Privacy Policy - Highgate Removals

This Privacy Policy explains how Highgate Removals collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing removal, packing, transport, storage, and related services. It applies to all Highgate Removals customers in area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and business clients who use our services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By engaging our services, making an enquiry, or otherwise interacting with us, you acknowledge that this policy explains how your information is processed. We aim to collect only the data we need, keep it secure, and retain it only for as long as necessary.

1. Information We Collect

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

Identity information: name, title, and any business or account name.
Contact information: address, email address, phone number, and alternative contact details.
Service information: move dates, origin and destination addresses, property access details, inventory notes, packing requirements, and service preferences.
Payment information: billing details, transaction records, and payment status. We do not retain more financial information than is necessary for administration and legal compliance.
Communication records: emails, call notes, quotes, complaints, feedback, and other correspondence.
Operational information: instructions relating to access, parking, fragile items, assembly/disassembly, and any special handling requirements.
Technical information: limited website or device information if you interact with digital services, such as IP address, browser type, and usage data where applicable.
Sensitive information: we do not actively seek special category data, but it may be incidentally provided by you in communications. If this occurs, we will only process it where necessary and lawful.

We do not knowingly collect more personal data than is required for the purposes described in this policy.

2. How We Use Your Data

Highgate Removals processes personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
to plan, arrange, and deliver removal and related services;
to verify identity and manage customer accounts;
to communicate about schedules, access, delays, and service changes;
to process payments, invoices, and refunds;
to handle complaints, claims, and customer support;
to maintain internal records and improve service quality;
to comply with legal, accounting, tax, and regulatory obligations;
to protect against fraud, misuse, and security incidents;
to defend or establish legal claims where necessary.

We use a data minimisation approach and only process information that is relevant and necessary for the task at hand.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. Depending on the context, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes preparing quotes, arranging moves, delivering services, and managing billing.

Legal Obligation

We may process data to meet legal obligations, such as maintaining financial records, handling tax requirements, and complying with regulatory duties.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided your rights and interests do not override those interests. Examples include managing operations, improving services, preventing fraud, and keeping records of customer communications. We consider the impact of such processing and apply appropriate safeguards.

Consent

Where required by law, we will ask for your consent, for example for certain marketing or optional processing activities. If consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Vital Interests and Public Task

These bases are unlikely to apply in ordinary service provision, but we may rely on them in exceptional circumstances where necessary.

4. Sharing Your Personal Data

We may share your personal data with carefully selected third parties, known as processors or other data recipients, when necessary for service delivery or compliance. These may include:

Payment providers that process card or bank transactions;
IT and cloud service providers that host systems, backups, and email;
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who help maintain financial records;
Professional advisers such as insurers, lawyers, or auditors;
Subcontractors or logistics partners involved in delivery of removal services;
Authorities or regulators where disclosure is required by law.

All processors are required to handle your data securely, use it only on our instructions, and maintain appropriate confidentiality and security measures. We do not sell your personal data.

5. International Transfers

If any processor or service provider stores or accesses data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal protections. We assess transfer risks and require recipients to maintain standards that protect your personal information.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, reporting, and dispute-resolution requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of record:

Customer and contract records: retained for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterward.
Financial records: retained in line with statutory tax and accounting requirements.
Complaints and claims records: retained for as long as needed to resolve the matter and protect our legal position.
Marketing preferences: retained until you opt out or withdraw consent where applicable.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in accordance with our retention procedures. We review retention regularly to ensure information is not kept longer than necessary.

7. Security of Your Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or alteration. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, password protection, and limited data access on a need-to-know basis. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to reduce risk and respond promptly to any suspected data incident.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to legal limits and exemptions, these may include:

Right of access: to request confirmation of whether we process your data and obtain a copy;
Right to rectification: to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
Right to erasure: to request deletion of data in certain circumstances;
Right to restriction: to ask us to limit processing in certain situations;
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;
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent;
Right to lodge a complaint: with the Information Commissioner???s Office if you believe your rights have been infringed.

We will respond to valid requests within the timeframes required by law. If a request is complex or numerous, we may need additional time, but we will keep you informed.

9. Marketing and Communications

We may send service-related communications that are necessary for the performance of a contract or to keep you informed about a booked service. Any optional marketing communications will only be sent where permitted by law and, where required, with your consent. You may object to marketing at any time.

10. Children???s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental to a move or service requested by an adult customer. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child inappropriately, we will take reasonable steps to delete it or obtain proper authorisation where applicable.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, operational practices, or service offerings. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Highgate Removals is committed to respecting privacy and protecting personal information. We collect only what is necessary, use it for clear and lawful purposes, store it securely, and retain it for no longer than needed. We also ensure that any third parties processing data on our behalf are bound by appropriate contractual and security obligations.

By using Highgate Removals services, you confirm that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.