Privacy Policy - Removals Catford

This Privacy Policy explains how Removals Catford collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing removal services. It applies to all Removals Catford customers in the Catford area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and business clients who engage our services. We are committed to handling 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. Who We Are

Removals Catford provides home, office, and specialist moving services. In doing so, we act as a data controller for the personal information we collect directly from customers and prospects, and in some cases we may also act as a data processor where we handle information on behalf of a client. This policy describes our obligations and your rights in relation to that data.

2. Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity information: name, title, and account holder details.
Contact information: address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information: moving addresses, inventory details, access notes, preferred dates, property size, and service instructions.
Billing and payment information: invoice details, payment status, and transaction references. We do not intentionally store full card details where payment is handled by a secure third-party provider.
Communication records: emails, messages, call notes, quotes, complaints, and service updates.
Technical data: basic website or device information where relevant, such as IP address or browser data, if you contact us through digital channels.
Special category data: we do not seek to collect sensitive personal data. If you voluntarily provide such information, for example regarding accessibility needs or health-related moving requirements, we will only process it where necessary and with appropriate safeguards.

We do not collect more information than is needed for the service requested.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and confirm bookings;
to plan, carry out, and manage removal services;
to communicate with you about access, timing, inventory, and service changes;
to issue invoices, receive payments, and maintain financial records;
to respond to enquiries, complaints, and claims;
to improve service quality, training, and operational efficiency;
to comply with legal, tax, and regulatory requirements;
to prevent fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity;
to keep appropriate business records and evidence of services delivered.

Where we process data for operational reasons, we aim to do so in a way that is relevant, proportionate, and limited to the intended purpose.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must identify a lawful basis before processing your personal data. Depending on the activity, Removals Catford relies on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, confirming bookings, moving your goods, and handling service-related communication.

Legal Obligation

We process certain data to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, such as tax recordkeeping, accounting duties, insurance obligations, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing our operations, improving services, preventing fraud, and maintaining records of completed work.

Consent

Where consent is required, for example in specific marketing or optional data processing situations, we will ask for it clearly and you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

We do not rely on consent where another lawful basis is more appropriate and more robust for service delivery.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to operate our business and deliver our services. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the service provided.

IT and software providers: for email, scheduling, document storage, and customer relationship management.
Payment service providers: to process payments securely.
Accountants and bookkeeping providers: for financial administration and compliance.
Insurance providers and claims handlers: where a claim or incident must be reviewed.
Subcontracted removal partners: where additional staff or specialist services are required to complete a move.
Legal and professional advisers: where advice or representation is needed.
Public authorities: where disclosure is required by law or to protect rights, property, or safety.

We only appoint processors that can provide appropriate technical and organisational safeguards. Where data is shared, we use contractual arrangements requiring processors to protect information, use it only on our instructions, and keep it confidential.

We do not sell your personal data.

6. 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 vary depending on the nature of the data and the relevant legal or operational need.

Customer and service records: kept for a reasonable period after completion of the service to manage queries, complaints, or claims.
Financial and accounting records: retained in line with legal and tax obligations.
Communication records: retained for business administration and dispute resolution for an appropriate period.
Claims or incident-related records: kept for as long as necessary to resolve the issue and support legal defence obligations.

When data is no longer required, we securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in accordance with our retention practices. Retention is reviewed periodically to ensure information is not kept longer than necessary.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limited access to information on a need-to-know basis.

Although no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to reduce risk and to respond appropriately if a data breach occurs. Where legally required, we will notify affected individuals and relevant authorities.

8. International Transfers

In some cases, our processors may store or access data outside the UK. If this happens, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent protections recognised under data protection law.

9. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

You have rights over your personal data, subject to certain legal limitations. These rights 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 data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction: to ask us to limit processing 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.

If you exercise a right, we may need to verify your identity and may not always be able to comply fully where legal exceptions apply. We will explain any limitation clearly and fairly.

10. Marketing Preferences

If we send promotional communications, you may opt out at any time. We will only send such messages where permitted by law and, where required, with your consent. Transactional and service-related messages are not marketing and may still be necessary to complete your booking or move.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally provided in connection with a household move or service arrangement. If we become aware that we have collected data that should not be held, we will take appropriate steps to delete it or obtain proper authorisation where relevant.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, practice, or business operations. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

13. Our Commitment

Removals Catford is committed to treating personal data with care, respect, and accountability. We aim to ensure that every stage of processing is lawful, secure, and transparent. If personal information is no longer needed, we will not keep it unnecessarily. If you contact us about your rights or privacy concerns, we will deal with your request in a fair and timely manner.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Removals Catford customers in the Catford area.