Privacy Policy - Pettswood Storage

This Privacy Policy explains how Pettswood Storage collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our storage services. It applies to all Pettswood Storage customers in the area, including individuals and business customers who enquire about, reserve, use, or manage storage services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services, you acknowledge that we may process personal data as described in this policy. We only collect information that is necessary to provide our services, manage our relationship with customers, meet legal obligations, and protect our business, customers, and premises.

1. Information We Collect

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

Identity information such as your name, title, and, where relevant, business name.
Contact information such as postal address, billing address, email address, and telephone number.
Account and service details such as booking references, storage unit details, access arrangements, payment status, and correspondence.
Financial information such as transaction records, payment confirmations, and limited payment details necessary to process payments.
Verification information where required for identity checks, fraud prevention, or compliance with legal obligations.
Security and access information such as logs, CCTV-related records, and access records if used at our facilities.
Communications including emails, messages, complaint records, enquiries, and feedback.

We generally collect personal data directly from you when you make an enquiry, enter into a contract, make a payment, use our facilities, or contact us. In some cases, we may receive data from third parties such as payment providers, fraud prevention services, insurers, or legal and regulatory bodies.

2. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide storage services and manage your customer account.
To process bookings, payments, invoices, refunds, and related administration.
To communicate with you about your storage agreement, access, service updates, and operational matters.
To maintain the safety and security of our facilities, staff, customers, and property.
To detect and prevent fraud, misuse, theft, unauthorised access, or other unlawful activity.
To meet legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations.
To respond to queries, disputes, complaints, and legal claims.
To improve our services, systems, and customer experience.

We will not use personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected unless we have a valid lawful basis to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes setting up storage services, managing access, taking payments, and providing customer support related to the agreement.

Legal Obligation

We may process information to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including tax records, accounting duties, fraud prevention obligations, and lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include protecting our facilities, preventing misuse, improving services, and defending legal claims. When relying on this basis, we consider the impact on your privacy and take appropriate safeguards.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where specific marketing communications or optional data uses require it. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who process data on our behalf or independently where required. These may include:

Payment processors that handle card or electronic payments.
IT and hosting providers that support our systems, data storage, and security.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that assist with financial administration.
Security providers where CCTV, monitoring, or access-control systems are used.
Professional advisers such as lawyers, insurers, auditors, or consultants.
Public authorities where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect legal rights.

Where we use processors, they are only permitted to process personal data on our instructions and must keep it secure. We ensure appropriate contractual safeguards are in place with such providers. We do not sell personal data.

In rare circumstances, personal data may be transferred outside the UK. If this happens, we will ensure adequate safeguards are applied in line with data protection law.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and the reason we hold it.

Customer and contract records are kept for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to manage queries, claims, or disputes.
Financial records are typically retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Security records such as access logs or CCTV-related records are retained only for as long as needed for safety, monitoring, or investigation purposes.
Enquiry and correspondence records are retained for as long as necessary to respond properly and manage business needs.

When data is no longer required, we securely delete, anonymise, or destroy it in accordance with our retention practices.

6. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have rights regarding your personal data. Subject to legal conditions and exemptions, you may have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you.
Rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Erasure of your data in certain circumstances.
Restriction of processing in certain cases.
Object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Data portability where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
Withdraw consent where we rely on consent.

Please note that some rights may not apply where we must retain or process data to comply with legal obligations, establish or defend claims, or meet contractual requirements.

7. Security of Personal Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure systems, staff confidentiality obligations, and monitoring of relevant security systems. However, no system can be guaranteed completely secure, and we encourage customers to take reasonable care when sharing information with us.

8. Automated Decision-Making

We do not use personal data for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on customers, unless we inform you and the law permits it. If such processing were to occur, appropriate safeguards would be applied.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect legal, operational, or service changes. Any revised version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers to review the policy periodically so they remain informed about how personal data is handled.

10. Summary of Our Commitments

Pettswood Storage is committed to processing personal data responsibly and transparently. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, retain it only as long as necessary, and share it only with trusted processors or where required by law. We respect your rights and aim to protect your information at every stage of its lifecycle.

Last updated: This policy should be read as the current privacy notice for all Pettswood Storage customers in area.