Privacy Policy - Movers Colliers Wood

This Privacy Policy explains how Movers Colliers Wood collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing moving and related services. It applies to all Movers Colliers Wood customers in the area, including individuals who request quotations, book services, communicate with us, or otherwise interact with our business in connection with removals, packing, storage coordination, and associated support 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. This policy is designed to help you understand what data we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and what rights you have over it.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the information needed to operate our services effectively, respond to requests, and meet legal and administrative obligations. The personal data we may collect includes:

Identity data such as your name and title.
Contact data such as phone number, email address, and service address.
Booking and service data including move dates, property details, inventory information, access requirements, and service preferences.
Payment and billing data such as payment confirmation, invoice details, and transaction records.
Communication data including messages, notes, and records of calls or written correspondence.
Technical data where relevant, such as basic device or browser information if submitted through digital communication tools.
Special category data only if you voluntarily provide it and where it is necessary for a specific request, for example accessibility or health-related information that affects the moving service.

We generally collect personal data directly from you. In some cases, we may receive data from third parties involved in your move, such as estate agents, landlords, solicitors, property managers, or payment providers, where this is necessary to deliver the service or complete an instruction.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for legitimate business purposes connected to our moving services. Typical uses include:

providing quotations and confirming bookings;
planning and carrying out moves;
allocating staff, vehicles, and equipment;
communicating service updates and operational details;
handling payments, invoices, and account administration;
managing complaints, claims, and disputes;
meeting legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations;
improving service quality, training, and internal administration;
preventing fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose and the law allows us to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract – processing is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as arranging and completing a move.
Legal obligation – processing is necessary to comply with statutory duties, including tax, accounting, and record-keeping requirements.
Legitimate interests – processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include service management, fraud prevention, internal reporting, and quality control.
Consent – where required, we will ask for your consent before processing certain types of data, especially where special category data is involved and no other lawful basis applies.

Important note: if we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

4. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, insurance, and operational requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the context in which it was collected.

As a general rule:

booking and service records are retained for a reasonable period after completion of the service;
invoice, payment, and tax-related records are retained for the periods required by law;
complaint and claims information is kept for as long as needed to resolve the matter and manage any follow-up issues;
communications may be retained for operational or evidential purposes where relevant.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely, anonymise it, or otherwise dispose of it in a safe and lawful manner.

5. Processors and Data Sharing

We may share personal data with trusted third-party processors who help us deliver and support our services. These processors act on our instructions and are contractually required to protect data and use it only for specified purposes.

Examples of processors or recipients may include:

IT and cloud service providers that support data storage, email, scheduling, or document management;
payment service providers that process transactions securely;
accounting and bookkeeping providers that assist with financial administration;
customer service or administrative support providers that help manage bookings and communications;
insurance or legal professionals where required for claims handling, compliance, or dispute resolution;
regulatory, tax, or law enforcement bodies where disclosure is required by law.

We do not sell personal data. Where data is shared, it is limited to what is necessary and appropriate for the relevant purpose.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and reasonable administrative safeguards.

While we work hard to protect personal data, no method of transmission or storage is completely risk-free. We therefore cannot guarantee absolute security, but we continually review and improve our safeguards to keep data protected.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, these may include:

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

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in accordance with applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

8. Special Category Data

In limited circumstances, we may receive information that could be considered special category data, such as health or accessibility details that are relevant to a move. We only process such information where it is necessary, proportionate, and supported by an appropriate lawful basis. We treat this information with particular care and only use it to the extent needed to provide a safe and suitable service.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are aimed at adults and household customers. We do not intentionally collect personal data from children except where it is incidental to a household move and necessary for service-related administration. If we become aware that we have collected data inappropriately, we will take reasonable steps to delete it promptly.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, business operations, or data handling practices. Any updates will take effect when published in the revised version. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how personal data is handled.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Movers Colliers Wood is committed to processing personal data responsibly, lawfully, and transparently. We collect only the information needed to provide moving services, retain it only for as long as necessary, share it only with trusted processors and legal authorities where appropriate, and respect the rights of every customer in the area. Our approach is based on the principles of data minimisation, security, and accountability, ensuring that your information is handled with care throughout the lifecycle of our services.