Privacy Policy - Balham Removals

This Privacy Policy explains how Balham Removals collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing removals and related services. It applies to all Balham Removals customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and business clients who use our services or interact with us in connection with a booking, quotation, survey, or service request.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy is intended to help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and what rights you have over your personal information.

1. Who We Are

Balham Removals provides local and long-distance removals, packing, storage coordination, furniture handling, and related services. In the course of operating these services, we may act as a data controller for the personal data we decide to collect and use. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal information.

We take privacy seriously and aim to collect only the data that is necessary for providing a safe, efficient, and reliable service. We do not use personal data for unrelated purposes without a lawful basis.

2. Data We Collect

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

Identity data such as your name, title, and, where relevant, the name of your business or organisation.
Contact data such as address, email address, telephone number, and correspondence details.
Booking and service data such as move date, collection and delivery addresses, access information, property type, inventory details, and service preferences.
Payment and billing data such as invoice details, payment status, and transaction references.
Communication data such as messages, enquiries, complaint details, and notes from calls or emails.
Operational data such as site access instructions, risk-related notes, parking information, and other details needed to complete the service safely.
Technical data such as IP address, browser type, and device information if you interact with our digital systems, where applicable.

In some cases, we may also process limited sensitive information if you choose to provide it, for example details relating to access needs or medical considerations that affect the moving process. We will only process such data where necessary and with appropriate safeguards.

3. How We Collect Data

We collect personal data in several ways:

directly from you when you request a quotation, make a booking, or communicate with us;
from third parties acting on your behalf, such as landlords, estate agents, solicitors, or family members involved in the move;
from documents or information you provide during the planning and delivery of the service;
from operational interactions, such as service updates, delivery arrangements, and after-service communications.

Where we receive data about you from another person, we will use it only for the relevant service purpose and in line with this policy.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only when we have a lawful basis under UK GDPR. Depending on the circumstance, the lawful bases we rely on may include:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotations, managing bookings, carrying out removals, issuing invoices, and dealing with service-related communications.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include service improvement, scheduling, maintaining records, preventing fraud, managing operational safety, and responding to customer enquiries or disputes.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain records when required to comply with legal or regulatory obligations, such as tax, accounting, or business record-keeping requirements.

Consent

Where we rely on consent, we will make that clear at the time we collect the data. For example, this may apply to certain optional communications or the processing of special category information that is not otherwise necessary for the contract. You may withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing.

Vital Interests

In rare cases, we may process information where it is necessary to protect someone???s vital interests, for example in an emergency affecting a customer, worker, or member of the public.

5. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and assess service requirements;
to schedule and deliver removals and related services;
to communicate with you about your booking or enquiry;
to manage accounts, invoices, and payments;
to maintain records of services provided;
to handle complaints, queries, and aftercare;
to improve our services, training, and operational processes;
to comply with legal and regulatory requirements;
to protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud, misuse, or security risks.

We will not sell your personal data.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of record and the reason for keeping it.

Quotation and booking records may be kept for a reasonable period to manage service history, disputes, and follow-up enquiries.
Invoice and payment records are typically retained for the period required under tax and accounting law.
Communication records may be retained for operational continuity and evidence of instructions or complaints.
Special category or sensitive information, where collected, will be retained only for the shortest time necessary.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete, anonymise, or securely archive it in line with our retention practices.

7. Processors and Data Sharing

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who process data on our behalf, known as processors. These processors may include:

accounting and bookkeeping providers;
payment service providers;
IT, hosting, or software providers;
customer communication and scheduling tools;
storage or logistics partners involved in delivering the service;
professional advisers, such as legal or insurance advisers, where necessary.

We require processors to handle personal data securely, use it only on our instructions, and comply with applicable data protection laws. We do not permit processors to use your data for their own independent purposes.

We may also disclose data where required by law, to enforce our rights, to protect the safety of our staff or customers, or to respond to lawful requests from public authorities.

8. International Transfers

If any processor stores or accesses personal data outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as approved contractual protections or other lawful transfer mechanisms. We aim to keep most data within the UK where practical.

9. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have rights regarding your personal data. These 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 restrict processing - 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, where applicable.
Right to data portability - to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where technically feasible.
Right to withdraw consent - where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner???s Office if you believe your data has been handled improperly. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so we can address them promptly and fairly.

10. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, restricted permissions, staff awareness procedures, and regular review of our data handling practices.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to maintain a level of security appropriate to the risks involved in our processing activities.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or the way we process data. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Balham Removals only collects personal data that is relevant and necessary for providing removals services, managing bookings, meeting legal obligations, and supporting customers effectively. We process data on a lawful basis, keep it only as long as needed, use trusted processors under contractual safeguards, and respect your rights under data protection law.

Your privacy matters to us, and we are committed to handling your information responsibly and transparently.