Privacy Policy - Earlscourt Removals

This Privacy Policy explains how Earlscourt Removals collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Earlscourt Removals customers in our area, including anyone who requests a quote, books a service, uses our removals or storage-related services, or communicates with us in connection with a move. We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Earlscourt Removals is a removals service provider that processes personal data in order to arrange, deliver, and manage household and commercial moving services. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller when we decide why and how your personal data is processed.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide our services and operate our business. Depending on your interaction with us, this may include:

Identity information such as your name and title.
Contact information such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details including move dates, property access details, inventory information, and delivery instructions.
Payment information such as billing details and transaction records.
Communication records including emails, call notes, quotes, complaints, and feedback.
Special instructions relevant to the move, such as handling requirements for fragile items.
Website or device information if you interact with us online, such as basic technical data and cookies, where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect more personal data than is needed. Where we need particularly sensitive data, we will only process it if there is a lawful basis and, where required, your explicit consent.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations and respond to enquiries.
To plan, schedule, and carry out removals and related services.
To manage customer accounts, billing, and payment processing.
To communicate about bookings, changes, delays, or service updates.
To maintain records of completed work and customer preferences.
To deal with complaints, insurance matters, and claims.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements.
To improve our services, operations, and customer experience.

We will only use your data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Earlscourt Removals may rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes at your request, making bookings, carrying out removals, and managing payment or service delivery.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include service administration, internal record keeping, preventing fraud, improving operations, and maintaining business security.

Legal Obligation

We may process data to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, health and safety, insurance, and record-keeping duties.

Consent

Where required, we will rely on your consent. If we ask for consent, you may withdraw it at any time. This will not affect processing that has already taken place.

We do not sell your personal data.

5. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including to satisfy legal, accounting, insurance, and reporting obligations. The exact retention period depends on the type of data and the reason it is held.

Quotation and enquiry records are usually kept for a limited period after the enquiry ends.
Customer and transaction records are generally retained for the period required for business, tax, and accounting purposes.
Claims, complaints, and dispute-related data may be kept longer where needed to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
Technical or website data is kept only as long as necessary for security, analysis, or operational purposes.

When data is no longer required, it will be deleted, anonymised, or securely destroyed. We review retention practices periodically to ensure they remain appropriate and lawful.

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us deliver our services. These parties act as processors when they process data on our behalf, and they are required to protect it and only use it according to our instructions.

Examples of processors may include:

Payment providers who handle card or electronic payments.
IT and cloud service providers who store or support our systems.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who help manage financial records.
Communication service providers who support email, phone, or messaging systems.
Insurance or claims handlers where required for service-related claims.

We may also disclose personal data where necessary to comply with the law, respond to lawful requests from public authorities, prevent fraud, protect our rights, or support a legal claim. Where possible, we ensure that any third party receiving data uses appropriate safeguards.

Any processor engaged by Earlscourt Removals must provide sufficient guarantees that personal data will be handled securely and lawfully.

7. International Transfers

In some cases, our service providers may store or process data outside the United Kingdom. If this happens, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place so your personal data receives a level of protection that is consistent with UK GDPR requirements. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations or standard contractual protections.

8. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, and confidentiality obligations. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to reduce risk and respond appropriately if an issue arises.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights are not absolute and may only apply in certain circumstances.

Right of access – you may ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – you may ask us to delete your data where there is a valid legal basis to do so.
Right to restriction – you may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to object – you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – you may request that certain data be provided to you or another organisation in a portable format.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, you should make a clear request and provide enough information for us to identify you and your records. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to respond within the time limits required by law.

10. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data, you have the right to raise a complaint with the relevant data protection authority. You may also contact us first so we can review and address your concern. We take privacy matters seriously and will work to resolve issues fairly and promptly.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults arranging removals or storage on their own behalf or on behalf of a household or business. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in the context of a moving service and provided by an adult customer. If we become aware that we have collected data inappropriately, we will take steps to delete it.

12. Changes to This Policy

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

13. Summary of Key Points

This policy explains how Earlscourt Removals handles your information in a lawful, fair, and transparent way. In summary:

We collect only the personal data needed to provide removals services.
We process data under lawful bases such as contract, legitimate interests, legal obligation, and consent where appropriate.
We keep data only for as long as necessary.
We use processors only where they provide appropriate security and legal safeguards.
We respect your rights under UK data protection law.

By using Earlscourt Removals services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this Privacy Policy.