Strand Removals Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Strand Removals collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects your personal data when you use our services. It also explains your rights under applicable data protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the EU General Data Protection Regulation where relevant. This Privacy Policy applies to all Strand Removals customers within our service area.

Who We Are and Scope of This Policy

Strand Removals is a removals and related services provider. In the context of data protection law, Strand Removals acts as the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data.

This Privacy Policy applies to all personal data we process about current, former, and prospective customers in our service area, including data collected through our website, over the phone, in person, and through written correspondence.

Personal Data We Collect

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

Identification and contact details: name, postal address, previous and new addresses, contact preferences.

Service and booking information: details of your removal or storage requirements, property access information relevant to the service, inventory information that you choose to provide, and any special instructions you give us.

Billing and payment information: billing address, limited payment-related data to the extent required for invoicing and confirming that payment has been made. Payment card details are normally processed directly by our payment service providers and are not stored by us, except to the limited extent necessary for verification and fraud prevention.

Communication records: information contained in emails, letters, and other communications you send to us, notes of calls and conversations, feedback and complaints, and any responses you provide to surveys about our services.

Technical and usage data: information about your visits to our website such as pages viewed, date and time of access, and general location data based on your IP address. We may also collect information about the device and browser you use. Where cookies or similar technologies are used, these will be limited to what is necessary or, where required, will be based on your consent.

Sensitive or special category data: in the ordinary course of business we do not intend to collect special category data such as health information. If you voluntarily provide information about health or mobility needs to help us plan your removal safely and effectively, we will process this information only to the extent necessary to provide the service you have requested.

How We Use Your Personal Data and Lawful Bases

We use your personal data only when we have a lawful basis for doing so. The main purposes and legal bases are:

To provide quotations and perform our contract with you: we process your identification details, contact details, service requirements, and address details to provide quotations, confirm bookings, plan and perform removals and related services, arrange access, manage your account, and issue invoices. The lawful basis is performance of a contract or taking steps at your request prior to entering into a contract.

To comply with legal obligations: we process certain personal data to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, for example in relation to tax, accounting, insurance, and health and safety obligations. The lawful basis is compliance with a legal obligation.

To manage our business and legitimate interests: we may process your personal data to manage and improve our services, to handle enquiries, feedback and complaints, to keep appropriate business records, to protect our property and rights, and to prevent or detect fraud and misuse of our services. The lawful basis is our legitimate interests, which we balance against your rights and interests.

Marketing communications: we may use your contact details to send you information about services that are similar to those you have already purchased or enquired about. Where required by law, we will only send marketing communications with your consent. You can opt out of marketing at any time.

Use of special category data: if we process any health or mobility information you provide so that we can safely carry out your removal, we rely on your explicit consent or, where applicable, on our need to ensure health and safety and provide appropriate services.

Data Retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and to meet legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

In general, we will retain customer records, including contracts, invoices, and key communications, for a period that aligns with applicable limitation periods and tax rules. After this period, data will be securely deleted or anonymised so that it can no longer be associated with you.

Where we process personal data based solely on your consent and we have no other lawful basis for retaining it, we will delete that data if you withdraw your consent or once it is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected.

Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. We share your personal data only with parties who need it for legitimate business or legal reasons, as described below.

Service providers and processors: we may engage third party companies to provide services such as payment processing, secure document storage, IT support, website hosting, email and communication platforms, and professional advisers such as accountants or insurers. These parties act as data processors and are only allowed to process your personal data according to our instructions and for the purposes we specify. We require all processors to implement appropriate security measures to protect your data.

Other third parties where required by law or necessary to protect rights: we may share your personal data with law enforcement agencies, regulators, courts, or professional advisers where necessary to comply with a legal obligation or to protect our rights, property, or safety, or the rights, property, or safety of our customers or others.

Business transfers: if we undergo a business reorganisation, merger, or transfer of ownership, your personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction. In such cases, we will ensure that any new organisation continues to protect your personal data in a way that is consistent with this Privacy Policy.

International Transfers

Where we use service providers located outside the UK or the European Economic Area, or where data is stored or accessed from outside these regions, we take steps to ensure that your personal data is afforded a level of protection essentially equivalent to that required under applicable data protection laws. This may include using standard contractual clauses or ensuring that transfers are made to countries with an adequacy decision.

Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures may include access controls, encryption or pseudonymisation where appropriate, secure storage, staff training, and regular review of our security procedures. While we strive to protect your personal data, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, you may have the right to:

Access: obtain confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

Rectification: request correction of inaccurate personal data and completion of incomplete data.

Erasure: ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances, for example where it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected or where you withdraw consent and no other lawful basis applies.

Restriction: request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we verify accuracy or consider an objection you have raised.

Objection: object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including profiling, and we will stop unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds which override your interests, rights, and freedoms, or the processing is required for legal claims. You also have the right to object at any time to processing of your personal data for direct marketing, in which case we will stop marketing communications.

Data portability: receive the personal data you provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and, where technically feasible, have it transmitted directly to another controller, where the processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.

Withdraw consent: where we rely on your consent for processing, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, you can contact us using the contact details provided on our website or in your customer documentation. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. We aim to respond within the time period required by law.

Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, we encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority or supervisory authority competent in your area.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. When we make changes, we will revise the date of the most recent update and, where appropriate, notify you through our website or other communication channels. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.