Privacy Policy - Southtottenham Storage

Southtottenham Storage is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers who use our storage services in the area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable privacy laws. It applies to all Southtottenham Storage customers in area, including prospective customers, current customers, and former customers whose data we retain for lawful business and legal purposes.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Southtottenham Storage acts as the data controller for personal data collected in connection with our storage services, account administration, billing, security, customer support, and related operations. This means we determine the purposes and means by which your personal data is processed.

We take a privacy-first approach and only process personal data that is necessary, relevant, and proportionate to deliver our services and meet our legal obligations.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity data: name, title, date of birth, and identification details where required for verification.
Contact data: postal address, email address, and telephone number.
Account data: customer account numbers, service selections, access permissions, and billing records.
Payment data: payment status, transaction references, invoicing details, and partial payment card information where applicable through secure payment providers.
Service usage data: storage unit allocation, access logs, security entry records, and interactions with our customer services.
Technical data: internet protocol address, device information, browser type, and log files when you interact with digital systems we use.
CCTV and security data: images, video recordings, and access monitoring information collected for safety, security, and incident investigation.
Communication data: correspondence, enquiries, complaints, feedback, and any other information you voluntarily provide.

We generally do not seek to collect special category data unless it is required by law, needed to address a specific request, or voluntarily disclosed by you. If such data is provided, we will only process it where a lawful basis exists.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data directly from you when you:

request a quote or service;
sign a storage agreement;
make payments or update account details;
contact us with an enquiry, complaint, or request;
enter our premises or use our access systems;
interact with our customer service or administrative processes.

We may also receive personal data from third parties, such as payment processors, identity verification services, insurers, legal advisers, debt collection agencies, or public authorities, where lawful and appropriate.

4. Why We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide storage services and manage customer accounts;
to verify identity and prevent fraud;
to process payments, invoices, and refunds;
to manage access to storage facilities and maintain security;
to respond to enquiries, service issues, and complaints;
to comply with legal and regulatory obligations;
to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims;
to improve our operations, systems, and customer experience;
to monitor premises for health, safety, loss prevention, and crime detection.

We will only use your personal data in ways that are compatible with the purposes described in this policy or where you have been informed separately and the law allows it.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. Southtottenham Storage relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes setting up your storage agreement, managing your account, granting access, taking payment, and delivering customer support.

Legal Obligation

We process data where required to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, fraud prevention, safety, and lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. These interests include protecting our premises, preventing misuse, improving service performance, managing risk, and handling disputes. When relying on legitimate interests, we assess the impact on your privacy and limit the processing to what is necessary.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, particularly for optional communications or specific uses not covered by other lawful bases. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties that help us operate our business. These recipients act either as processors or, in some cases, as independent controllers.

Processors may include:

payment service providers;
IT hosting and cloud service providers;
security and CCTV system providers;
identity verification and fraud prevention providers;
accounting and invoicing software providers;
customer service and communication platforms;
professional advisers, such as lawyers or auditors, where necessary.

We require our processors to handle personal data only on our instructions, to protect it appropriately, and to comply with data protection law. We do not sell personal data.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, court order, or lawful request from law enforcement, regulators, or other public bodies. In the event of a business transfer, merger, or restructuring, data may be transferred as part of the transaction, subject to appropriate safeguards.

7. International Transfers

If any of our processors store or access personal data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as an adequacy regulation, approved contractual clauses, or another lawful transfer mechanism. We aim to keep personal data within secure and compliant environments.

8. Retention of Personal Data

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, insurance, and dispute-resolution requirements. Retention periods are determined by the type of data, the nature of the service relationship, and our legal obligations.

Typical retention principles include:

Customer account and contract records: retained for the duration of the agreement and for a further period after closure to deal with claims or legal obligations.
Payment and accounting records: retained for the period required by tax and financial rules.
Security logs and CCTV footage: retained for a limited period unless needed for an investigation, incident response, or legal matter.
Enquiry and correspondence records: retained for as long as needed to respond and maintain an accurate business record.

When personal data is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise disposed of in a safe and lawful manner.

9. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have rights under data protection law. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, these include:

Right of access: you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure: in some circumstances, you may request deletion of your data.
Right to restriction: you may ask us to limit processing in certain cases.
Right to data portability: you may request certain data in a structured, commonly used format where technically feasible.
Right to object: you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
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 the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe your rights have been infringed. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so we can address them promptly.

10. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, encryption, staff confidentiality commitments, secure storage, monitoring, and supplier due diligence.

Although we take reasonable steps to protect data, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. We therefore encourage customers to protect their own account information and to report any suspected misuse promptly.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, operational practices, or service arrangements. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We recommend reviewing it periodically to stay informed about how we handle personal data.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Southtottenham Storage respects your privacy and is committed to transparent, lawful, and responsible data handling. We only collect personal data that is needed to provide our services, protect our premises, meet legal obligations, and support customers effectively. We retain data for limited periods, share it only with trusted processors or where legally required, and uphold your data subject rights. This policy applies to all Southtottenham Storage customers in area and is designed to ensure your personal information is treated with care, fairness, and accountability.