Privacy Policy - Egham Removals

This Privacy Policy explains how Egham Removals collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing removal, packing, storage, and related moving services. It applies to all Egham Removals customers in the area, including prospective customers, individual household clients, and business customers who request a quotation, make a booking, or use our services.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy is intended to help you understand what information we process, why we process it, and what rights you have over your personal data.

1. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to:

Customers using our removal and moving services;
People requesting quotes or surveys;
Individuals communicating with us by phone, email, or online forms;
Property owners, tenants, landlords, letting agents, and business representatives involved in a move;
Any person whose data we receive in connection with a job, booking, or enquiry.

We only process personal data necessary for the delivery of our services and the operation of our business.

2. Data we collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity details such as your name, title, and, where relevant, company name;
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number;
Service details such as moving dates, property information, access instructions, inventory notes, and special handling requirements;
Billing and payment information such as invoice details and payment records;
Communication records such as emails, messages, call notes, and complaint correspondence;
Technical information such as IP address, browser type, and device data if you interact with our online services;
Verification information where needed to confirm identity, ownership, or authority to instruct a move;
Special category data only where you choose to provide it and only if strictly necessary for service delivery, for example accessibility requirements or health-related handling instructions.

We do not intentionally collect more data than is needed. If you provide information about third parties, such as family members or tenants, you should ensure that you have the right to share it with us.

3. How we use your data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotes and assess service requirements;
To arrange, manage, and complete removals and related services;
To communicate with you before, during, and after a move;
To issue invoices, process payments, and maintain financial records;
To manage customer service queries, complaints, and claims;
To protect our business, staff, customers, and property;
To meet legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
To improve service quality, planning, and operational efficiency;
To maintain records of instructions, agreements, and service history.

Where we use data for analysis or service improvement, we do so in a way that is proportionate and, where possible, based on aggregated or anonymised information.

4. Lawful basis for processing

We will only process personal data where we have a valid lawful basis under the UK GDPR. Depending on the context, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, and to perform our contract with you. This includes managing quotes, bookings, moving arrangements, invoices, and customer communications.

Legal obligation

We process certain data to comply with laws and regulations, including tax, accounting, insurance, health and safety, and record-keeping obligations.

Legitimate interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing operations, preventing fraud, defending legal claims, and improving services.

Consent

Where we rely on consent, such as for optional marketing communications or the processing of certain special category information not otherwise necessary, you may withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

Vital interests and public interest

These bases are unlikely to apply in most routine removals, but may be used in exceptional circumstances where necessary to protect someone’s life or in connection with a legal requirement of public interest.

5. Sharing your information

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to deliver our services, operate our business, or comply with legal requirements. These may include:

Service providers such as payment processors, IT support, cloud storage providers, email platforms, and administration tools;
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, auditors, and legal advisers;
Subcontractors or delivery partners where required to fulfil a move or associated service;
Regulators, courts, law enforcement, or government bodies where disclosure is required by law or necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal rights.

We only share the minimum information necessary and require processors and service providers to protect personal data and use it only for agreed purposes.

6. Processors and data handling

When we use third-party processors, they process personal data on our instructions and under contract. Examples may include systems used for scheduling, accounting, customer relationship management, document storage, and secure communications.

We require all processors to:

Process data only for specified purposes;
Use appropriate technical and organisational security measures;
Keep personal data confidential;
Assist us in meeting data protection obligations where relevant;
Delete or return data when it is no longer needed under the contract.

Where data is transferred outside the UK, we take appropriate steps to ensure that it is protected in line with applicable data protection law.

7. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including for legal, accounting, insurance, and operational requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data and the nature of the service.

Booking and service records are kept for a period necessary to manage the contract and any follow-up issues;
Invoice and payment records are retained in line with tax and accounting obligations;
Complaint, claim, and dispute records may be retained for longer where needed to establish or defend legal claims;
Unsuccessful enquiries may be deleted or anonymised after a reasonable period unless you ask us to keep your details for future contact.

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

8. Data security

We use appropriate organisational and technical measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of our systems and procedures.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to reduce risk and respond promptly to any suspected data incident.

9. Your rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These may include:

Right of access – to obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
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 restrict processing – to limit how we use your data in certain cases;
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable;
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent;
Right to complain – to raise a complaint with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your rights have been infringed.

Some rights are subject to legal limitations and may not apply in every case. If we cannot fulfil a request, we will explain why where permitted by law.

10. Marketing

We may send service-related communications where necessary to manage an enquiry or booking. We will only send marketing communications where permitted by law and, where required, with your consent. You can object to direct marketing at any time.

We will never sell your personal data.

11. Children’s data

Our services are aimed at adults arranging removals and related services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidentally provided as part of a household move and is necessary for the service. Where children’s information is involved, we treat it with care and only use it where appropriate and lawful.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our operational practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.

13. Summary of key points

In summary: we collect only the information needed to provide removal services, process it under lawful bases such as contract, legal obligation, legitimate interests, or consent, keep it only as long as necessary, share it only with appropriate processors and necessary third parties, and respect your rights under data protection law.

This policy is designed to ensure that customers in the Egham area can use our services with confidence that their personal data is handled responsibly, securely, and lawfully.