Privacy Policy - Tooting Movers

This Privacy Policy explains how Tooting Movers collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Tooting Movers customers in the area, including current, former, and prospective customers who use or enquire about our moving, packing, storage, and related services. We are committed to handling personal data fairly, transparently, and in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services or providing personal information to us, you acknowledge that your data will be processed as described in this Policy. We only collect and use personal data where we have a valid legal basis and only for purposes that are necessary, relevant, and proportionate.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect personal data directly from you, from people authorised to act on your behalf, or from third parties involved in delivering our services. The types of information we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name, title, and any business or household contact name.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details including property access information, moving dates, inventory lists, special handling instructions, and service preferences.
Payment information such as billing details and transaction records.
Communication records including enquiries, complaints, feedback, and notes from phone calls, messages, or written correspondence.
Technical data such as IP address, device details, and basic usage data if you interact with digital systems we use to manage services.
Special category data only where necessary and lawfully permitted, for example if you voluntarily disclose health or accessibility needs relevant to safe moving arrangements.

We do not seek to collect excessive information. Where possible, we limit data collection to what is necessary to arrange, perform, and manage the services you request.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotes and assess service requirements;
to arrange, deliver, and manage moving and related services;
to communicate with you before, during, and after a move;
to handle payments, invoices, and account administration;
to maintain internal records and service history;
to manage complaints, disputes, and claims;
to improve our services, planning, training, and operations;
to meet legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations;
to protect against fraud, misuse, and security incidents.

We may also use data in an aggregated or anonymised form for reporting and service improvement. Where data has been anonymised properly, it is no longer personal data.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the purpose, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, scheduling services, carrying out your move, issuing invoices, and dealing with service-related enquiries.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where it is necessary to comply with a legal requirement, such as tax, accounting, insurance, or record-keeping obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data for our legitimate business interests, provided that these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing operations, preventing fraud, improving services, and keeping secure records. We always consider whether the processing is necessary and proportionate.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where we process optional information that is not required for the service. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Vital Interests and Special Category Data

In rare cases, we may process data to protect someone’s vital interests, for example in an emergency. If you provide special category data, such as accessibility or health-related information, we will only process it where a lawful exemption applies and the information is necessary for safe and practical service delivery.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share it only where necessary and appropriate for the purposes described in this Policy. In some cases, we use third-party service providers, known as processors, to carry out tasks on our behalf. These processors may include:

payment processing providers;
accounting and bookkeeping services;
IT, cloud storage, and system support providers;
communication and email service providers;
customer record and scheduling software providers;
insurance or claims handling providers;
professional advisers, such as accountants or legal advisers;
subcontracted service partners assisting with parts of a move, where necessary.

All processors are required to act only on our instructions and to protect personal data using appropriate security measures. Where required by law, we also ensure that contractual safeguards are in place.

We may also disclose data to public authorities, courts, insurers, or other third parties if required for legal compliance, the establishment or defence of legal claims, or the protection of rights, property, or safety.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, insurance, and dispute-resolution requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason it was collected.

In general:

service and contract records are retained for as long as needed to manage the customer relationship and any related claims;
financial and tax records are kept for the period required by law;
complaint and incident records are retained for a reasonable time to resolve and defend claims;
general enquiry records may be deleted or anonymised when no longer needed.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, destroy, or anonymise it. We review retention periods periodically to ensure they remain appropriate.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate 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, system safeguards, and regular review of processes.

Although we work to protect your information, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If a personal data breach occurs, we will assess the situation and take steps in line with legal requirements, including notifying affected individuals and regulators where appropriate.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to request limited use of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
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 will not usually have to pay a fee to exercise these rights. However, we may refuse or limit a request where the law allows. If we need to do so, we will explain why. We may also need to verify your identity before responding to protect your information.

8. Marketing Preferences

We will only send marketing communications where permitted by law. If we rely on consent, you can change your preferences or withdraw consent at any time. If we rely on legitimate interests for limited marketing, you may object, and we will stop unless we have compelling lawful grounds to continue. We do not use your data for unrelated marketing without a lawful basis.

9. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms recognised by data protection law.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are directed to adults arranging moving and storage services. We do not intentionally collect children’s personal data unless it is incidentally included in service records and is necessary for the provision of services or legal compliance. If we become aware that we have collected such data without a valid reason, we will delete it where appropriate.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service arrangements. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Tooting Movers is committed to processing personal data lawfully, fairly, and securely. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, share it only where necessary, and keep it only for as long as required. We also respect your rights and aim to make it easy for you to exercise them. If you use our services, we will handle your data in a way that supports safe, reliable, and compliant moving services for all customers in the area.