Kensington Removals Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Kensington Removals collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to our customers and prospective customers. It also describes your rights under applicable data protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act. This Privacy Policy applies to all Kensington Removals customers and users of our services in our service area.

Who We Are and Scope of This Policy

Kensington Removals is a removals and related services provider operating within its defined service area. In relation to the personal data we collect and use, we act as the data controller. This means we decide how and why your personal data is processed and are responsible for complying with data protection laws.

This Privacy Policy applies when you contact us, request a quotation, use our removals or storage services, visit our website, or otherwise interact with us as a private or business customer in our service area.

Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. The categories of personal data we may collect include:

Identification and contact details such as name, title, postal address, property addresses for collection and delivery, billing address, and any other contact information you choose to provide.

Communication details such as the content of enquiries, messages, complaints, feedback and any records of communications between you and Kensington Removals.

Service details such as information about the properties involved in your move, access information, inventory lists, special handling requirements and service preferences.

Contract and billing information such as quotes, booking confirmations, invoices, payment history and records relating to our services.

Technical and usage data such as basic information about how you use our website and online enquiry forms, including date and time of access, pages viewed and non-identifying analytical information where applicable.

In limited circumstances we may receive personal data about you from third parties such as comparison sites, business partners or people acting on your behalf, but only where it is lawful for them to share this information with us.

Purposes and Lawful Bases for Processing

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

To provide quotations and respond to enquiries. When you request a quote or contact us with questions, we process your identification, contact and service details to provide the requested information. The lawful basis is that processing is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.

To perform our contracts with you. When you book removals or related services, we process your personal data to plan, manage and deliver those services, including scheduling, logistics, invoicing, payments and customer support. The lawful basis is that processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you.

To meet legal and regulatory obligations. We may process your data to comply with legal obligations such as accountancy, taxation, record keeping and responding to lawful requests from public authorities. The lawful basis is compliance with a legal obligation.

For our legitimate business interests. We may use your personal data to improve our services, manage our business, protect against fraud and misuse, handle complaints and maintain appropriate business records. We only rely on this basis where our legitimate interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

With your consent. In some cases we may ask for your consent to use your data for specific purposes, such as certain types of marketing communications. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting or reporting requirements.

Quotation and enquiry records are typically kept for a limited period to allow us to follow up and to manage our business records. If a booking is not made, we will not retain the information longer than necessary for these purposes.

Customer and contract records, including invoices and service details, are normally kept for a number of years after the end of the contract to comply with tax and accounting rules, to deal with any queries, disputes or claims, and to demonstrate that we have complied with our legal obligations.

In determining appropriate retention periods we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk from unauthorised use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process it and whether we can achieve those purposes by other means, as well as applicable legal requirements.

When data is no longer required, we will delete it or anonymise it in a secure manner.

Sharing Your Personal Data and Use of Processors

We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and where we have a lawful basis. These third parties may act as data processors, processing personal data on our behalf and under our instructions.

Categories of recipients may include IT and system support providers who help us operate our website, booking systems and communication tools, payment service providers who process payments, professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers, and subcontractors or partner firms who assist in delivering removals or related services.

Whenever we use data processors, we require them to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data and to process it only in accordance with our written instructions and applicable data protection laws. They are not permitted to use your personal data for their own purposes.

We may also share personal data where required by law, to protect our rights, property or safety or that of others, or in connection with a business reorganisation, provided that appropriate safeguards are in place.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

International Transfers

Our services are primarily provided within our local service area, and we aim to keep personal data within the United Kingdom or other jurisdictions that provide an equivalent level of data protection. If we ever need to transfer personal data to a country that does not provide the same level of protection, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or other approved transfer mechanisms, in accordance with data protection law.

Data Security

We take the security of your personal data seriously. We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage.

Measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, data minimisation and regular review of our security procedures. While we take reasonable steps to protect your personal data, no system can be completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under data protection laws, you have certain rights in relation to your personal data, subject to applicable conditions and exemptions. These rights include:

The right of access. You have the right to request confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and, if we do, to request a copy of that data and certain other information.

The right to rectification. You have the right to request that inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you be corrected or completed.

The right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you may have the right to request that we delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected and we have no legal obligation to retain it.

The right to restrict processing. You may have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, such as while we investigate a concern you have raised.

The right to data portability. Where our processing is based on your consent or on a contract and carried out by automated means, you may have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and to transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.

The right to object. You may have the right to object to certain types of processing, including processing based on our legitimate interests and processing for direct marketing.

The right to withdraw consent. Where we rely on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing prior to withdrawal.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe that your data protection rights have been infringed.

Updates to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements or other factors. Any changes will be posted through our usual communication channels and will apply from the date of publication. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we handle your personal data.