Privacy Policy - Removals Kennington

This Privacy Policy explains how Removals Kennington collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Removals Kennington customers in area, including individuals who request quotes, book services, receive removals support, or otherwise interact with our business. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner, in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Removals Kennington is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy. This means we decide why and how your personal data is processed when you use our services. We take our responsibilities seriously and aim to collect only the information needed to provide a safe, efficient, and reliable removals service.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity details: your name and, where relevant, the names of people involved in the move.
Contact details: address, email address, and phone number.
Service information: property access details, moving dates, inventory lists, item descriptions, and special handling requirements.
Payment information: billing details and transaction records. We do not store full card details where payment providers process these securely on our behalf.
Communication records: emails, messages, call notes, and feedback.
Technical data: limited website or device information if you interact with our digital services, such as IP address, browser type, and usage data.
Special category data: we do not usually collect this. If you voluntarily provide information that reveals health conditions or access needs, we will only process it where necessary and with appropriate safeguards.

We may also receive personal data from third parties, such as estate agents, landlords, letting agents, or property managers, when they arrange or support a move on your behalf and where doing so is necessary for service delivery.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data only for specific, legitimate purposes, including:

providing quotations and assessing your moving requirements;
planning, organising, and carrying out removals services;
communicating with you about bookings, changes, and service updates;
invoicing, taking payment, and managing accounts;
handling claims, complaints, and dispute resolution;
maintaining internal records and service quality;
meeting legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations;
protecting our customers, staff, and property from fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We do not sell your personal data. We also do not use your data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons for which it was collected, unless permitted by law or with your consent where required.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data under one or more lawful bases under UK GDPR. These include:

Contract: where processing is necessary to provide a quote, manage a booking, or deliver the removals service you requested.
Legal obligation: where we must keep records for tax, accounting, insurance, or other statutory purposes.
Legitimate interests: where processing is necessary for our business operations, service improvement, security, fraud prevention, and handling enquiries, provided these interests do not override your rights and freedoms.
Consent: where we rely on your permission for optional processing, such as specific marketing communications or the processing of sensitive information you choose to share.

When we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the potential impact on your privacy and take steps to minimise any risk. When consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Retention of Personal Data

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

Quotation and enquiry data: kept for a limited period to manage follow-up, service history, and business administration.
Contract and booking records: retained for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and tax records: kept for the period required by law.
Claims and dispute records: kept until the matter is resolved and for any additional period necessary to defend or pursue legal claims.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in accordance with our retention procedures.

6. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to provide our services or meet legal obligations. These third parties act either as independent controllers or as processors acting on our instructions.

Examples of processors and service providers include:

Payment service providers that process card or electronic payments securely.
IT and cloud service providers that store or manage emails, files, and customer records.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that support financial administration.
Customer communication tools used to send service-related messages.
Insurance or claims handlers where needed to investigate an issue or manage a loss.

We require all processors to protect personal data, process it only for specified purposes, and implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures. We do not allow them to use your information for their own unrelated purposes.

In limited circumstances, we may disclose data to public authorities, courts, or law enforcement if required by law or necessary to protect rights, safety, or property.

7. International Transfers

If any of our service providers store or access data outside the UK, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that your personal data receives a level of protection equivalent to that required under UK GDPR. This may include the use of approved contractual safeguards or reliance on adequacy regulations where available.

8. Data Security

We use appropriate security measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of our procedures. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to reduce risks and respond promptly to any suspected data incident.

9. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have a number of rights under data protection law. Subject to legal limits and exemptions, 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 data.
Right to erasure: to request deletion of 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 transfer of data you provided to us, where applicable.
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.

You will not usually have to pay a fee to exercise your rights, although requests that are clearly unfounded or excessive may be refused or charged in line with applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request.

10. Marketing Preferences

If we send optional marketing communications, we will do so only where permitted by law and, if required, with your consent. You may opt out of marketing at any time. Service-related messages, such as booking confirmations or important operational updates, are not marketing and may still be sent where necessary for the service.

11. Children

Our services are intended for adults and property-related service users. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental to a household move and necessary for the service. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child unlawfully, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data handling practices. The most current version will apply to your use of our services. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so you remain informed about how your personal data is used.

13. Complaints and Further Information

If you have concerns about how your personal data is handled, you should contact us using the appropriate business channels so we can review and resolve the issue. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

In summary: Removals Kennington processes personal data only when necessary, uses it for clear service and legal purposes, keeps it only as long as needed, and applies suitable safeguards to protect the privacy of all customers in area.