Ham Removals Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Ham Removals collects, uses, stores, shares and protects personal data relating to our customers and prospective customers. It applies to all Ham Removals customers and prospective customers in our service area who use or enquire about our removal, packing, storage or related services. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a lawful, fair and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and applicable data protection laws.
Who we are and scope of this policy
Ham Removals is a removals and related services provider operating in our defined service area. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data. This Privacy Policy covers personal data relating to individuals who contact us, request quotes, book our services, interact with our website, or otherwise communicate with us in relation to our business activities.
Categories of personal data we collect
We collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with us. The main categories of personal data we may collect include:
Identification and contact details, such as your name, postal address, job title where relevant, and any other similar information you provide to us when you contact us or request a service.
Communication details, such as the content of emails, messages and telephone communications you send to us or have with us, and notes of conversations made by our staff for customer service and record-keeping purposes.
Service and booking information, such as details of your moving requirements, property access information, inventory lists, dates and times of moves, collection and delivery addresses, and any special instructions you provide to us.
Billing and payment information, such as invoice details, details relating to payments made to us and amounts due. We do not store full payment card details; where card payments are taken, these are processed by secure payment processors.
Technical and usage information, such as basic information about how you use our website, including pages visited and time spent, where such data is collected by necessary cookies or similar technologies to support website functionality and security.
Feedback and survey information, such as responses you give in satisfaction surveys, testimonials you provide, or complaints you raise, and any related correspondence.
How we collect personal data
We mainly collect personal data directly from you. This happens when you contact us by telephone, email, online form, or in person to request information, ask for a quotation, or make a booking. We also collect data when you interact with our website, provide feedback, or correspond with us for any reason.
We may receive some personal data about you from third parties, for example where a partner or referring business passes us your details with your permission so that we can provide you with a quotation or service. In such cases we only use the data for the purpose for which it was provided.
Lawful bases for processing your data
We process your personal data only when there is a lawful basis to do so. Depending on the circumstances, the main lawful bases we rely on are:
Contractual necessity. We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes creating quotations, managing bookings, delivering our removal or storage services, issuing invoices, and communicating with you about your move or related services.
Legal obligations. We process personal data where it is necessary to comply with legal obligations, such as accounting, taxation and record-keeping requirements, and responding to lawful requests from regulatory or public authorities.
Legitimate interests. We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This includes managing and improving our services, handling customer enquiries and complaints, defending legal claims, ensuring the security of our systems and premises, and managing our relationship with you.
Consent. In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain forms of marketing or for optional non-essential cookies or analytics technologies, where used. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.
How we use your personal data
We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:
To provide quotations, arrange site visits and prepare service proposals tailored to your moving or storage needs.
To manage your booking, deliver removal, packing, storage or related services, and update you about timings, changes, or issues affecting your service.
To process payments, send invoices and statements, and maintain accurate financial records for business and legal purposes.
To respond to your enquiries, provide customer support, handle feedback and resolve complaints or disputes.
To manage and improve our business operations, including staff training, quality control, performance analysis and service development.
To comply with legal obligations, including tax and accounting requirements and responding to regulatory or law enforcement requests where required.
To send you service-related information and, where permitted, to inform you about relevant services and offers that we believe may be of interest, taking into account your communication preferences.
Data sharing and use of processors
We do not sell your personal data. We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and in accordance with data protection law.
We may share data with service providers acting as processors on our behalf, such as payment processing providers, IT hosting and support providers, customer management and accounting system providers, and document storage or archiving providers. These processors only process personal data in accordance with our instructions and are subject to contractual obligations to protect your personal data.
In some cases we may need to share data with other independent controllers, such as insurers, legal and professional advisers, or regulatory and public authorities where required by law or necessary to protect our rights or the rights of others.
Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or other recognised mechanisms, to protect your personal data in accordance with applicable law.
Data retention and storage
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet any legal, accounting or reporting requirements. The specific retention period will vary depending on the nature of the data and our obligations.
As a general guide, enquiry and quotation records are retained for a period that allows us to respond to follow-up questions, manage potential repeat business and maintain accurate business records. Contract and service records, including invoices and related correspondence, are typically kept for the duration of the contractual relationship and for a period afterwards in line with legal limitation periods and accounting requirements.
When personal data is no longer required for the purposes for which it was collected and there is no legal obligation to retain it, we will securely delete, anonymise or destroy it.
Your data protection rights
Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights apply in many circumstances, although there may be legal conditions or exemptions that affect how you can exercise them. Your rights include:
The right of access. You can request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you, along with certain information about how we use it.
The right to rectification. You can request that inaccurate or incomplete personal data about you is corrected or updated.
The right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you can request that we delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected and we have no legal reason to keep it.
The right to restriction of processing. You can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in specific situations, such as where you contest its accuracy or where you have objected to our use of it and we are considering your request.
The right to object. You can object to the processing of your personal data based on our legitimate interests, including profiling, and we will stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests or where processing is required for legal claims. You also have an absolute right to object to direct marketing at any time.
The right to data portability. In certain circumstances, you can request that we provide you or another controller with a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.
You also have the right to withdraw your consent at any time where we rely on consent to process your personal data. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing that took place before withdrawal.
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 access controls, secure storage, staff training and policies designed to ensure that personal data is handled properly and confidentially.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements or services. Any changes will be posted in the most recent version of this Privacy Policy, which will indicate the date of the latest update. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we process your personal data.
