissions.

Although no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take data protection seriously and regularly review our safeguards. If a personal data breach occurs and it is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will respond in line with legal requirements.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis used for processing:

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 certain cases.
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 processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We will respond within the time limits required by law unless a lawful extension applies. In some cases, rights may be limited where retaining or processing data is required for compliance, legal defence, or other lawful reasons.

8. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will only do so where appropriate safeguards are in place and the transfer is permitted under data protection law. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other approved mechanisms designed to protect your data.

9. Children???s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from minors except where it is necessary in connection with a family move or household arrangement and where appropriate authority is provided by a parent or guardian. If we become aware that we have collected data inappropriately, we will take steps to delete it.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service arrangements. Any updated version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Southkensington Removals is committed to protecting your privacy and using personal data responsibly. We only collect what we need, process it for clear and lawful purposes, share it only when necessary, and keep it no longer than required. We recognise that trust is essential in providing removal services, and we aim to handle all customer information with care, confidentiality, and respect.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Southkensington Removals customers in the area.