Privacy Policy - Surrey Movers

This Privacy Policy explains how Surrey Movers collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing moving and relocation services. It applies to all Surrey Movers customers in our service area, including residential and commercial clients who request quotes, book services, communicate with us, or otherwise engage with our moving operations. 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 data that is necessary for legitimate business purposes and for delivering moving services effectively and securely.

1. Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity data: full name, title, and any relevant business or household name.
Contact data: address, email address, telephone number, and other communication details.
Service data: move date, collection and delivery addresses, inventory details, access requirements, parking restrictions, packing needs, and service preferences.
Financial data: payment status, billing details, invoices, and transaction records. We do not store full card details where payments are processed securely by third parties.
Communication data: emails, messages, call notes, complaints, feedback, and service-related correspondence.
Technical data: basic information such as device type, browser details, and website usage data where relevant to service enquiries or online forms.
Special category data: in limited circumstances, we may incidentally receive data that could reveal health or accessibility needs, such as mobility requirements or property access assistance. We only use this information where necessary and appropriate to provide the requested service.

We aim to collect personal data directly from you wherever possible. In some cases, we may receive information from third parties such as estate agents, landlords, solicitors, storage providers, comparison services, or payment processors where this is necessary to carry out the moving service or administer your booking.

2. How We Use Personal Data

Surrey Movers uses personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and assess move requirements;
to schedule, manage, and perform moving and relocation services;
to communicate with customers before, during, and after a move;
to coordinate with subcontractors, storage providers, and other service partners;
to process invoices, payments, and refunds;
to keep service records and maintain business administration;
to handle complaints, claims, and customer support matters;
to improve our service delivery, planning, and operational efficiency;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
to protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud, misuse, or security risks.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with those set out in this policy unless we have a lawful basis to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only where a lawful basis exists under the UK GDPR. Depending on the situation, Surrey Movers may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes, booking services, planning moves, and completing the relocation work you have requested.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data when required to comply with applicable law, such as tax, accounting, insurance, record-keeping, and regulatory obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. These interests may include managing operations, improving services, preventing fraud, ensuring safety, and maintaining business records.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you have explicitly agreed to receive certain marketing communications or where consent is required for particular processing activities. You may withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Vital Interests

In rare situations, we may process personal data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in an emergency involving health or safety during a move.

Where special category data is involved, we will only process it where an additional condition under the UK GDPR applies, such as explicit consent, vital interests, or where it is necessary for legal claims or substantial public interest in limited circumstances.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us run our business and deliver services. These third parties act as processors or, in some cases, separate data controllers. We only share the minimum information necessary and take steps to ensure data is protected.

Examples of processors may include:

payment processing providers;
customer relationship and booking management systems;
cloud storage and document management providers;
email and communication service providers;
accountants and bookkeeping providers;
IT support and cybersecurity providers;
survey, logistics, or subcontracted moving partners acting on our instructions.

Where we use processors, they are required to process personal data only on our instructions, to keep it secure, and to comply with applicable data protection laws. We may also disclose personal data to public authorities, insurers, lawyers, or courts when required by law, or to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

We do not sell personal data. We also do not permit processors to use your data for their own marketing purposes unless you have separately consented or there is another lawful basis to do so.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including for legal, accounting, insurance, and operational reasons. Retention periods vary depending on the nature of the data and the service involved.

Quote and enquiry records are typically retained for a limited period to respond to follow-up questions, manage repeat business, and analyse service performance.
Customer and booking records are generally kept for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards in case of disputes, claims, or legal obligations.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by applicable law.
Complaint and claim records may be retained longer where needed to resolve disputes or protect legal interests.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, password protection, staff training, secure storage, and limiting access to those who need the information to perform their role.

Although we take reasonable steps to safeguard information, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. If a personal data incident occurs, we will assess the situation and take appropriate action in line with legal requirements.

7. International Transfers

If personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it. This may include the use of adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms recognised under data protection law.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These include:

Right of access: you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
Right to rectification: you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data;
Right to erasure: you can request deletion of your data in certain circumstances;
Right to restriction: you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations;
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
Right to data portability: you can request that certain data be provided to you or another controller in a structured format;
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time;
Right to lodge a complaint: you have the right to raise concerns with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data has not been handled properly.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a rights request. Some rights are subject to legal conditions and may not apply in every case.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with a family move and provided by a parent or legal guardian. If we become aware that we have collected data unlawfully from a child, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or service arrangements. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

Summary: Surrey Movers’ Privacy Policy explains data use, lawful bases, retention, sharing with processors, and customer rights for all customers in our service area.