Privacy Policy - Chelsea Movers

Effective date: This Privacy Policy applies to all Chelsea Movers customers in our service area.

Chelsea Movers is committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, store, and protect personal data in connection with our moving, packing, storage, and related services. It also explains your rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable data protection laws.

By using our services, requesting a quotation, making a booking, or communicating with us, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this Privacy Policy.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data that is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of information:

Identity data such as your name, title, and any business name if you are acting on behalf of a company.
Contact data such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Booking and service data such as move dates, pickup and delivery addresses, property access details, inventory lists, and service preferences.
Payment data such as billing details and payment status. We may receive limited payment information from payment providers, but we do not store unnecessary financial details.
Communication data such as emails, messages, call notes, complaints, feedback, and records of requests you send to us.
Technical data such as device type, browser type, log data, and basic usage information if you interact with digital systems or online forms.
Special category data only where necessary and where you choose to provide it, for example if access arrangements require information about mobility needs or health-related handling instructions. We process such information only with appropriate safeguards and when a lawful basis exists.

We generally collect personal data directly from you. In some cases, we may also receive data from third parties such as landlords, estate agents, property managers, payment providers, insurance partners, or other persons involved in arranging your move.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for legitimate business purposes connected to providing moving services and meeting legal obligations. These purposes include:

Providing quotations and managing bookings.
Planning, coordinating, and completing moves, packing, delivery, and storage services.
Communicating with customers about schedules, access arrangements, service changes, and support.
Processing payments, invoices, refunds, and account administration.
Maintaining internal records and service history.
Handling complaints, disputes, insurance matters, and claims.
Improving our operations, training our staff, and ensuring quality control.
Meeting legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements.
Preventing fraud, misuse, and security incidents.

We do not sell your personal data. We also do not use personal data for purposes that are incompatible with those described in this Policy without first ensuring that we have a lawful basis to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Chelsea Movers relies on the following lawful bases depending on the context:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes preparing quotations, arranging services, and carrying out your move.

Legal obligation

We process personal data when necessary to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, insurance, and regulatory requirements.

Legitimate interests

We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. These interests may include managing our business, improving services, protecting our assets, preventing fraud, and maintaining secure systems.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where required for certain optional communications or where we process special category data and consent is the appropriate basis. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

4. Sharing Your Personal Data

We may share personal data with trusted third parties when necessary to provide our services or operate our business. These recipients may include:

Service providers and processors who support booking management, IT systems, secure data storage, payment processing, communications, and administrative services.
Subcontractors or partner movers involved in completing parts of your move or related services.
Insurance providers where required to manage claims or assess incidents.
Professional advisers such as accountants, auditors, legal advisers, and consultants.
Public authorities or regulators where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect rights, safety, or property.

Where third parties process personal data on our behalf, they act as processors and are contractually required to process data only in accordance with our instructions, maintain confidentiality, and implement appropriate security measures. We assess processors to help ensure they provide sufficient guarantees for GDPR compliance.

5. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, reporting, and dispute-resolution requirements. The length of time we retain data depends on the type of information and the context in which it is processed.

In general:

Booking and service records are retained for the period needed to manage the contract and for a reasonable time afterwards to handle queries or claims.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by applicable law.
Correspondence and complaints may be kept while the matter is active and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Technical logs are retained for security, troubleshooting, and system integrity purposes for limited periods.

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

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, confidentiality obligations, staff training, and regular review of our security practices.

While we work hard to protect your data, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. If a personal data breach occurs, we will respond in accordance with applicable law and, where required, notify the relevant authorities and affected individuals.

7. International Data Transfers

In some cases, personal data may be processed or stored outside the UK or European Economic Area by our processors or service providers. Where this happens, we take steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy decisions, standard contractual clauses, or other legally approved transfer mechanisms.

8. Your Rights Under GDPR

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to legal limitations, these rights include:

Right of access – you can request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and obtain a copy.
Right to rectification – you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
Right to erasure – you can ask us to delete personal data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability – you can request certain data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format where technically feasible.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority if you believe your rights have been infringed. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so we can attempt to resolve them promptly.

9. Automated Decision-Making

Chelsea Movers does not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects, unless we inform you separately and the processing is permitted by law. If any such processing is introduced in future, we will provide appropriate information and safeguards.

10. Children

Our services are directed to adults arranging moving and related services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is necessary in the context of a household move and lawfully provided by an adult customer. If we become aware that we have collected data unlawfully, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

11. Changes 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. Any updated version will apply from its stated effective date. We encourage customers to review this Policy periodically so they remain informed about how personal data is handled.

12. Contact and Further Information

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, your personal data, or your rights, you may contact Chelsea Movers through the usual customer service channels provided at the time of booking or service engagement. We may ask for proof of identity before responding to certain requests to ensure that personal data is disclosed only to the correct person.

This Privacy Policy is intended to be GDPR-compliant and to apply to all Chelsea Movers customers in our area.