Privacy Policy - Westkensington Movers

Westkensington Movers is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data relating to our customers, prospective customers, and other individuals who interact with our moving and relocation services. It applies to all Westkensington Movers customers in the area where our services are offered.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Westkensington Movers acts as the data controller for the personal data we collect and use in connection with our moving services, quotation process, booking management, customer support, billing, and service delivery. This means we determine why and how your personal data is processed.

2. Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity details, such as your name and title.
Contact details, such as phone number, email address, and moving address information.
Service information, such as the details of your move, inventory items, preferred dates, access requirements, and special handling instructions.
Billing and payment information, such as invoice details and payment status.
Communication records, including emails, call notes, messages, and service-related correspondence.
Technical and usage information where relevant, such as device or browser information when you interact with our digital services.
Security and verification data, where necessary, to confirm identity or prevent fraud.

In some circumstances, we may also process special category data if you choose to provide it and if it is necessary for the service, for example information about access needs, health-related handling requirements, or other sensitive instructions that affect the move. We only process such information where permitted by law and with appropriate safeguards.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data to operate our business and provide moving services effectively. This includes:

Providing quotations and assessing moving requirements.
Scheduling, planning, and carrying out moves.
Communicating with you about bookings, arrivals, delays, changes, and service updates.
Managing billing, payments, and financial records.
Responding to enquiries, complaints, or claims.
Maintaining records for legal, regulatory, tax, and insurance purposes.
Improving our operations, safety procedures, and customer experience.
Protecting against fraud, misuse, and security incidents.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons for which it was collected unless we have a lawful basis to do so and, where required, we notify you.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR and applicable data protection laws, we must have a valid lawful basis for processing your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as preparing quotations, arranging your move, delivering the service, and handling payment.

Legal Obligation

We process certain personal data where required to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, health and safety, and record-keeping requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include service administration, fraud prevention, service improvement, internal reporting, and record management.

Consent

Where required by law, we rely on your consent, particularly for certain types of optional processing or special category information. If consent is used as the lawful basis, you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf. These processors only process data under our instructions and are required to protect it appropriately.

Examples of processors may include:

IT and hosting providers who support our systems and secure storage.
Payment service providers who handle card or electronic payments.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who help manage financial records.
Customer communication providers who help deliver email or messaging services.
Insurance and claims handlers where necessary to manage liabilities or claims.
Professional advisers, such as legal or regulatory advisers, when necessary.

We may also disclose information to independent controllers where required by law or where necessary to perform our services, for example to public authorities, regulators, courts, or law enforcement bodies. In such cases, those parties are responsible for their own processing activities.

Westkensington Movers does not sell your personal data.

6. International Transfers

Where any service provider processes personal data outside the United Kingdom, we will take steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as approved contractual protections or other lawful transfer mechanisms. These safeguards are designed to keep your data protected to a standard consistent with applicable law.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, tax, insurance, and dispute-resolution requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the nature of the service.

In general, we apply the following principles:

Quotation and booking records are retained for a period needed to manage the service relationship and any follow-up issues.
Invoice, payment, and tax records are retained for the period required by law.
Complaint, claim, and dispute records are retained for as long as necessary to resolve the matter and defend legal rights.
Technical and security logs are retained for a limited period unless needed for an ongoing investigation or legal matter.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely, anonymise it, or otherwise make it inaccessible in line with our retention practices.

8. Security of Your Information

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unlawful destruction, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, and internal procedures designed to keep information safe. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work diligently to reduce risk and respond appropriately to any suspected breach.

9. Your Rights

Depending on your location and the applicable law, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

Right of access – to request confirmation of whether we process your data and obtain a copy.
Right to rectification – to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit processing in certain situations.
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 may also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed. We encourage you to raise any concerns with us first so we can try to resolve them promptly and fairly.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults arranging moving services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children as a primary purpose of our business. If we become aware that we have collected such data without appropriate authorisation, we will take reasonable steps to delete it where required.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, business practices, or operational needs. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we protect your information.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Westkensington Movers takes privacy seriously and aims to process personal data only when necessary, only for clear purposes, and only with an appropriate lawful basis. We limit access to personal data, use trusted processors, retain information for no longer than needed, and respect your rights under data protection law. This Policy applies to all Westkensington Movers customers in the area and is designed to ensure that your personal information is handled with care, confidentiality, and accountability.