Privacy Policy - Removals Glasgow

This Privacy Policy explains how Removals Glasgow collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Removals Glasgow customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and businesses that use our removal, packing, storage, or related services.

We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent way, in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Please read this policy carefully to understand your rights and how your data is processed.

1. Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary to provide our services, manage our operations, and meet legal obligations. The types of information we may collect include:

Identity information such as your name, title, and any account or booking reference.
Contact information such as postal address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details such as moving dates, property access information, inventory lists, special handling instructions, and delivery locations.
Payment and billing information such as invoice details, payment status, and transaction records.
Communication records including messages, call notes, complaints, feedback, and service updates.
Operational data such as route planning notes, parking arrangements, and job completion records.
Technical data if you contact us electronically, which may include device type, browser information, and basic usage information.

We do not intentionally collect more data than is necessary. Where possible, we minimise the amount of personal information processed and use it only for clear business purposes.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide removal, packing, storage, and related services.
To prepare quotations, confirm bookings, and manage scheduling.
To communicate with you about service delivery, changes, or issues.
To process payments, issue invoices, and keep financial records.
To manage customer support, complaints, and service improvements.
To maintain internal records and quality control.
To comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations.
To prevent fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We may also use data in an aggregated or anonymised form for business analysis. When data has been anonymised properly, it no longer identifies you and is not considered personal data under GDPR.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. Depending on the activity, we rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes providing quotes, booking services, moving property, issuing invoices, and managing customer accounts.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where required to meet legal or regulatory duties, such as accounting, tax record keeping, insurance requirements, or responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your interests and rights do not override those interests. This may include service improvement, fraud prevention, internal administration, and the protection of our operations and staff. We only rely on this basis when it is appropriate and proportionate.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is required for certain optional communications or marketing activities. If we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal will not affect processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

4. Sharing Your Information and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to deliver our services or to meet legal obligations. These parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers.

Processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers that host our systems, files, or communications.
Payment processing providers that handle transactions securely.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that assist with records and tax compliance.
Storage or logistics partners that help support service delivery.
Professional advisers such as insurers, lawyers, or auditors where needed.

Where we use processors, we ensure they process personal data only on our instructions and are subject to appropriate confidentiality, security, and data protection obligations.

We may also disclose information where required by law, court order, regulatory request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Removals Glasgow, our customers, staff, or others.

We do not sell your personal data.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law. Retention periods depend on the nature of the data and the reason it is held.

Typical retention periods may include:

Quotation and booking records: retained for a reasonable period to manage customer relationships, disputes, and operational history.
Invoice and financial records: retained in line with legal, accounting, and tax requirements.
Communication records: retained as long as needed to resolve queries, support service quality, or handle complaints.
Security and operational records: retained only as long as needed for safety, incident handling, or business protection.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, destroy, or anonymise it. Retention is reviewed periodically to ensure that data is not kept for longer than necessary.

6. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limited access based on job role.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take the protection of your information seriously and continuously review our safeguards.

7. Your Rights Under GDPR

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to legal restrictions or exemptions in some circumstances. Your rights include:

Right of access ??? you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification ??? you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure ??? you can ask for your data to be deleted in certain situations.
Right to restriction ??? you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability ??? you can ask for certain data to be provided in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to object ??? you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent ??? where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in accordance with applicable data protection law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

8. Children???s Data

Our services are generally aimed at adults and businesses. We do not knowingly collect personal data directly from children unless it is required in connection with a household move or a service arranged by an adult customer. If such data is processed, it will be handled with care and only where necessary.

9. International Transfers

Where any personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it. These safeguards may include adequacy decisions, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal mechanisms required under data protection law.

10. Automated Decision-Making

We do not use fully automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects about you. If this position changes, we will update this policy and explain the relevant safeguards and your rights.

11. Complaints and Further Information

If you have concerns about how we handle personal data, we encourage you to raise them with us so we can address the issue promptly. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner???s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data processing practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published.

Effective scope: This policy applies to all Removals Glasgow customers in the area and to any personal data processed in connection with our removal services, storage services, and related customer support.