Barking Removals Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Barking Removals collects, uses, stores and protects personal data in connection with our removals and related services. It applies to all Barking Removals customers in our service area who use or inquire about our services, whether through our website, by phone, or in person.
We are committed to handling your personal data in a lawful, fair and transparent manner, in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and other applicable data protection laws.
1. Data Controller
The data controller for your personal data is Barking Removals. This means Barking Removals decides how and why your personal data is processed in connection with our services.
2. Personal Data We Collect
We collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with us and which services you use. This may include:
Identification and contact details: your name, postal address, property addresses for collection and delivery, email address, and other contact details you choose to provide.
Service and booking information: details about your move or removal, dates and times, size and type of property, access details, inventory or item descriptions where necessary to plan the service, and any special instructions you choose to provide.
Payment and billing information: billing address and limited payment-related details necessary to process your payment. Where payments are processed through a payment provider, we do not store full card details but may receive confirmation of payment and partial reference information.
Communication records: records of communications with you, such as inquiries, quotes, booking confirmations, feedback, complaints or other correspondence via phone, electronic messages or in writing.
Technical and usage data: if you use our website, we may collect technical data such as IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited and time spent on the site. This may be collected through cookies or similar technologies where permitted by law and where you have provided any required consent.
3. Lawful Basis for Processing
We process your personal data only where we have a lawful basis under the GDPR. Depending on the context, we rely on the following lawful bases:
Contract: to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, and to perform a contract with you. For example, to provide quotes, confirm bookings, carry out removals, and manage payments.
Legal obligation: to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, such as tax, accounting and insurance obligations, and to respond to lawful requests from public authorities.
Legitimate interests: to pursue our legitimate business interests, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This may include administering and improving our services, managing our relationship with you, responding to your inquiries, preventing fraud and ensuring network and information security.
Consent: where required by law, we may rely on your consent, for example in relation to certain marketing communications or specific optional features on our website. Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time.
4. How We Use Your Personal Data
We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:
To provide our services: arranging and carrying out removals, storage and related services; managing bookings; handling changes or cancellations; and providing customer support.
To prepare quotes and respond to inquiries: assessing your requirements, preparing and sending estimates, and answering questions about our services and prices.
To manage our relationship with you: sending service-related messages such as confirmations, reminders and updates; handling feedback, complaints and disputes; and maintaining records of our interactions.
To manage payments and accounts: processing payments, issuing invoices, maintaining accounting records and managing any refunds or claims.
To operate and improve our website and services: monitoring the performance of our website, understanding how customers use our services, and making improvements to our operations, safety and customer experience.
To comply with legal requirements: keeping records as required by law, cooperating with regulators and law enforcement, and exercising or defending legal claims.
5. Data Retention
We keep your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law.
Customer and booking records: in general, we retain records relating to removals and bookings for a period consistent with legal and regulatory requirements, tax rules and limitation periods for potential claims. After this period, data will be securely deleted or anonymised.
Accounting and payment information: retained in accordance with legal obligations for financial and tax record keeping.
Communication records: retained for a period necessary to manage our relationship with you, handle inquiries and resolve any issues, after which they will be securely deleted or anonymised.
Website and technical data: retained for a shorter period needed for security, performance monitoring and analytics, unless a longer retention is required for legal reasons or incident investigation.
6. Data Processors and Sharing of Personal Data
We may share your personal data with carefully selected third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These processors only process your personal data in accordance with our instructions and for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. They are required to implement appropriate security measures and to comply with applicable data protection laws.
Types of processors and recipients may include:
Payment service providers: to process your payments securely and manage transactions.
IT and hosting providers: to host our systems, website and data, and provide support and maintenance.
Operational partners: where necessary to provide our services, such as subcontracted drivers or logistics partners, who require certain booking and contact details to carry out the service.
Professional advisers: such as accountants, auditors, insurers or legal advisers, where necessary for business administration, compliance, or in connection with legal claims.
We may also disclose personal data where required by law or regulation, or where necessary to protect our rights, property or safety, or the rights, property or safety of others.
We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
7. International Transfers
In general, we aim to keep your personal data within the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area. Where we use service providers or systems that involve a transfer of personal data outside these areas, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or equivalent protections required by data protection laws.
8. Data Security
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures include limiting access to personal data to those staff and processors who need it for their duties, maintaining secure systems and taking steps to protect physical and electronic records.
While we take reasonable steps to protect your personal data, no system can be completely secure. You are encouraged to take your own steps to protect your personal information, particularly when communicating over the internet.
9. Your Data Protection Rights
As a customer within our service area, and subject to certain conditions and exceptions under the GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:
Right of access: to obtain confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and, if so, to receive a copy and certain information about how it is used.
Right to rectification: to request the correction of inaccurate personal data and the completion of incomplete data.
Right to erasure: to request the deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected or where you withdraw consent and there is no other lawful basis.
Right to restriction of processing: to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances, such as while we verify the accuracy of the data or consider an objection you have raised.
Right to object: to object to processing based on our legitimate interests, on grounds relating to your particular situation. We will cease processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds or the processing is required for legal claims.
Right to data portability: in certain circumstances, to receive the personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and to request that we transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.
Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority if you believe that your data protection rights have been infringed.
10. 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. Any changes will be effective from the date of publication of the updated policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we process your personal data.
