Privacy Policy - Mortlake Removals

This Privacy Policy explains how Mortlake Removals collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our removals services. It applies to all Mortlake Removals customers in the area, including prospective customers, household clients, business clients, and anyone who interacts with us in relation to a quotation, booking, survey, or completed service.

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 information we process, why we process it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and what rights you have over your personal data.

1. Who we are

Mortlake Removals provides residential and commercial removals services, including packing, loading, transport, storage coordination, and related support. In the course of providing these services, we may collect and use personal data from customers, service users, and other individuals connected with the booking or delivery of our services.

We only process personal data when we have a valid reason to do so. We do not sell personal data and we do not use it for unrelated purposes.

2. Personal data we collect

We may collect different categories of personal data depending on how you interact with us. The information we collect may include:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your address, telephone number, and email address.
Service details such as property access information, moving dates, inventory lists, and special handling requirements.
Payment information such as billing records, payment status, and transaction references.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, and service instructions.
Booking and quotation details including service preferences, survey notes, and move specifications.
Technical data such as limited website or device information if you contact us electronically.

We may also process information that is necessary to protect our staff, property, and customers during the provision of services, for example access instructions, parking restrictions, or building entry requirements. We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it voluntarily, or unless another lawful basis applies.

3. How we use personal data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations and assess service requirements.
To arrange and carry out removals services.
To communicate about bookings, timing, access, and service changes.
To manage payments, invoicing, and accounts.
To maintain accurate business records.
To handle complaints, claims, and customer support matters.
To meet legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations.
To protect against fraud, misuse, or unsafe use of our services.

We use only the information necessary for each purpose, and we aim to keep all processing proportionate and relevant.

4. Lawful basis for processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Mortlake Removals relies on the following lawful bases, depending on the situation:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotations, confirming bookings, carrying out removals, and managing related payment matters.

Legal obligation

We process certain information where necessary to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, and record-keeping requirements.

Legitimate interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. This can include improving our service, maintaining internal records, preventing fraud, securing our operations, and responding to customer queries.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you choose to provide optional information that is not necessary for the service. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

We do not rely on consent where another lawful basis is more appropriate.

5. Sharing and processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us deliver our services. These parties act as data processors or independent controllers depending on their role. Examples may include:

IT and software providers who help store and manage records.
Payment service providers who process payments securely.
Accountants and bookkeeping services who assist with financial administration.
Insurance providers and claims handlers where relevant to service protection or incident management.
Storage, logistics, or subcontracted service partners where necessary to fulfil a booking.
Regulatory, legal, or public authorities where disclosure is required by law.

Where processors are used, they are required to handle personal data only on our instructions and to keep it secure. We take reasonable steps to ensure that any processor we use has appropriate technical and organisational measures in place.

We do not allow processors to use your personal data for their own independent purposes unless they are acting as separate controllers and have their own lawful basis.

6. International transfers

If any service provider stores or accesses personal data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms permitted under data protection law.

7. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, and in line with legal, accounting, insurance, and operational requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the nature of the service provided.

In general:

Quotation and booking records may be retained for a reasonable period after the service enquiry or completion of the job.
Financial and tax records are kept for the period required by law.
Correspondence and complaint records may be retained for as long as needed to resolve the matter and for a short period thereafter.
Insurance-related records may be retained where necessary to defend or manage claims.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention practices.

8. Data security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include restricted access, secure storage, staff awareness, and controlled processing procedures.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to protect the data we hold and to reduce risk wherever possible.

9. Your rights under GDPR

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal data, subject to certain legal limitations. These rights 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 ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction - you can request limited use of your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability - you can request a copy of some data in a structured format where applicable.
Right to object - you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing, where relevant.
Right to withdraw consent - if we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

We will respond to valid requests within the time limits required by law. In some cases, we may need to verify your identity before responding, and there may be legal reasons why we cannot comply with part of a request.

10. Third-party rights and special circumstances

If you provide us with information about another person, such as a family member, landlord, tenant, building manager, or business colleague, you should ensure that you have permission to share that information with us. You should also explain this Privacy Policy to them where appropriate.

Where personal data relates to multiple individuals, we will protect each person???s rights in line with data protection law.

11. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services, or the way we process personal data. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

12. Summary of our approach

Mortlake Removals processes personal data responsibly and only where there is a valid lawful basis. We collect information needed to provide quotations, deliver removals services, manage payments, and meet legal obligations. We limit sharing to trusted processors and necessary third parties, retain data only for as long as needed, and respect the rights of all individuals whose personal data we process.

Your privacy matters to us. We are committed to keeping your personal data secure, using it fairly, and handling it in a way that complies with applicable data protection laws.