Privacy Policy - Removals Catford

This Privacy Policy explains how Removals Catford collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. It applies to all Removals Catford customers in the Catford area, including individuals and businesses who enquire about, book, or receive our removal and related services. By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal information may be processed as described in this policy.

1. Who We Are

Removals Catford provides moving, packing, transport, and related logistical services. In connection with these services, we act as a data controller for the personal data we determine the purposes and means of processing. In some cases, we may also act as a data processor where we handle information on behalf of a client under their instructions.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data necessary to provide our services effectively and lawfully. The categories of data we may collect include:

Identity data such as your name, title, and, where relevant, business or company name.
Contact data such as billing address, service address, email address, and telephone number.
Service data such as moving dates, property access details, inventory lists, special handling requirements, and storage needs.
Payment data such as payment status, transaction references, and limited billing information.
Communication data such as enquiries, complaints, feedback, and correspondence.
Technical data if you interact with our digital systems, including basic device and usage information collected for security and system performance purposes.
Special category data only where strictly necessary and usually not intentionally collected. If such data is provided by you in relation to access requirements or vulnerable circumstances, it will be handled with additional care and only where a lawful basis applies.

We do not seek to collect unnecessary personal data. We encourage customers to provide only information that is relevant to the service requested.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
to plan, manage, and deliver removal services;
to communicate with customers about bookings, schedules, and service updates;
to process payments and maintain financial records;
to handle complaints, claims, and customer support matters;
to meet legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations;
to protect against fraud, misuse, and unauthorised access;
to improve service quality and operational efficiency;
to keep necessary business records and evidence of instructions received.

We will always process your data in a manner that is fair, transparent, and limited to what is necessary for the relevant purpose.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis before processing your personal data. Removals Catford relies on the following lawful bases, depending on the context:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing bookings, delivering removal services, issuing invoices, and responding to service-related requests.

Legal Obligation

We may process information where required to comply with laws and regulations, including accounting, tax, insurance, and record-keeping obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is reasonably necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This may include service improvement, fraud prevention, dispute handling, internal administration, and business record retention.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where optional marketing or non-essential communications are involved. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting prior lawful processing.

Vital Interests and Public Interest

These bases are unlikely to be used routinely, but may apply in rare situations involving emergency support, serious safety concerns, or legal requirements.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties when necessary to operate our services. Where these third parties process personal data on our behalf, they act as processors and are bound by written contracts requiring them to protect data and use it only under our instructions.

Examples of processors and service partners may include:

IT and cloud service providers;
payment processing providers;
accounting and bookkeeping services;
customer communications and email systems;
storage and logistics support providers;
professional advisers such as insurers, auditors, or legal advisers where required;
subcontracted operational partners assisting with moving services.

We may also disclose information where required by law, court order, or a lawful request from a public authority. We do not sell personal data.

6. International Transfers

If any processor stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent protections required by law. We take reasonable steps to ensure that your information remains protected to a standard consistent with UK GDPR requirements.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the nature of the service. In general:

quotation and enquiry records may be kept for a limited period to manage follow-up queries and service history;
contract, booking, and service records may be retained for the duration of the service and a reasonable period afterwards;
financial and tax records are retained for the period required by applicable law;
claims, complaints, or dispute records may be retained for as long as necessary to resolve the matter and defend legal rights;
marketing records are retained until you withdraw consent or object, where applicable.

When retention is no longer required, data will be securely deleted, anonymised, or destroyed.

8. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of our internal procedures. While no system is completely secure, we work to maintain a high level of protection suitable for the nature of the data we process.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

Right of access – to request a copy of the data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to request that we limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data 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, you may withdraw it at any time.
Right not to be subject to automated decision-making – although we do not normally make decisions about you solely by automated means.

We will respond to rights requests in line with applicable legal requirements. Some rights may not apply in all situations, and certain information may need to be retained where there is a legal basis to do so.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are generally intended for adults arranging removals for themselves, their families, or their businesses. We do not knowingly collect data from children unless it is incidentally included in service arrangements and necessary for the provision of the service. Where such information is processed, it will be handled lawfully and only to the extent required.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, service operations, or data handling practices. The most current version will apply to the processing of personal data. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how their data is used.

12. Summary of Our Commitments

Removals Catford is committed to respecting privacy and handling personal data responsibly. We collect only the information needed to deliver services, rely on appropriate lawful bases, use trusted processors under contract, keep data only as long as necessary, and support your rights under GDPR. This policy applies to all Removals Catford customers in the area and is designed to ensure that your personal information is managed with care, transparency, and accountability.

By engaging our services, you confirm that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.