Storage Hornchurch Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Storage Hornchurch collects, uses and protects personal data relating to customers and prospective customers in the Hornchurch area. It is intended to provide clear information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
This Privacy Policy applies to all Storage Hornchurch customers and prospective customers in the area who enquire about, use, or have used our storage and related services, whether in person, by phone, in writing, or through any online or digital means we make available.
Who we are and scope of this policy
Storage Hornchurch is a provider of storage and related services to individuals and businesses. In relation to the personal data described in this Privacy Policy, Storage Hornchurch acts as the data controller. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data.
By engaging with Storage Hornchurch, including requesting a quotation, entering into a storage agreement, visiting our premises, or communicating with us for customer service purposes, you acknowledge that your personal data will be processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Types of personal data we collect
We may collect and process the following categories of personal data about you, depending on your relationship with us and the services you use:
Identification and contact details such as full name, postal address, contact address, and other basic contact details you choose to provide so we can communicate with you about our services.
Customer account and contract information such as customer reference numbers, storage unit number or space details, contract start and end dates, payment terms, services selected, and correspondence relating to your account.
Payment and billing information such as billing address, payment history, and details of transactions relating to your use of our storage services. We do not retain full payment card details when payments are processed electronically via secure third-party payment processors.
Verification and security information such as copies or details of identity documents where required to confirm your identity for contractual and legal reasons, vehicle registration details if you use our on-site parking, and entry or access records to our premises where access control systems or visitor logs are in use.
Communication and enquiry records such as records of enquiries, complaints, feedback, and any other communications you send to us by post, phone, or electronic means, together with our responses.
Technical and usage data where you use any online services we provide, such as basic technical information about your device and how you interact with our online forms or tools, to the extent necessary for security and functionality.
Lawful basis for processing your personal data
We will only process your personal data when we have a lawful basis to do so under data protection law. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:
Contract: We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, for example to provide storage services, administer your account, manage payments, handle queries about your contract, and communicate with you regarding your storage arrangements.
Legal obligation: We process personal data where we are required to do so to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, such as keeping certain financial and transaction records for tax and accounting purposes, fulfilling anti-fraud and crime prevention requirements, and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.
Legitimate interests: We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests and those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. These interests may include managing and improving our services, maintaining the security of our premises, preventing and investigating misuse or criminal activity, recovering debts, and handling customer service and business administration.
Consent: On occasion we may rely on your consent, for example for certain optional communications that go beyond what is necessary for the performance of your contract or our legitimate interests. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.
How and why we use your personal data
We use the personal data we collect about you for the following purposes:
To provide storage and related services, set up and manage your customer account, allocate storage space, and administer your contract.
To communicate with you regarding your enquiries, reservations, bookings, existing contracts, payment reminders, and any changes to our terms or policies.
To process payments, manage billing and invoices, and recover any outstanding sums owed to us.
To maintain the safety and security of our premises, including managing access control systems, visitor logs, and related security procedures.
To respond to complaints, requests, and disputes, and to exercise or defend legal claims.
To maintain business records necessary for audit, accounting, and regulatory compliance.
To monitor and improve our services, premises, and customer experience, including through the analysis of aggregated and anonymised data where appropriate.
Data retention and how long we keep your data
We retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purpose of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
In general, personal data relating to your customer account and contract will be retained for the duration of your relationship with us and for a period afterwards, typically up to six years from the end of the contract, to enable us to comply with legal obligations and to resolve any disputes or claims.
Financial and transaction records are retained for the period required by applicable tax and accounting laws. Information required for security or incident records may be kept for longer where necessary in connection with an actual or potential dispute, investigation, or legal claim.
Where we rely on consent for specific communications, we will retain relevant contact details until you withdraw your consent or we determine that the data is no longer needed, whichever occurs first. When data is no longer required, we will securely delete or anonymise it.
Data processors and sharing your personal data
We may share your personal data with carefully selected third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These service providers process personal data only in accordance with our instructions and for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.
Such processors may include providers of secure payment processing services, accounting and bookkeeping services, information technology and system support, document storage and destruction services, and providers of security or access control systems used at our premises.
We require all processors to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data and to ensure it is handled lawfully and confidentially. They are not permitted to use your personal data for their own purposes.
We may also share your personal data with professional advisers such as lawyers, insurers, or auditors where reasonably necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims or for compliance and governance purposes, and with public authorities or law enforcement agencies where we are legally obliged to do so.
We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
International transfers
Our primary processing activities are carried out within the United Kingdom. If in the future your personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it, in accordance with data protection laws, such as using legally approved standard contractual clauses or transferring to countries that have been formally recognised as providing an adequate level of protection.
Your data protection rights
Under data protection law you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data, subject to certain conditions and exemptions. These rights include:
Right of access: You have the right to request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and to obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you, together with certain additional information about how it is used.
Right to rectification: You have the right to ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.
Right to erasure: In certain circumstances, you may have the right to ask us to delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected, or where you withdraw consent and there is no other legal basis for processing.
Right to restriction of processing: You may have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we are investigating a concern you raise about its accuracy.
Right to data portability: In some cases, you may have the right to receive personal data that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and to have it transmitted to another controller where this is technically feasible.
Right to object: You have the right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including profiling based on those interests, on grounds relating to your particular situation. We will stop processing your data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds to continue.
Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed. In the United Kingdom this is the Information Commissioner's Office.
How we protect your personal data
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect the personal data we hold against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures include access controls, data minimisation, staff training, and the use of secure systems and procedures proportionate to the sensitivity of the data and the level of risk.
Updates to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data protection practices. The updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to keep informed about how we process and protect your personal data.
