Privacy Policy - Removal Company Dulwich

This Privacy Policy explains how Removal Company Dulwich collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Removal Company Dulwich customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and business customers who use our removal, packing, storage, and related services. We are committed to handling personal information in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Removal Company Dulwich is a removal services provider that processes personal data in order to deliver quotes, arrange moves, manage bookings, and support customers before, during, and after a service. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as a data controller when deciding why and how your personal data is processed. In some limited cases, we may act as a data processor where we handle data strictly on instructions from another controller.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information that is necessary to provide our services, manage our business, and meet our legal obligations. The types of data we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name, title, and business name if applicable.
Contact details such as address, email address, telephone number, and moving addresses.
Service details including the date of your move, property access information, inventory lists, parking requirements, and special handling instructions.
Billing and payment information such as payment status, invoices, and transaction records.
Communication records such as enquiries, complaints, emails, call notes, and messages.
Technical data such as IP address, device information, and basic website usage data if you interact with our online services.
Optional information you choose to provide, for example, details about access needs, preferred timings, or instructions for fragile items.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and you provide it voluntarily, for example where access arrangements or health-related considerations must be discussed to safely complete a move. Where this occurs, we will apply extra safeguards.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations and assess service requirements.
To book, manage, and complete removal services.
To communicate with you about schedules, access, and service updates.
To process payments, issue invoices, and manage accounts.
To respond to enquiries, feedback, and complaints.
To maintain internal records and improve service quality.
To comply with legal, tax, and insurance obligations.
To prevent fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We only use your data where we have a valid legal reason to do so, and we do not use it in ways that are incompatible with the reason it was originally collected.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on the following:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to prepare for and perform our contract with you, such as handling your booking, carrying out the move, or issuing invoices.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain data to comply with legal requirements, including accounting, tax, insurance, and record-keeping duties.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include improving services, managing customer relations, preventing fraud, and maintaining internal security.

Consent

Where required, we will ask for your consent before processing data for specific optional purposes. You may withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

Vital Interests

In rare situations, we may process personal data to protect someone’s vital interests, for example where urgent safety concerns arise during a move.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share data only when necessary and appropriate. Recipients may include:

Processors who act on our instructions, such as IT support providers, secure cloud storage providers, accounting systems, customer management tools, and payment service providers.
Professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, or auditors where needed.
Public authorities where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect rights, safety, or property.
Third parties involved in your move, such as landlords, building management, or storage facilities, but only where necessary to arrange or complete the service.

Where we use processors, we ensure they handle data securely, process it only on our instructions, and meet appropriate data protection standards. We require contracts that protect your information and limit how it may be used.

6. International Transfers

If any service provider stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal protections designed to keep your data secure.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected and to meet legal and operational requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason for processing. In general:

Quotation and enquiry records may be kept for a limited period after the enquiry ends, unless they lead to a customer relationship.
Contract and service records are kept for the duration of the service and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and tax records are retained for the periods required by law.
Complaint and dispute records may be retained longer where necessary to resolve issues or defend legal claims.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

8. Security of Your Information

We take the security of personal data seriously and use appropriate technical and organisational measures to help protect it. These may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, password protection, and limiting access to those who need it. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take reasonable steps to reduce risks such as unauthorised access, loss, or misuse.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These include:

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 information.
Right to erasure – to ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to data portability – to request that certain data be provided to you or another organisation in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in line with applicable law. In some cases, we may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data rights have been violated.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults or authorised representatives arranging removal services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children as a primary target group. If data about children is included incidentally as part of a household move, it will be processed only where necessary and with appropriate care.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their information is used.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Removal Company Dulwich is committed to handling personal information lawfully, fairly, and transparently. We collect only what we need, use it for clear purposes, keep it only as long as necessary, and protect it through suitable safeguards. This policy applies to all customers in the Dulwich area who use our removal services, and it is designed to ensure that your privacy is respected throughout every stage of our relationship with you.