House Removals Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how House Removals collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data relating to our customers and prospective customers. It applies to all House Removals customers and users of our services in our service area.
Who We Are
House Removals provides domestic moving and related services. In doing so, we act as a data controller for the personal data we collect and process about you. This means we decide how and why your personal data is used and are responsible for ensuring that such use complies with applicable data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation, often referred to as GDPR.
Types of Personal Data We Collect
We only collect personal data that is necessary for us to provide and manage our services. The types of data we may collect include:
Identification and contact details, such as your name, postal address, service addresses for collection and delivery, and general location information related to your move. We may also collect details of any access restrictions at those addresses.
Communication details, such as your preferred method of contact and records of communications with you, including inquiries, quotations, booking confirmations, complaints, and feedback.
Service information, such as the nature and size of your move, inventory details you choose to share for quotation purposes, dates and times requested, and any special handling instructions or other requirements.
Payment and billing information, including billing address and payment-related data necessary to process your transactions, as permitted by law. We do not store full card details when payments are processed through external payment providers.
Technical and usage data, which may include basic device and usage information where you interact with our website or online tools, such as pages visited, time and date of visits, and general technical identifiers. This is collected to help us manage and improve our services.
How We Collect Your Data
We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us to request a quotation, make a booking, ask a question, provide feedback, or otherwise interact with us. This may take place over the phone, via online forms, or in person.
We may also receive personal data indirectly from third parties acting on your behalf, such as family members, letting agents, estate agents, or other intermediaries who provide details in order to arrange a move for you. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to confirm that they are authorised to share that information.
Lawful Basis for Processing Your Data
We rely on the following lawful bases under GDPR for processing your personal data:
Contract: We process your personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, for example to provide quotations, confirm and carry out your move, manage your booking, and handle payments.
Legal obligation: We may process your personal data to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, such as accounting, record keeping, and responding to lawful requests from competent authorities.
Legitimate interests: We may process your personal data when it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and when those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests. This includes managing and improving our services, responding to enquiries, handling complaints, and maintaining security and fraud prevention.
Consent: In some limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example if we wish to send you certain marketing communications beyond what is necessary for the performance of our contract. You can withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
How We Use Your Personal Data
We use your personal data to provide, manage, and improve our house removals services. This includes:
Preparing and providing quotations and estimates for moves and related services.
Managing bookings, scheduling collection and delivery times, and coordinating our teams and vehicles.
Carrying out your move and any associated services you have requested.
Communicating with you about your move, including confirmations, updates, and any issues that may arise.
Processing payments, invoicing, and maintaining financial records.
Managing customer service, including handling questions, concerns, feedback, and complaints.
Improving our services, training staff, monitoring service quality, and ensuring safety and security.
Data Sharing and Processors
We do not sell your personal data. We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where this is necessary and in line with the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. These third parties act either as data processors, who process data on our behalf, or as independent controllers.
Data processors that may process your data on our behalf include:
Information technology and systems providers that host or support our booking, communication, or storage systems.
Payment service providers that process payments and help us manage transactions.
Professional advisers, such as accountants or legal advisors, where necessary for compliance and legitimate business purposes.
Where we use data processors, we require them to process personal data only in accordance with our instructions, to keep it secure, and to comply with applicable data protection laws.
We may also share your personal data with public authorities or law enforcement bodies where we are legally required to do so, or where it is necessary to protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our customers and staff.
International Transfers
Our services are primarily provided within our service area. If it becomes necessary to transfer personal data outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that an adequate level of protection is in place, for example by relying on adequacy regulations or standard contractual clauses approved by relevant authorities.
How Long We Keep Your Data
We keep personal data only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and to meet legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
In general, basic customer and contract information relating to moves, such as your name, contact details, service addresses, and booking records, is retained for up to six years after the end of our relationship with you. This period reflects legal limitation periods and our legitimate need to maintain records in case of queries or disputes.
In some cases we may retain certain data for a shorter time, such as routine enquiry data where no contract is formed, or for longer if we are required to do so by law or to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
How We Protect Your Data
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures include restricting access to personal data to staff and service providers who need it for their work, using secure systems, and training staff on data protection obligations.
Your Data Protection Rights
Under GDPR, and subject to certain conditions and exceptions, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:
Right of access: You have the right to obtain confirmation of whether we process your personal data and to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: You have the right to request that inaccurate or incomplete personal data about you is corrected or completed.
Right to erasure: You have the right to request that we 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 there is no other lawful basis for processing.
Right to restriction of processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances, for example while we are checking the accuracy of data you believe to be incorrect.
Right to data portability: Where processing is based on consent or on a contract and carried out by automated means, you may have the right to receive personal data you provided in a structured, commonly used, and machine readable format, and to have it transmitted to another controller where technically feasible.
Right to object: You have the right to object to processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis. We will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights, and freedoms, or where processing is required for legal claims.
Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of any processing that took place before your withdrawal.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority if you are concerned about how your personal data is being handled.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data protection practices. Any updates will take effect when the revised version is made available. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.
