Privacy Policy - Removal Van Shepherds Bush

This Privacy Policy explains how Removal Van Shepherds Bush collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Removal Van Shepherds Bush customers in the area, including individuals and businesses that request, book, receive, or enquire about our removal van services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who This Policy Applies To

This policy applies to customers, potential customers, suppliers, and other individuals whose personal data we process as part of providing removal van services in Shepherds Bush and the surrounding area. It also applies when you interact with us in any way connected to a quote, booking, move, delivery, complaint, or service enquiry.

By using our services or providing us with your personal data, you acknowledge that this policy explains how your information is handled.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect data that is necessary for the purposes described in this policy. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identity data: name, title, and, where relevant, business name.
Contact data: address, email address, telephone number, and delivery or collection details.
Booking and service data: move date, property access information, inventory details, and service preferences.
Payment data: billing information and transaction records. We do not usually store full payment card details where a secure payment processor is used.
Communication data: messages, emails, call notes, complaint records, and service feedback.
Technical data: limited device, browser, and usage information if you contact us electronically.
Special category data: we do not actively seek to collect special category data. If such information is incidentally disclosed to us, we will treat it with extra care and only process it where lawful and necessary.

We generally collect data directly from you. In some cases, we may receive data from third parties such as landlords, estate agents, property managers, payment processors, or other parties involved in arranging a move, but only where this is necessary for service delivery or where you have authorised it.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use your data for the following purposes:

to provide quotes and assess service requirements;
to arrange, confirm, and complete removal van services;
to manage bookings, scheduling, and route planning;
to communicate with you about your move or enquiry;
to process payments, invoices, and refunds where applicable;
to handle complaints, disputes, and customer support requests;
to maintain business records and meet legal, accounting, and tax obligations;
to improve our services, internal operations, and service quality;
to protect our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We do not sell your personal data. We also do not use your data for unrelated purposes unless we have a lawful basis to do so and, where required, we have informed you.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only when we have a lawful basis under the UK GDPR. Depending on the context, the lawful bases we rely on are:

Contract

We process data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, managing bookings, carrying out removals, and issuing invoices.

Legal Obligation

We process data where required to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, and regulatory requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these do not override your rights and freedoms. Examples include service improvement, record management, fraud prevention, and business administration. We ensure that such processing is proportionate and relevant.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example for optional communications or specific processing activities where consent is the most appropriate basis. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

We will not rely on a lawful basis unless it genuinely applies to the specific processing activity.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties only when necessary and only under appropriate safeguards. These third parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers.

Typical processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers that store business records or support communications;
payment processing providers that handle secure transactions;
accounting and bookkeeping services that support financial administration;
customer management systems used to manage bookings and enquiries;
professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers, where required.

We require processors to act only on our instructions, to keep data confidential, and to implement appropriate security measures. Where a third party determines the purposes and means of processing independently, it is responsible for its own compliance.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, court order, or lawful request from a public authority, or where disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, customers, staff, or the public.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including for legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the reason it was collected.

Booking and service records are typically retained for a reasonable period after the service is completed.
Financial and tax records are retained in line with applicable legal obligations.
Complaint and dispute records may be kept for longer where needed to resolve issues or defend legal claims.
Enquiry data that does not lead to a booking may be deleted after an appropriate period unless retention is required for legitimate business reasons.

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

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff training, and limiting access to those who need it for legitimate business purposes.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to reduce risk and respond appropriately to any suspected data breach.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to conditions or exemptions depending on the circumstances.

Right of access: you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure: you may request deletion of your data in certain situations.
Right to restriction: you may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to object: you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: you may request certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
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 will respond in accordance with applicable law and may need to verify your identity before taking action. We aim to handle rights requests fairly, promptly, and transparently.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults arranging removal services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in a specific service context and provided by a responsible adult. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without a proper basis, we will take steps to delete it.

10. International Transfers

If any of our processors store or access data outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information. These safeguards may include adequate transfer mechanisms recognised under data protection law.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal obligations, or operational needs. Any changes will apply from the date they are made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Removal Van Shepherd Bush Shepherds Bush is committed to processing personal data responsibly, securely, and lawfully. We collect only the information needed to provide and improve our services, rely on proper lawful bases, retain data only as long as necessary, use trusted processors under contract, and respect your privacy rights.

This policy applies to all Removal Van Shepherds Bush customers in the area. We aim to ensure that your information is handled with care and in a manner consistent with the principles of data protection law: lawfulness, fairness, transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, and confidentiality.