Storage Twickenham Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Storage Twickenham collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to our customers and prospective customers in the Twickenham area. It is intended to provide clear information about our processing of personal data in compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act.
This policy applies to all Storage Twickenham customers and individuals who contact us, make an enquiry, request a quote, visit our premises, use our storage services or otherwise interact with us in the Twickenham area.
Who We Are and Scope of This Policy
Storage Twickenham is the controller of the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. As the controller, we decide how and why your personal data is processed and we are responsible for ensuring that such processing is carried out in accordance with data protection law.
This policy covers personal data relating to individual customers, prospective customers, guarantors, authorised contacts on an account, and individuals acting on behalf of a business customer, in so far as they are identifiable living persons.
Personal Data We Collect
We collect and process different categories of personal data depending on how you interact with us. This may include:
Identification and contact details such as full name, residential address, billing address, date of birth, identification document details, and contact information such as postal address.
Account and contract information such as storage unit number, contract start and end dates, payment history, billing details, records of services used, special instructions, and correspondence related to your account.
Communication records such as enquiries, complaints, feedback and any other communications you send to us in writing, by phone or in person that we record in our systems.
Payment and transaction information such as payment records, amounts paid, dates of payment, method of payment and any information necessary to process payments and issue invoices or receipts. We do not store full payment card details in our own systems where third party payment processors are used.
Security and access information such as access logs to our premises, unit access times where recorded by our systems, vehicle registration numbers captured for site security where applicable, and closed circuit television footage in and around our premises for security and safety purposes.
Technical and usage data relating to our website such as IP address, browser type and version, time zone setting, and information about how you use our website, to the extent that it identifies or could identify you, for example when combined with other data.
How We Collect Personal Data
We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us for a quote, request information, visit our premises, sign a storage agreement, make a payment, or communicate with us by any other means.
We may also receive personal data from third parties, for example from business partners that refer you to us, from publicly available sources, or from authorised persons acting on your behalf such as a guarantor or a company representative.
Lawful Bases for Processing
We process your personal data only where a lawful basis applies. Depending on the purpose, we may rely on the following lawful bases:
Contract. We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into, manage or perform a contract with you, for example to provide storage services, manage your unit, handle billing and payments, and respond to service-related queries.
Legal obligation. We process personal data where necessary to comply with our legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, record keeping, and the prevention of fraud, crime and money laundering.
Legitimate interests. We process personal data where necessary for our legitimate interests, provided that your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. These legitimate interests include securing our premises and property, preventing and detecting unauthorised access, managing and improving our services, handling customer service, maintaining accurate records, and protecting our legal rights.
Consent. In limited cases we may rely on your consent, for example where we send certain types of marketing communications that require consent under applicable law. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
How We Use Personal Data
We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:
To create and manage customer accounts, prepare storage agreements, administer your contract, and provide you with storage and related services.
To communicate with you about your existing or prospective storage arrangements, including sending important service messages, notices about access or safety, and responses to queries or complaints.
To process payments, issue invoices and receipts, manage deposits and refunds, and maintain accurate financial and accounting records.
To secure and monitor our premises, prevent and detect theft, vandalism or other unlawful activity, and to protect the safety of customers, visitors and staff using access logs and closed circuit television where installed.
To manage our business operations, including service planning, quality management, training of staff and improvement of customer experience.
To comply with legal and regulatory requirements and to respond to lawful requests from law enforcement or regulatory authorities, where required.
To pursue or defend legal claims, including the recovery of unpaid fees or dealing with disputes relating to your contract or our services.
Data Sharing and Processors
We may share your personal data with third parties where necessary for the purposes set out in this policy and where permitted by law. These third parties may include:
Service providers acting as processors, such as providers of IT hosting, customer relationship management systems, payment processing services, accounting and administrative support, and security or closed circuit television system providers. These processors act on our instructions and are required to protect personal data in accordance with data protection law.
Professional advisers such as accountants, auditors, legal advisers and consultants where they require personal data in order to provide professional services to us and are bound by confidentiality obligations.
Public authorities and law enforcement agencies where we are required to disclose personal data by law or where it is necessary in connection with the prevention or detection of crime, or to protect our rights or the rights of others.
Debt recovery agencies and courts where necessary for the recovery of unpaid amounts or to enforce contractual rights.
We do not sell your personal data to third parties. Where personal data is shared with processors, we ensure that appropriate contracts and safeguards are in place.
Data Retention
We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, for the duration of your relationship with us and for a period afterward as required or permitted by law.
In determining appropriate retention periods, we consider the type of data, the amount and sensitivity of the data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process the data, and legal, regulatory or accounting requirements.
Customer account and contract records are generally kept for a period after the end of your contract to enable us to address any queries, resolve disputes, meet our legal obligations and maintain necessary business records. Security records such as closed circuit television footage and access logs are kept for shorter periods, unless an incident requires us to retain them for longer in connection with investigations or legal claims.
International Transfers
Where we use service providers located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, personal data may be transferred to countries that do not provide the same level of data protection as in the United Kingdom. In such cases, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or other mechanisms recognised under data protection law, to provide an adequate level of protection for your personal data.
Your Data Protection Rights
Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights apply subject to certain conditions and exemptions.
Right of access. You have the right to request confirmation that we process your personal data and to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification. You have the right to request that inaccurate or incomplete personal data about you is corrected or updated.
Right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you have the right to request that we 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 lawful basis for processing.
Right to restriction. You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we are considering a request to rectify data.
Right to object. You have the right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including profiling, on grounds relating to your particular situation. We will then stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds to continue or the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
Right to data portability. Where processing is based on consent or on a contract and carried out by automated means, you may have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and to transmit it to another controller.
Right to withdraw consent. Where we rely on your consent to process personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority if you consider that your rights have been infringed or that your personal data has not been processed in accordance with data protection law.
Security of Your Personal 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 access controls, physical security at our premises, staff training, secure storage of records, and arrangements with our service providers to ensure an adequate level of security.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements or how we process personal data. The most current version of the policy will always apply to the processing of your personal data. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.
