Privacy Policy - West Hampstead Movers

This Privacy Policy explains how West Hampstead Movers collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all West Hampstead Movers customers in the area, including individuals who request quotations, book removals, storage, packing, or related services, and those who communicate with us before, during, or after a service. We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable privacy laws.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide our services, manage our relationship with customers, and comply with legal obligations. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of personal data:

Identity information: name, title, and any relevant contact person details.
Contact information: address, telephone number, and email address.
Service details: information about your move, property access, inventory, preferred dates, and special handling requirements.
Payment information: billing details, payment status, and transaction records. We do not retain more payment data than is necessary for processing and accounting purposes.
Communication records: emails, messages, call notes, and other correspondence relating to enquiries, bookings, complaints, or claims.
Technical data: limited information such as IP address, device type, or browser data if you interact with our digital systems, where applicable.
Claims and incident data: details relating to damage, delay, loss, or other service-related issues.

We generally do not seek to collect special category data. If such information is inadvertently shared with us, we will handle it with enhanced care and only where there is a lawful basis to do so.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and assess service requirements;
to schedule, deliver, and manage removals and related services;
to communicate with customers about bookings, changes, or service updates;
to handle payments, invoicing, and accounting;
to respond to enquiries, complaints, and claims;
to maintain business records and improve our service quality;
to meet legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory requirements;
to prevent fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We only process data where it is necessary and proportionate to the relevant purpose. We do not use personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was originally collected, unless required or permitted by law.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. West Hampstead Movers 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 providing a quote, confirming a booking, delivering moving services, arranging access, and managing payments.

Legal Obligation

We process certain data to comply with legal obligations, such as maintaining accounting records, meeting tax requirements, or responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include service improvement, record-keeping, preventing fraud, handling disputes, and internal administration. When we rely on this basis, we consider whether the processing is necessary and whether it impacts your privacy.

Consent

Where required, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain optional communications or non-essential processing. If we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect processing already carried out lawfully before withdrawal.

4. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We do not sell personal data. We may share it only when necessary and appropriate for the purposes described in this Policy. In some cases, we use processors who act on our instructions and are contractually required to protect your data.

Payment processors to process card or electronic payments securely.
IT and cloud service providers to host storage, scheduling, or email systems.
Accountants and professional advisers to support financial, legal, or compliance obligations.
Insurance providers where claims or incidents require assessment.
Subcontracted operational partners where needed to complete a move or related service.

We may also disclose data if required by law, court order, or other legal process, or to protect our rights, customers, staff, or the public. Any third party receiving personal data must process it securely and only for specified purposes.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including meeting legal, accounting, insurance, and contractual requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data and the context in which it was obtained.

Quotation and enquiry data may be retained for a reasonable period to manage follow-up requests and business records.
Customer contract and service records are retained for the duration of the service relationship and for a period afterward to deal with claims, disputes, and audit requirements.
Financial records are retained in line with statutory tax and accounting obligations.
Claims and incident files may be retained longer where required to resolve disputes or comply with insurance obligations.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in accordance with our retention practices. We regularly review retained data to ensure it is not kept for longer than necessary.

6. International Transfers

Where any personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will take appropriate safeguards to protect it. These safeguards may include ensuring the destination country has adequate data protection standards or using approved contractual protections. We remain responsible for ensuring that any transfer is lawful and secure.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, loss, or destruction. These measures may include restricted access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful selection of processors. Although we work hard to safeguard data, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. Subject to legal limitations, these rights may include:

Right of access: to obtain confirmation and a copy of your personal data.
Right to rectification: 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 the way we use your data in certain cases.
Right to object: to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your rights have been infringed. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so we can try to resolve them promptly and fairly.

9. Children's Data

Our services are intended for adults arranging removals or related services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is necessary and incidental to providing a service, and then only with appropriate care and lawful justification.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or how we process personal data. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published. We recommend reviewing it periodically so that you remain informed about how we protect your information.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

West Hampstead Movers is committed to using personal data fairly, lawfully, and transparently. We collect only what is needed, process it on a valid lawful basis, keep it only as long as necessary, and share it only with trusted processors or where the law requires it. We also respect your rights and aim to handle all personal data with care, accountability, and respect for privacy.