Privacy Policy - Highbury Removals

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

We respect your privacy and aim to ensure that any personal information you provide is used only for legitimate business purposes. This policy should be read alongside any service terms, quotes, bookings, or communications relating to our services.

1. Information We Collect

Highbury Removals may collect and process different types of personal data depending on the services requested and the way you interact with us.

Information you provide directly

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact information such as telephone number, email address, and correspondence address.
Service details including moving addresses, access instructions, dates, inventory details, and special handling requirements.
Payment-related information necessary for billing, invoicing, and payment verification.
Communication records including messages, booking notes, complaints, and feedback.
Special instructions you choose to provide, such as fragile items, storage needs, or service preferences.

Information collected automatically

Technical information such as device type, browser type, and basic usage data if you interact with our digital systems.
Operational records such as booking timestamps, service history, and internal notes created during service delivery.

Information from third parties

We may also receive personal data from agents, landlords, solicitors, estate agents, payment providers, or other parties involved in arranging or supporting your move, where this is necessary for the provision of our services.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data only for purposes that are relevant to our services and permitted by law. Typical uses include:

providing quotations and assessing service requirements;
managing bookings and scheduling removals;
delivering packing, transport, storage, and related services;
communicating with you about your move or account;
processing payments, refunds, and invoices;
maintaining records for business, legal, and insurance purposes;
responding to complaints, claims, and customer service enquiries;
meeting legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
improving our service quality, planning, and operational efficiency;
preventing fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We will only process your data where we have a valid lawful basis to do so, as explained below.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, Highbury Removals must have a lawful basis for each category of processing. We rely on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations, managing bookings, carrying out the move, handling payment, and completing agreed services.

Legal obligation

We process data where required to comply with legal and regulatory duties, such as tax, accounting, insurance, record-keeping, or responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include service administration, security, business planning, customer support, and internal record management.

Consent

Where required, we will rely on your consent, for example if we wish to use your data for specific optional communications or non-essential activities. You may withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before withdrawal.

4. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties, but only where necessary and under appropriate safeguards. Such parties may act as data processors or independent controllers depending on the circumstances.

Payment providers who handle card or electronic payments.
IT and system providers who host or support our business software, communication systems, and data storage.
Accountants and professional advisers who assist with financial, tax, or legal obligations.
Insurance providers and claims handlers where relevant to service protection or incident management.
Subcontractors or partners who assist in delivering removal services, storage, packing, or logistics.
Authorities or regulators where disclosure is required by law.

Where third parties process personal data on our behalf, they are required to protect it, use it only according to our instructions, and comply with applicable data protection obligations. We do not sell personal data.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and for any additional period required by law or good business practice. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the service provided.

Booking and service records are generally retained for the period needed to manage the service and address follow-up issues.
Financial records are retained for the period required under tax and accounting rules.
Claims, complaints, or dispute records may be retained longer where necessary to resolve matters or defend legal claims.
General correspondence is retained only as long as needed for operational purposes.

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, destroy, or anonymise it.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and controlled sharing with approved processors.

Although we work to safeguard your information, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. If a personal data incident occurs, we will assess it and take appropriate action in line with our legal obligations.

7. Your Rights

Under GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to legal exceptions and limitations.

Right of access – you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – you may request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – you may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to data portability – you may request transfer of certain data in a structured format where applicable.
Right to object – you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

To exercise your rights, you should provide sufficient details to help us identify you and your request. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to deal with valid requests within the timeframe required by law.

8. International Transfers

If any of our processors or service providers store or access data outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in line with applicable legal requirements. This may include recognised transfer mechanisms or equivalent contractual protections.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is necessary as part of a household move or related lawful service arrangement. Where children’s data is incidentally processed, it will be handled with care and only for legitimate service purposes.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically.

11. Summary of Key Points

Highbury Removals collects only the personal data needed to provide moving and related services, uses it on lawful grounds such as contract, legal obligation, legitimate interests, and consent, shares it only with trusted processors where necessary, retains it only as long as required, and respects your GDPR rights.

This policy applies to all Highbury Removals customers in area.