Privacy Policy - Tooting Removals

This Privacy Policy explains how Tooting Removals collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our moving and removal services. It applies to all Tooting Removals customers in area, including individuals and businesses who request quotations, book services, communicate with us, or otherwise interact with us. We are committed to handling personal information in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Tooting Removals provides removal, relocation, packing, storage coordination, and related services. In the course of delivering these services, we act as a data controller for the personal data we determine the purposes and means of processing. This means we are responsible for deciding why and how your information is used and for ensuring that use is lawful, fair, and transparent.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect information that is necessary for providing our services, managing our business operations, and meeting legal obligations. The categories of personal data we may collect include:

• Identity details: name, title, and, where needed, business name.
• Contact details: phone number, email address, and service address.
• Moving information: inventory details, access conditions, property size, preferred moving dates, and special handling requirements.
• Payment and transaction data: billing records, payment status, and invoice details.
• Communication records: emails, call notes, messages, and service enquiries.
• Technical data: limited website or device information if you interact with our online services, such as IP address, browser type, and cookies where applicable.
• Special category data: we do not usually seek this information, but it may be collected if you voluntarily provide details relevant to access needs, health, or vulnerability so that we can arrange a safe move. Where this occurs, we apply additional safeguards.

We do not intentionally collect more information than is needed for the service requested. If you share information that is not necessary, we will process it only where appropriate and lawful.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

• to provide quotations and assess service requirements;
• to plan, arrange, and perform removal services;
• to manage payments, invoices, and accounting records;
• to communicate with you about bookings, schedules, and service updates;
• to respond to questions, complaints, or claims;
• to maintain business records and improve our services;
• to comply with legal, regulatory, tax, and insurance obligations;
• to prevent fraud, misuse, or security incidents;
• to support legitimate business administration and performance monitoring.

We will only use your personal data in a manner that is compatible with the reason it was collected, unless we have a valid legal basis to do otherwise.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each processing activity. Depending on the context, Tooting Removals relies on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, confirming bookings, arranging logistics, and completing the move.

Legal Obligation

We may process data to meet legal duties, such as tax recordkeeping, accounting, insurance requirements, or compliance with applicable transport and business laws.

Legitimate Interests

We may process information for legitimate business purposes, provided our interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This includes service administration, improving our operations, managing risk, defending legal claims, and ensuring the security of our business.

Consent

Where we rely on consent, such as for certain optional communications or specific types of data handling, you may withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect processing already carried out lawfully before the withdrawal.

Vital Interests

In rare situations, we may process data to protect someone’s vital interests, for example where urgent action is needed during a move for safety reasons.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to provide our services, run our business, or comply with the law. These third parties may act as data processors on our behalf or as independent controllers in their own right.

Examples of processors and recipients may include:

• IT and cloud service providers that host records, email systems, or business tools;
• Payment service providers that process card or bank transactions;
• Accountants and bookkeeping services that support financial administration;
• Storage partners or logistics suppliers where they are required to coordinate the move;
• Insurance providers and claims handlers when a claim or incident requires review;
• Professional advisers such as lawyers or auditors;
• Public authorities where disclosure is required by law.

Where we use processors, they are contractually required to keep your data secure, act only on our instructions, and process information only for the agreed purposes. We do not sell personal data.

6. International Transfers

If any processor or service provider stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms designed to protect your information.

7. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, insurance, or dispute-resolution obligations. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and the context of the service.

In general, we may retain:

• Quotation and enquiry data for a reasonable period to manage follow-up and business records;
• Contract and job records for the duration of the service relationship and for a period afterwards;
• Financial records for the period required by tax and accounting law;
• Claims or dispute records until the matter is resolved and any limitation period has expired;
• Consent-based communications until consent is withdrawn or the data is no longer needed.

When data is no longer required, we will delete it or anonymise it securely. Where deletion is not possible immediately due to backup or legal archiving, we will restrict access and retain it only as necessary.

8. Security of Your Data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, password protection, staff confidentiality obligations, secure storage, and regular review of our data handling practices. However, no system can be guaranteed completely secure, and we encourage you to share only the information needed for your move.

9. Your Rights

Depending on the circumstances and legal conditions, you have the following rights under data protection law:

• 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 information.
• Right to erasure: to request deletion of your data in certain cases.
• Right to restriction: to ask us to limit processing in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability: to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
• Right to object: to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
• Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent.

You may also have the right to challenge decisions made solely by automated means, although we do not generally rely on such decision-making for our services.

Important: These rights are not absolute. They may be limited where we need to retain or process information to comply with the law, establish or defend legal claims, or protect the rights of others.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults arranging removals. We do not knowingly collect children’s personal data except where it is incidentally included in service records provided by a customer. If this occurs, we handle it with appropriate care and only for the necessary service-related purpose.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Tooting Removals is committed to treating personal data with respect, transparency, and care. We collect only the information needed to provide efficient removal services, use it for clear and lawful purposes, retain it for no longer than necessary, and share it only with trusted processors or where legally required. We also recognise and support your privacy rights and will respond to legitimate requests in line with applicable law.