Privacy Policy - Shoreditch Removals

This Privacy Policy explains how Shoreditch Removals collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our removal and related services. It applies to all Shoreditch Removals customers in the area, including prospective customers, existing customers, former customers, and individuals who interact with us on behalf of a business, household, landlord, tenant, or other organisation. 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

Shoreditch Removals provides local and longer-distance removal services, packing support, storage coordination, and related logistics services. In delivering these services, we may need to collect and process personal data about customers, household members, building contacts, payment contacts, and other people connected with a removal job. We only process personal data where it is necessary for legitimate business purposes, to meet legal obligations, or to perform a contract.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data that is relevant and necessary for the services we provide. Depending on the nature of the booking and your interactions with us, this may include:

Identity details such as name and title.
Contact details such as address, telephone number, and email address.
Service information such as property access details, collection and delivery addresses, inventory lists, moving dates, and special handling instructions.
Payment information such as billing details and transaction records.
Communication records such as enquiry notes, booking correspondence, complaints, and service updates.
Operational information such as site access requirements, parking or loading restrictions, and service preferences.
Technical information if you interact with our digital systems, including device or usage information generated by security or analytics tools.

We may also receive personal data from third parties where appropriate, such as from a person making a booking on your behalf, estate agents, landlords, tenants, business representatives, or storage providers. If you provide us with information about another person, you must ensure that you have permission to do so.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data to manage bookings, plan and deliver removal services, communicate about schedules, issue invoices, handle payments, respond to enquiries, improve our operations, and keep appropriate business records. We may also use personal data to:

verify identity and service instructions;
coordinate access to properties and premises;
manage disputes, claims, or complaints;
maintain safety, security, and quality standards;
comply with tax, accounting, insurance, and regulatory obligations;
protect against fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access;
retain evidence of agreements, delivery, and completed services.

We do not use your personal data for unrelated purposes without first ensuring that we have a valid lawful basis to do so.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Shoreditch Removals may rely on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as managing a removal booking, delivering services, taking payment, or responding to service-related requests.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data when required to meet legal and regulatory obligations, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, and insurance duties.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data for our legitimate business interests, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This may include business administration, service improvement, fraud prevention, security, complaint handling, and protecting our legal rights. We carefully consider the impact of such processing and apply appropriate safeguards.

Consent

Where we rely on consent, it will be requested clearly and separately. You may withdraw consent at any time, although this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before withdrawal.

Special category data is not routinely collected. If sensitive information is provided to us accidentally or becomes necessary for a specific service reason, we will only process it where permitted by law and with appropriate protections.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to deliver our services or meet legal obligations. These third parties may act as processors or independent controllers, depending on the circumstances. Processors only handle data on our instructions and are required to protect it appropriately.

Typical processors and service partners may include:

payment service providers;
accounting and bookkeeping providers;
IT hosting, cloud storage, and communications providers;
customer management and scheduling platforms;
professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers;
subcontracted removal crews or specialist logistics partners;
storage providers where services require coordinated storage arrangements.

We may also disclose data to public authorities, courts, or law enforcement agencies where required by law or where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims. We do not sell personal data.

6. International Transfers

If any of our processors or service providers store or access personal data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place before any transfer occurs. These safeguards may include an adequacy decision or approved contractual protections designed to keep your information secure and compliant with data protection law.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including the time needed to complete services, resolve issues, comply with legal obligations, and establish or defend legal claims. Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason it was collected.

In general:

booking and service records are retained for a reasonable period after completion;
financial and accounting records are retained for the period required by law;
complaints, claims, and dispute records may be retained until the matter is fully resolved and any related limitation period has expired;
data no longer needed is securely deleted or anonymised.

When personal data is no longer necessary, we will take appropriate steps to dispose of it securely.

8. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have rights under data protection law in relation to your personal data. Subject to legal conditions and exemptions, these rights may 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 situations;
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 relies on consent;
Right to complain – to raise concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your rights have been infringed.

To exercise your rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to respond within the time periods required by law. If a request is complex or numerous, the response time may be extended where permitted.

9. Data Security

We take reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality expectations, and limited access to information on a need-to-know basis. However, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, and you should take care when sharing information by email or other electronic methods.

10. Data Accuracy

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal data we hold is accurate and up to date. If you believe any information we hold is incorrect, incomplete, or has changed, you should notify us so that we can review and update it where appropriate. Accurate information helps us deliver services efficiently and safely.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with a household move or another legitimate service arrangement. Where children’s data is incidentally processed, we limit it to what is necessary and apply suitable safeguards.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data protection practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how personal data is handled.

13. Summary of Key Principles

In summary, Shoreditch Removals processes personal data only where necessary, only for clear and lawful purposes, and only for as long as required. We are committed to transparency, minimisation, security, and respect for your rights. This policy applies to all Shoreditch Removals customers in the area and forms part of our ongoing commitment to responsible data protection practice.