Southwark Removals Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Southwark Removals collects, uses, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our removals and related services. It applies to all Southwark Removals customers and prospective customers within our service area, as well as visitors who enquire about our services.

We are committed to processing your personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Data Controller

Southwark Removals is the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means that we determine the purposes and means of the processing of your personal data in relation to the services we provide.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect and process personal data that is necessary for us to provide removals and related services. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identification and contact details, such as your name, home or business address, service address, billing address, and general location information relevant to the move.

Communication details, such as your preferred contact methods and the content of communications you send to us, including enquiries, quotes, feedback, or complaints.

Service and booking details, such as the date and time of your move, collection and delivery addresses, access details for the properties involved, and any specific instructions you provide.

Billing and payment information, such as invoice details, records of payments, and related transaction information. We do not store full payment card details when payments are processed through third party payment providers.

Website and usage data, such as technical information about your use of our website or online forms, including device information, approximate location, and pages visited, where this is collected through cookies or similar technologies in accordance with applicable law.

Any other information you voluntarily provide, such as special requirements for your move or information necessary to perform the contract safely and effectively.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us by phone, online, or in person, when you request a quote, make a booking, arrange a survey, or use our services.

We may also receive personal data from third parties, such as comparison or referral services that you use to request quotes from removal companies, online platforms where you submit enquiry forms, or payment service providers who confirm payment status.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process your personal data on one or more of the following lawful bases under the UK GDPR:

Performance of a contract. We process personal data where it is necessary to provide our services to you, to prepare a quote, to manage your booking, to carry out your move, and to handle any follow up enquiries.

Legitimate interests. We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This includes managing our business operations, improving our services, and handling routine communications.

Legal obligations. We process personal data where it is necessary to comply with legal or regulatory obligations, such as tax and accounting rules, record keeping requirements, and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Consent. In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of optional marketing communications. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

5. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide removals and related services, including issuing quotes, confirming bookings, planning and carrying out moves, and providing after care support.

To communicate with you about your enquiry or booking, including sending confirmations, reminders, updates, and important information regarding your move or our services.

To issue invoices, process payments, and maintain accurate financial records in line with our legal and accounting obligations.

To manage our relationship with you, including handling feedback, responding to complaints, and updating you about changes to our terms or policies.

To operate, maintain, and improve our website and services, including analysing usage patterns at an aggregated level to understand how customers interact with us.

To protect our business, our staff, and our customers, including preventing fraud, maintaining security, and asserting or defending legal claims.

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share your personal data with third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and where appropriate safeguards are in place.

Service providers and processors. We use carefully selected third party providers to support our operations, such as IT hosting and support companies, customer management systems, email and communications providers, and payment processors. These providers act as data processors and process your data only on our instructions and in accordance with data protection laws.

Professional advisers. We may share necessary information with our accountants, legal advisers, or other professional advisers where needed for business management, legal compliance, or to establish or defend legal claims.

Public authorities. We may disclose personal data where required to do so by law or where necessary to respond to valid legal requests from regulatory, tax, or law enforcement authorities.

We do not sell your personal data and we do not share it with third parties for them to market their products or services to you.

7. International Transfers

Where any of our service providers or systems are located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, or store data in such locations, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include using countries that have been granted an adequacy decision or using standard contractual clauses approved for international data transfers. Further information about these safeguards can be provided on request.

8. Data Retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

In general, we retain customer records, including basic contact and service details, for up to seven years after the end of our relationship to meet tax and accounting obligations and to handle any potential legal claims. In some cases, data may be kept for shorter periods where a longer retention period is not required.

Once the relevant retention period has expired and there is no continuing legal or business need to keep your data, we will securely delete or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to you.

9. Your Data Protection Rights

Under the UK GDPR, you have certain rights in relation to the personal data we hold about you. These rights are subject to specific conditions and exemptions. They include:

Right of access. You can request confirmation that we process your personal data and obtain a copy of the data we hold, along with information about how we use it.

Right to rectification. You can ask us to correct or complete any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.

Right to erasure. You can request that we delete your personal data in certain circumstances, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected or where you have withdrawn consent and no other lawful basis applies.

Right to restriction. You can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we investigate a concern you raise about its accuracy.

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

Right to object. You can object to our processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis. We will stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds which override your interests, rights, and freedoms, or where processing is needed for legal claims.

Right to withdraw consent. Where we rely on your consent to process personal data, you can withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office if you believe that your data protection rights have been infringed.

10. Security of Your Data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures include access controls, secure storage, and restrictions on who can access personal data within our organisation and among our service providers.

While we take reasonable steps to protect your personal data, no system can be completely secure and we cannot guarantee absolute security of information transmitted to or by us.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or service offerings. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we process your personal data.