Bow Removals Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Bow Removals collects, uses, stores and shares personal data when providing removal and related services. It also explains your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and related data protection laws. This Privacy Policy applies to all Bow Removals customers and prospective customers in our service area.

By engaging with Bow Removals, including by requesting a quote, making a booking or communicating with us about our services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

Who We Are And Scope Of This Policy

Bow Removals is a removals and related services provider operating in its local service area. For the purposes of applicable data protection law, Bow Removals is the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means that we decide how and why your personal data is processed when you use our services or interact with us.

This Privacy Policy covers personal data we collect from current and former customers, prospective customers making enquiries, and individuals acting on behalf of business customers in our service area.

Personal Data We Collect

We collect and process different categories of personal data as necessary to provide our services, manage our business and comply with our legal obligations. The personal data we may collect includes:

Identification and contact details, such as your name, postal address, billing address, property addresses involved in a move, and other basic contact details you choose to provide.

Service and booking information, such as the type of removal service requested, property access details where necessary for the move, inventory or item descriptions, preferred service dates and times, and any specific instructions you provide to enable us to carry out the service.

Payment and billing information, such as billing address and records of payments made and amounts due. We do not store full card details if you pay by card. Secure third party payment processors handle card details on our behalf.

Communication records, such as emails, written correspondence, and notes from telephone conversations relating to quotes, bookings, complaints, queries, or feedback.

Website and technical data, which may include basic technical information collected when you visit our website, such as device or browser information and information generated by cookies or similar technologies where used. This may be used to improve our website and services.

How We Collect Your Personal Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you request a quote, make a booking, speak to us by telephone, complete a form, or otherwise communicate with us. We may also collect personal data when you visit our website and interact with it.

In some cases, we may receive personal data about you from third parties. For example, where an estate agent, landlord, relative, or other third party is arranging a removal on your behalf and they provide us with your details to enable us to provide the service.

Lawful Bases For Processing Your Data

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each use of your personal data. Bow Removals relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract. We process your personal data where it is necessary for entering into or performing a contract with you, such as providing a quote, confirming a booking, planning and carrying out your removal, processing payments, and communicating with you about the services.

Legitimate interests. We process personal data for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing our operations, improving our services, handling complaints, protecting our property and staff, maintaining insurance records, and pursuing or defending legal claims.

Legal obligations. We process personal data where necessary to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including record keeping requirements for tax and accounting and responding to requests from regulatory or law enforcement authorities when we are legally required to do so.

Consent. In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent. Where consent is the lawful basis, you can withdraw it at any time. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage removal and related services, including delivering quotes, confirming bookings, planning routes, scheduling staff and vehicles, and carrying out the removal work.

To manage our relationship with you, including handling enquiries, providing customer support, managing complaints and disputes, and keeping accurate records of our interactions.

To process payments and maintain financial records, including issuing invoices, processing refunds where appropriate, and keeping records for accounting and tax purposes.

To operate and improve our business and services, including analysing how services are used, ensuring service quality, training our staff, and updating internal processes.

To protect our legal rights and interests, including recovering debts, managing and defending legal or insurance claims, preventing and detecting fraud, and cooperating with regulatory and law enforcement authorities when required.

Data Sharing And Processors

We may share your personal data with carefully selected third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. These third parties may act as data processors on our behalf or as independent controllers.

Service providers. We may share personal data with third party service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as information technology support, secure data storage, payment processing, customer management systems, and document management. These providers are required to process your personal data only on our instructions and to protect it appropriately.

Operational partners. In some cases, we may share limited personal data with subcontractors or partner companies assisting with aspects of a removal, for example where additional vehicles or specialist services are required. We share only the information they need to perform their role.

Professional advisers. We may share personal data with professional advisers such as accountants, auditors, legal advisers and insurers where necessary for the services they provide to us.

Authorities and legal recipients. We may disclose personal data to law enforcement agencies, courts, regulators, government authorities, or other third parties when we believe disclosure is necessary to comply with a legal obligation or to protect our rights, property or safety or the rights, property or safety of others.

International Transfers

In the normal course of business, we aim to keep your personal data within the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area. If we use service providers or systems that involve transferring personal data outside these regions, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or other measures approved by data protection authorities, to protect your personal data to a standard equivalent to that within the United Kingdom.

Data Retention

Bow Removals keeps personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying any legal, accounting or reporting requirements.

We generally retain core customer and booking records for a minimum period required under applicable tax and accounting laws. After this period, personal data will be securely deleted or anonymised, unless there is a valid business reason or legal requirement to retain it for longer, such as where there is an ongoing dispute, complaint or legal claim.

The exact retention period may vary depending on the type of data and the context in which it was collected. When personal data is no longer required, we take steps to ensure it is securely destroyed or irreversibly anonymised.

How We Protect Your Personal Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures include controlling access to systems and records, using security protocols and configurations, training staff on data protection responsibilities, and reviewing our security measures periodically.

While we take reasonable steps to protect your personal data, transmission of information over the internet is not completely secure and we cannot guarantee the security of data transmitted electronically. Once we receive your data, we apply appropriate safeguards.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to certain conditions and exceptions, and we may need to verify your identity before acting on your request. Your rights include:

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, together with certain information about how we use it.

Right to rectification. You can request that we correct or complete any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.

Right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you can request that we delete your personal data. This is not an absolute right and may not apply where we need to keep your data for legal or contractual reasons.

Right to restriction. You can request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example where you contest its accuracy or object to our processing.

Right to object. You can object to our processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis, and we will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms.

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.

Right to withdraw consent. Where we rely on your consent for specific processing, you can withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection authority if you are not satisfied with how we handle your personal data. In the United Kingdom, this is the Information Commissioner's Office.

Changes To This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements or for other operational reasons. When we make significant changes, we will take reasonable steps to bring these changes to your attention. The most current version of this Privacy Policy will always apply to our use of your personal data.