East London Removals Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how East London Removals collects, uses, stores and protects personal data of its customers and prospective customers. It applies to all individuals using East London Removals services or making enquiries within the East London area.

East London Removals is committed to complying with applicable data protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. We process personal data lawfully, fairly and transparently, and only for specified and legitimate purposes.

Data Controller

East London Removals is the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data. Where we use third parties to process your data on our behalf, they act as data processors and must follow our instructions and appropriate security measures.

Personal Data We Collect

The categories of personal data we may collect and process include:

Identity and contact data: name, postal address, service address, contact address, and any other contact details you choose to provide.

Service and booking data: details of your move or removal request, including collection and delivery addresses, property access details, inventory or item descriptions, preferred dates and times, and any instructions relevant to the service.

Communication data: information contained in enquiries, quotes, messages, and any correspondence you send to us, including the content of your communications and any associated metadata provided by your communication method.

Payment and transaction data: details related to payments for services and transaction history, excluding full payment card details, which are handled by our chosen payment processor where applicable.

Technical and usage data: basic information about how you interact with our services, such as the date and time of enquiries, how you found our services, and, where applicable, non-identifiable usage information from our website or booking tools.

How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data directly from you when you request a quote, make a booking, communicate with us, complete forms, provide instructions, or otherwise use our services.

We may also receive personal data indirectly when a third party arranges a removal service on your behalf, or when you are named as a contact person or recipient of goods in connection with a service we provide.

Where our website or online tools are used, we may collect limited technical and usage data to support service delivery, security, and service improvement.

Purposes and Lawful Bases for Processing

We process your personal data only when we have a lawful basis to do so. The main purposes and lawful bases are:

To provide quotes and respond to enquiries: we process identity, contact and service details to supply requested information and quotes. The lawful basis is taking steps at your request prior to entering into a contract and our legitimate interest in responding to enquiries.

To provide and manage removal services: we process identity, contact, service and communication data to arrange, deliver and manage bookings and removal services. The lawful basis is performance of a contract with you and our legitimate interest in operating an effective removal service.

To manage payments and billing: we process payment-related and transaction data to take payment for services and maintain accurate accounts. The lawful basis is performance of a contract and compliance with legal obligations relating to financial and tax records.

To communicate with you: we use your contact and communication data to send service updates, confirm bookings, address issues, handle complaints, and manage after-service communication. The lawful basis is performance of a contract, our legitimate interest in maintaining customer relationships, and, where required, your consent.

To improve and protect our services: we may use limited technical and usage data to secure our systems, prevent fraud, and enhance our service processes. The lawful basis is our legitimate interest in maintaining secure and efficient services.

To comply with legal obligations and resolve disputes: we may process relevant data to meet legal, regulatory or insurance requirements, and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims. The lawful basis is compliance with legal obligations and our legitimate interest in protecting our rights.

Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to provide services, maintain business records, and comply with legal and regulatory obligations.

In general, customer and service records are retained for a period that allows us to manage repeat services, address follow-up queries or complaints, and comply with accounting and tax retention requirements. After the relevant retention period has expired, we will securely delete or anonymise your personal data.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data, the nature of our relationship with you, and applicable legal or regulatory requirements. We regularly review the data we hold and remove personal data that is no longer needed.

Data Processors and Third Parties

We may share your personal data with carefully selected third parties acting as data processors who provide services on our behalf. These may include:

Payment processing providers who handle card or electronic payments and related verification activities.

IT, hosting and system support providers who help us operate and maintain our digital systems and data storage.

Administrative and professional service providers, such as accountants or document management services, to support our business operations.

Where necessary, and where allowed by law, we may also share data with insurers, legal advisers, law enforcement or regulatory authorities to comply with legal obligations or to protect our rights.

All data processors acting on our behalf are required to process your personal data only in accordance with our instructions, apply appropriate security measures, and treat your personal data as confidential.

International Data Transfers

Where we use service providers located outside the United Kingdom or where data may be stored or accessed from other countries, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal data in accordance with data protection laws. These safeguards may include standard contractual clauses or other approved mechanisms designed to ensure your data receives an equivalent level of protection.

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 restricting access to personal data to those who have a legitimate need to know it for the purposes described in this Policy and who are subject to confidentiality obligations.

While we take reasonable steps to safeguard your personal data, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. We continually review and update our security measures to reduce risks to an appropriate level.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to certain conditions and exemptions. Your rights include:

Right of access: you can request confirmation that we process your personal data and ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

Right to rectification: you can request that we correct or complete personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete.

Right to erasure: in certain circumstances, you can request that we delete your personal data where there is no good reason for us to continue processing it.

Right to restriction of processing: you can request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, such as while we verify its accuracy or consider an objection.

Right to object: you can object to certain types of processing based on our legitimate interests, including certain types of direct communications, where applicable.

Right to data portability: in some cases, you can request that we provide your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, or that we transmit it directly to another organisation where this is technically feasible.

Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on your consent for processing, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. We aim to respond within the timeframes required by law.

Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, you are encouraged to contact us in the first instance so that we can seek to resolve the issue. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority in the United Kingdom.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services or legal requirements. Any changes will take effect when the updated Policy is made available. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we use and protect your personal data.