House Removals Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how House Removals collects, uses, stores and protects your personal data. It applies to all House Removals customers and prospective customers in our service area who use our services, visit our premises or interact with us in any way offline or online.

House Removals is committed to protecting your privacy and to processing personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and any other applicable data protection laws. By using our services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

Personal data we collect

We collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with us and which services you use. This may include:

Identification data such as your name, title and contact details.

Contact data such as your current address, moving from and moving to addresses, telephone numbers and other contact preferences.

Service data such as details of the removal services you request or purchase, property access information, inventory information where relevant, preferred dates and times, and any special instructions you provide.

Payment and transaction data such as records of payments you make for our services, payment method details that you provide to us and billing history. We do not store your full card details when payments are processed through third-party payment providers.

Communication data such as emails, messages, enquiry forms, call notes and any other correspondence with us, including complaints and feedback.

Technical and usage data such as logs relating to your use of our website if you visit it, including device information and basic analytics data. We do not intentionally collect more technical data than is necessary for basic functionality and security.

In some cases we may collect images where our team takes photographs of items or property layouts solely for planning and service delivery purposes, for example to assess access requirements or to prepare a quotation.

How we collect personal data

We may collect your personal data in the following ways:

Directly from you when you contact us by phone, in person, by post or through any online form to request a quotation, make a booking, ask a question or provide feedback.

During the provision of removal services, for example when our team visits your property to carry out a survey or perform the move.

From third parties where you have authorised them to share your details with us, for example relocation agents, comparison or quotation platforms or business partners.

Automatically through limited technical information when you use our website, such as basic analytics that help us improve our services and keep our systems secure.

Lawful bases for processing

House Removals processes personal data only where we have a lawful basis to do so. Depending on the purpose, one or more of the following lawful bases will apply:

Contract. We process your personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as providing a quotation, arranging and carrying out your house removal, and managing billing and customer service.

Legal obligation. We may process certain data to comply with legal and regulatory obligations, such as maintaining accounting records, tax information and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate interests. We may process your data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where these are not overridden by your rights and interests. This may include using data to improve our services, manage our relationship with you, prevent fraud or pursue or defend legal claims.

Consent. In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of marketing communications. Where we rely on consent, you are free to withdraw it at any time.

How we use your personal data

We may use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations, confirm bookings and deliver our house removal and related services.

To communicate with you about your enquiry or booking, including service updates, changes and follow up.

To manage payments, invoicing, refunds and accounting records.

To handle customer service queries, complaints and disputes.

To plan and manage logistics, routes and resources necessary to carry out your move.

To maintain and improve our services, including training our staff and monitoring the quality of our operations.

To send you relevant information about similar services you have previously purchased, where permitted by law, and to manage your preferences regarding such communications.

To comply with applicable laws, regulations and professional obligations.

Data sharing and processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and where appropriate safeguards are in place.

These third parties may include:

IT and system providers who support our business operations, such as hosting, email, data storage and software services.

Payment service providers who process payments on our behalf.

Subcontractors and partner organisations involved in delivering the removal services where additional vehicles, storage or specialist services are required.

Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers and legal advisers where necessary for compliance, accounting, insurance or legal purposes.

Public authorities, regulators or law enforcement agencies where we are required by law or where it is necessary to protect our rights, property or safety or those of others.

Where we use third parties to process personal data on our behalf, they act as data processors and are only permitted to process personal data in accordance with our instructions and applicable law. We require them to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data.

Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting or reporting requirements.

When determining retention periods, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process it and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, as well as applicable legal requirements.

In general, data relating to enquiries and quotations will be held for a limited period after the enquiry is closed, while data relating to completed contracts will be retained for the period necessary to meet tax, accounting and limitation requirements. Where data is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or anonymised.

International transfers

We aim to store and process your personal data within the United Kingdom or other locations that provide an adequate level of data protection. If we ever need to transfer your personal data outside of these areas, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or equivalent measures, in order to protect your data.

Security of your personal data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data from accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access. These measures are reviewed periodically and updated where necessary. However, no system can be completely secure and we cannot guarantee absolute security of your data.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have certain rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to legal limitations, these include:

The right of access. You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and information about how we process it.

The right to rectification. You have the right to request correction of any inaccurate or incomplete personal data that we hold about you.

The right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you may request that we delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected and we have no legal obligation to retain it.

The right to restriction. You may ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, such as while we verify its accuracy or our grounds for processing it.

The right to object. You may object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including profiling, and we will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds. You always have the right to object to direct marketing.

The right to data portability. In some cases, you can request that we provide your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or that we transmit it directly to another organisation where this is technically feasible.

The right to withdraw consent. Where we rely on consent as our lawful basis, you can withdraw your consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

How to exercise your rights

If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights or have questions about how we handle your data, you can contact us using the contact methods provided on our main customer communications or website. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request to protect your privacy and security.

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe that your data protection rights have been infringed, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority in your jurisdiction.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, technologies, legal obligations or how we process personal data. Any changes will be effective from the date of publication of the updated policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.

This Privacy Policy applies to all House Removals customers and prospective customers in our service area and is intended to provide clear and transparent information about our data protection practices.