Removal Company Balham Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Removal Company Balham collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to individuals who use our removal and associated services. It applies to all Removal Company Balham customers in the Balham area and surrounding localities, as well as to individuals who contact us or visit our website in relation to our services.

We are committed to complying with the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. We only process personal data in a lawful, fair and transparent manner and we take appropriate steps to keep your information secure.

Personal data we collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for the provision and management of our services. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of personal data:

Identification and contact details, such as your full name, postal address, property access details that you choose to share with us, and other contact information you provide when booking or enquiring about a removal.

Service and booking information, such as details of the properties you are moving from and to, dates and times of your move, inventory or item descriptions, special handling requirements, and any instructions you give to us relevant to your move.

Billing and payment information, such as invoicing details, transaction amounts, and payment status. Payment card information is handled by our payment service providers and is not stored by us beyond what is necessary for accounting and reference purposes.

Communications data, such as emails, contact form submissions, written correspondence and notes of telephone conversations, to the extent needed to respond to your enquiries, confirm bookings and deal with any issues or complaints.

Website usage data, such as technical information about your visits to our website, including your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited and the time and date of your visit. This information may be collected through cookies or similar technologies, where permitted by law, to help us improve our website and understand how it is used.

Lawful bases for processing personal data

We process your personal data only where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the context, the lawful bases we rely on include:

Contractual necessity. We process personal data to enter into and perform a contract with you, including to provide removal and associated services, to manage bookings, to issue invoices, to take payment and to communicate with you about the service.

Legitimate interests. We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This includes managing and improving our services, handling enquiries and complaints, preventing fraud or misuse of our services, and maintaining business records.

Legal obligations. We process certain personal data where this is required to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including tax, accounting and reporting obligations, and to assist law enforcement or regulatory authorities where required by law.

Consent. In some limited cases, we may rely on your consent to process personal data, for example where we use optional cookies or send certain types of marketing communications. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

How we use personal data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage our removal services in the Balham area, including arranging surveys where applicable, planning and carrying out your move, and ensuring that your instructions are followed.

To communicate with you about your enquiries, bookings, changes to services, cancellations, service updates and any issues that arise before, during or after your move.

To manage billing and payments, including issuing quotations, sending invoices, confirming payments, and managing refunds or adjustments where necessary.

To manage our relationship with you, including handling feedback, responding to complaints and resolving disputes.

To operate and improve our website and services, including monitoring usage, performing analytics and ensuring the security and integrity of our systems.

To comply with legal obligations and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Data retention

We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and to meet our legal and regulatory obligations. The retention period will vary depending on the type of information and the reason for processing.

In general, we retain customer records, including contact details, booking and service information, and invoicing details, for a period that aligns with applicable limitation periods for legal claims and with tax and accounting requirements. After this period, personal data will be securely deleted or anonymised so that it can no longer be associated with an identifiable individual.

Communications and correspondence may be retained for a shorter or longer period depending on their relevance to ongoing matters or potential disputes. Website usage data is typically retained for a shorter period necessary for analytics and security, unless a longer period is required in connection with an investigation or legal requirement.

Data processors and sharing of personal data

We may engage third party service providers to process personal data on our behalf. These data processors are only permitted to process personal data in accordance with our instructions and are required to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect the data.

Examples of the types of data processors we may use include:

Information technology and hosting providers that support our website, email, booking and storage systems.

Payment service providers that process card or online payments in a secure manner.

External accountants or professional advisers who assist with our business operations and compliance, including tax and accounting.

Where we use such processors, we enter into written agreements that include data protection provisions as required by the UK General Data Protection Regulation.

We may also share personal data with other third parties where this is necessary and lawful, including with insurance providers in connection with any claim, with law enforcement or regulatory authorities where required by law, or with our professional advisers in connection with legal matters. We do not sell your personal data.

International transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data, such as the use of standard contractual clauses or reliance on an adequacy decision where applicable. We will only transfer personal data internationally where permitted by data protection law.

Security of personal data

We take the security of personal data seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to prevent unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure. These measures include access controls, secure storage, and limiting the personal data that we collect and retain to what is necessary for our purposes.

While we take reasonable steps to protect your personal data, no system can be completely secure. You are responsible for ensuring that any personal data you provide to us is transmitted securely and for keeping any reference numbers or similar identifiers confidential.

Your data protection rights

As an individual whose personal data we process, you have certain rights under data protection law. These include:

The right of access. You have the right to request confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and, where we do, to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, along with certain information about how we process it.

The right to rectification. You have the right to request that inaccurate personal data is corrected and that incomplete data is completed.

The right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you have the right to request that we delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected, or where you withdraw consent and there is no other lawful basis for processing.

The right to restriction of processing. You may request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances, such as while we consider a request for rectification or where you object to processing based on our legitimate interests.

The right to object. You have the right to object to processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as the lawful basis, including profiling based on those interests. We will stop processing your data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms or where processing is necessary for legal claims.

The right to data portability. In certain circumstances, you have the right to receive personal data that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format, and to request that we transmit that data to another controller where technically feasible.

Where we rely on your consent for processing, you also have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe that your rights have been infringed or that your personal data has been processed in a way that does not comply with data protection law.

Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all customers of Removal Company Balham in the Balham area and surrounding localities, and to individuals who contact us or visit our website in relation to our services. By engaging with us, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy and understand how we handle personal data.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements or regulatory guidance. Any changes will take effect when the revised policy is made available. You should review this Privacy Policy periodically to ensure that you are aware of any updates and how they may affect you.