Privacy Policy - Battersea Removals

This Privacy Policy explains how Battersea Removals collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our removals and related services. It applies to all Battersea Removals customers in area, including current, former, and prospective customers, as well as individuals who enquire about our services, request a quotation, or otherwise interact with us.

We are committed to handling personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We respect your privacy and only process personal data where we have a valid legal basis to do so.

1. Who We Are

Battersea Removals provides residential and commercial removals services, including packing, loading, transport, storage coordination, furniture handling, and related logistics. In providing these services, we may need to process personal data relating to customers, household members, employees, authorised representatives, landlords, agents, and business contacts.

For the purposes of data protection law, Battersea Removals is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy when we decide why and how that data is processed.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide our services, manage our business operations, and comply with legal obligations. Depending on the circumstances, we may collect the following categories of personal data:

Identity data such as your name, title, and date of birth where needed for verification or service administration.
Contact data such as your address, email address, telephone number, and correspondence details.
Service data such as moving dates, property access information, inventory details, service preferences, and special handling instructions.
Transaction data such as payment status, invoices, quotations, service history, and records of purchases.
Communication data such as emails, call notes, messages, complaint details, and feedback.
Technical data such as device information, browser type, IP address, and usage data if you interact with digital systems we use for administration or scheduling.
Verification data where required to confirm identity, prevent fraud, or protect property and assets.

We generally do not seek to collect special category data. However, in some cases, information may indirectly reveal sensitive circumstances, for example where access arrangements, mobility needs, or household conditions are discussed. If such data is provided, we will process it only when lawful and necessary, with appropriate safeguards.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and manage bookings;
to plan and deliver removals and related services;
to communicate with you about service arrangements, schedules, and updates;
to process payments and maintain financial records;
to respond to enquiries, complaints, and requests;
to improve our services, training, and operational efficiency;
to maintain security, prevent misuse, and detect fraud;
to meet legal, regulatory, tax, and insurance obligations.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes set out above or for compatible purposes that you would reasonably expect. We do not sell personal data.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each processing activity. Battersea Removals relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotations, arranging collections and deliveries, and carrying out removals services.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where needed to comply with legal requirements, including accounting, tax, health and safety, consumer law, insurance, and record-keeping duties.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Legitimate interests may include managing our operations, preventing fraud, improving services, training staff, and handling customer communications. We always consider whether the processing is proportionate and respectful of your privacy.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is required for certain optional communications or processing activities. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Vital Interests

In rare cases, we may process data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in an emergency involving health or safety during a move.

5. Sharing and Processors

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

Typical processors and service providers may include:

IT and cloud storage providers;
payment processing services;
accounting and bookkeeping providers;
customer management and scheduling software providers;
professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, and auditors;
subcontracted removals teams or logistics partners acting on our instructions;
secure document storage and destruction providers.

Where a third party acts as a processor, they are only permitted to process personal data on our instructions and must protect it appropriately. We require processors to implement suitable technical and organisational security measures.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law, court order, regulatory request, or to protect our rights, customers, staff, or the public. If our business is restructured, transferred, or sold, personal data may be shared with relevant parties as part of that process, subject to legal protections.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. The retention period may vary depending on the type of data and the reasons for processing.

As a general approach:

quotation and enquiry records are kept for a reasonable period to manage customer relationships and follow-up;
contract, service, and transaction records are retained for the duration of the relationship and thereafter for legal and accounting purposes;
communications and complaint records are retained as needed to evidence service handling and resolve disputes;
security, fraud prevention, and audit-related records are retained only as long as necessary for those purposes.

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

7. 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 processes.

While we take reasonable steps to safeguard your data, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If we become aware of a personal data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will respond in accordance with applicable law.

8. 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 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 personal data in certain circumstances;
Right to restrict processing – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations;
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format 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;
Right not to be subject to automated decision-making – where relevant, to request human review of significant decisions made solely by automated means.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions. We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request. We will respond within the time limits required by law and explain if any request cannot be fully met.

9. International Transfers

In some cases, your personal data may be stored or processed outside the UK if our processors use systems or infrastructure located elsewhere. Where this happens, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in line with applicable data protection law.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or business operations. Any updated version will apply from the date it takes effect. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically.

11. Contacting Us About Privacy

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle personal data, you may contact us using the privacy or administrative channel provided by Battersea Removals. We will review and respond to concerns in accordance with applicable law.

This policy is intended to be clear, fair, and compliant, and it applies to all Battersea Removals customers in area.

Last reviewed: This policy should be reviewed regularly to ensure ongoing compliance with data protection requirements.