Privacy Policy - Twickenham Movers

Twickenham Movers is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers, prospective customers, and service users in our area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information in a way that complies with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. It applies to all Twickenham Movers customers in the area, whether you contact us for a quote, book a service, or use our moving and related services.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Twickenham Movers acts as the data controller for the personal data we collect and process in connection with our business operations. This means we decide why and how your personal information is used. We take our responsibility seriously and only process personal data where there is a clear and lawful reason to do so.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide our services, manage customer relationships, and meet our legal obligations. The type of data we may collect includes:

Identity details, such as your name and title
Contact details, such as telephone number and email address
Service location details, such as pick-up and delivery addresses
Booking and enquiry details, including moving dates, property type, service requirements, and requested timings
Billing and payment details, where relevant to invoicing and payment processing
Communication records, such as emails, messages, notes from calls, and correspondence related to your enquiry or move
Access or delivery instructions, including any information needed to complete the service safely and efficiently
Complaint or feedback information, if you contact us about a concern or service issue

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it and it is necessary for a specific purpose. Special category data may include information about health, religious needs, or other sensitive matters. If such information is provided, we will only use it where necessary and where a lawful basis applies.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations
To manage bookings and schedule services
To carry out moving services and related customer support
To process invoices, payments, and account records
To communicate with you about your booking, service updates, or queries
To handle complaints, claims, and after-service support
To improve our services, operations, and customer experience
To comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations
To protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud, misuse, or other unlawful activity

We only use personal data for the purpose for which it was collected, unless we reasonably believe another compatible purpose applies or we are required by law to use it differently.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Twickenham Movers relies on the following lawful bases depending on the situation:

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract or to perform the contract we have with you. This includes arranging quotes, handling bookings, delivering moving services, and processing payments.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where required to comply with legal duties, including accounting, tax, insurance, record-keeping, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process your data when it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests do not override your rights and freedoms. This may include improving service delivery, maintaining internal records, preventing fraud, and handling business administration.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is appropriate for optional communications or the use of certain information not otherwise covered by another lawful basis. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing Your Information and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business and deliver services. These third parties act as processors where they handle data on our behalf, or as independent controllers where they determine their own purposes for processing.

Examples of processors may include:

IT and hosting providers who support our systems and secure data storage
Payment processors who handle transactions securely
Accounting or bookkeeping providers who support financial administration
Customer communication platforms used to send service-related messages
Administrative service providers who assist with operations and record management

We require all processors to respect data protection law and to use personal data only according to our instructions. We do not sell personal data. We may also disclose information where required by law, court order, law enforcement request, or to protect our rights, customers, staff, or property.

6. International Transfers

If any of our processors store or access data outside the United Kingdom, we will only allow this where appropriate safeguards are in place. Such safeguards may include adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections to ensure your data remains protected to a standard consistent with UK GDPR.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, insurance, and reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the nature of the information and the service provided. In general:

Enquiry records may be kept for a limited period to manage follow-up and business administration
Customer and booking records may be retained for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards
Financial and transaction records may be retained for the period required by tax and accounting law
Complaint, claim, or dispute records may be retained longer if needed to resolve issues or defend legal claims

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in accordance with our retention practices.

8. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limited access on a need-to-know basis. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we continually review and improve our safeguards.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the lawful basis and the specific circumstances of processing:

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 us to delete personal data in certain circumstances
Right to restrict processing – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing
Right to data portability – you can request certain information in a structured, commonly used format where applicable
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time

Exercising these rights is free of charge in most cases, although we may refuse or charge a reasonable fee where a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

10. Automated Decision-Making

Twickenham Movers does not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing where such decisions have legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes, we will update this policy and provide appropriate information about the logic involved and the consequences for you.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally provided in connection with a household move or service arrangement. Where such data is necessary, it will be handled with care and only for legitimate business purposes.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data protection practices. Any updates will take effect when published. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their information is used.

13. Summary of Our Commitments

Twickenham Movers will only collect the information needed to provide reliable moving services, use it lawfully, keep it secure, and retain it for no longer than necessary. We will process personal data fairly, transparently, and in accordance with UK GDPR. Customers in our area can trust that their privacy is treated with care and that their rights are respected.