Storage Church End Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Storage Church End collects, uses, stores and protects your personal data when you use our services. It also explains your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. This Privacy Policy applies to all Storage Church End customers and prospective customers in the Church End area, as well as anyone who contacts or interacts with us about our storage services.
Who We Are and Scope of This Policy
Storage Church End is a storage service provider serving customers in the Church End area. We are the controller of the personal data we collect and process in connection with our services. This means we decide how and why your personal data is used and are responsible for ensuring it is handled in accordance with data protection law.
By using our storage services, visiting our premises, or contacting us, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy. We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will apply from the date we publish the updated version.
Personal Data We Collect
We collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with us. The categories of data we may collect include:
Identification and contact details: such as your name, postal address, billing address, contact address, and any other address you provide to us, together with your preferred contact methods.
Account and contract information: such as customer account numbers, storage unit numbers, contract start and end dates, payment due dates, and records of the services you have purchased from us.
Payment and transaction data: such as payment amounts, payment method, payment history and invoices. We do not store your full payment card details; where you pay by card these are processed by our payment service provider.
Communication records: such as information included in emails, letters, or forms you send to us, notes of telephone conversations, and records of any queries, complaints or feedback.
Site and security data: such as CCTV images captured at our sites for security and safety purposes, vehicle registration numbers where relevant for access, and logs of entry to and exit from our facilities.
Technical and usage information: where applicable, we may collect limited technical data about how you access and use our online tools or digital services, such as the date and time of your visit and pages viewed. We do not seek to identify individuals from basic usage data unless this is necessary for security or legal reasons.
How We Collect Your Data
We collect personal data directly from you when you:
Request a quote or information about our services.
Enter into a storage agreement or other contract with us.
Visit our facilities or use our access control systems.
Make a payment or request a refund.
Contact us with a question, feedback, or complaint.
We may also receive personal data from third parties, for example from payment service providers confirming that a payment has been made, or from law enforcement or regulatory authorities where this is permitted by law.
Lawful Basis for Processing
We only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so under the UK GDPR. The main lawful bases we rely on are:
Contract: we process your data where this is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as providing storage services, managing your account, and handling payments and renewals.
Legal obligation: we process your data where this is necessary for us to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation, such as maintaining VAT records, cooperating with law enforcement, or responding to lawful information requests.
Legitimate interests: we process your data where this is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This includes ensuring the security of our premises and property, preventing and detecting crime or fraud, managing our business operations, improving our services, and handling customer queries efficiently.
Consent: in limited cases, we may rely on your consent. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before you withdrew it.
How We Use Your Personal Data
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
To provide and manage storage and related services, including setting up your account, administering your contract, arranging access to your storage unit, handling renewals, and responding to service requests.
To process payments, issue invoices and statements, manage arrears or refunds, and keep accurate financial records.
To maintain the security and integrity of our sites, including the use of CCTV and access control systems, and to assist in the prevention and detection of crime or fraud.
To communicate with you about your contract, account, or enquiries, such as sending service notifications, changes to terms, or information needed to use our facilities safely.
To manage our business operations, including auditing, quality control, training, dispute resolution, and exercising or defending legal claims.
To comply with our legal and regulatory duties, including maintaining accounting records and cooperating with lawful requests from public authorities.
Data Retention
We keep your personal data only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and to meet any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements.
In general, we keep customer contract and billing records for a number of years after your relationship with us ends, to comply with financial and tax rules and to handle any queries or disputes. CCTV recordings and access logs are retained for shorter periods, usually only long enough to investigate incidents or meet security needs, unless a longer retention is required in connection with a specific investigation or legal claim.
When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete it or anonymise it so that it can no longer be associated with you.
Data Sharing and Processors
We may share your personal data with trusted third parties who provide services to us and act as our processors. These may include:
Payment service providers who process card or electronic payments on our behalf.
IT and cloud service providers who host our systems, databases or communication tools.
Security service providers who support CCTV, alarm systems or access control systems at our sites.
Professional advisers such as accountants, auditors or legal advisers where this is necessary for our business and compliance.
Where we use processors, we only share the data that is necessary for them to provide their services. We require all processors to keep your data secure, to use it only in accordance with our instructions, and to comply with data protection law.
We may also share your personal data with law enforcement, regulators or other public authorities where we are legally required or permitted to do so, and with third parties in connection with the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
International Transfers
Where it is necessary to transfer your personal data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data, such as using standard contractual clauses or relying on adequacy regulations, in accordance with data protection law.
Your Data Protection Rights
Under the UK GDPR you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights are subject to certain conditions and exemptions. You have the right to:
Access your personal data and receive a copy of the information we hold about you, together with information about how we use it.
Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.
Request erasure of your personal data in certain circumstances, for example where it is no longer needed for the purpose it was collected, or where you withdraw consent and there is no other legal basis for processing.
Object to our processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests, including in relation to certain security and business operations, if you believe your rights override our interests.
Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances, such as while we consider a request to correct your data or an objection you have raised.
Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to another controller in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format, where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
Withdraw consent where we rely on consent to process your personal data. Withdrawing consent will not affect any processing carried out before you withdraw it.
You can exercise your rights by contacting us using the details provided in your contract or on our official communications. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. We aim to respond to all valid requests within one month, and we will explain if we need more time due to the complexity or number of requests.
How We Protect Your Data
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures include physical security at our sites, access controls, staff training, and procedures to deal with suspected data breaches. Where we believe there has been a personal data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the relevant supervisory authority and, where required, inform you without undue delay.
Contact and Complaints
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, or if you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights, you can contact us using the details provided in your customer documentation or on our official communications.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK data protection supervisory authority if you are unhappy with how we have used your personal data or how we have responded to your request. We would, however, encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve your concerns.
