Privacy Policy - Westnorwood Storage

This Privacy Policy explains how Westnorwood Storage collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data relating to all Westnorwood Storage customers in area. It applies to customers, prospective customers, account holders, authorised users, and anyone who interacts with our storage services in connection with a booking, enquiry, agreement, or ongoing customer relationship.

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. This policy is intended to explain what information we collect, why we collect it, the legal basis we rely on, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and what rights individuals have.

1. Information We Collect

Westnorwood Storage collects only the personal data needed to provide and manage storage services, comply with legal obligations, and protect our business, customers, and premises. The data we may collect includes:

Identity information such as your name, date of birth, and proof of identity where required.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Account and booking information such as storage unit details, booking dates, payment status, and service preferences.
Financial information such as billing records, payment confirmations, and limited payment details necessary to process transactions.
Access and security information such as entry logs, CCTV footage, alarm records, and site access details where applicable.
Correspondence such as emails, written communications, notes from calls, complaints, and customer service records.
Usage information relating to how you use our services, including interactions relating to storage agreements, renewals, and move-in or move-out arrangements.

We may also receive personal data from third parties where necessary, such as identity verification providers, payment processors, insurers, debt recovery partners, or people authorised to act on a customer’s behalf. We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and lawful to do so.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data only for legitimate business and legal purposes connected with our storage services. These purposes include:

setting up and managing customer accounts;
verifying identity and preventing fraud;
providing access to storage facilities and managing bookings;
processing payments, refunds, and account administration;
communicating service updates, reminders, and contractual notices;
handling queries, complaints, claims, and disputes;
maintaining site safety, security, and incident records;
meeting tax, accounting, insurance, and regulatory obligations;
protecting our legal rights and preventing misuse of our services.

We will only use personal data for the purposes for which it was collected unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose and that use is permitted by law.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Westnorwood Storage relies on the following lawful bases as appropriate:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a storage agreement, manage your account, provide services, and fulfil our obligations under the contract.

Legal Obligation

We process data where needed to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including accounting, tax, fraud prevention, record-keeping, and lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. Examples include protecting our premises, managing business operations, maintaining records, and enforcing agreements.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where optional marketing or certain non-essential activities require it. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, insurance, and reporting requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data and the reason it is held.

Customer account and contract records are generally retained for the duration of the relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by applicable law.
Security records, including CCTV and access logs, are kept for a limited period unless needed longer for an investigation, incident, or legal claim.
Correspondence and complaints are retained for as long as needed to resolve the matter and for evidential purposes thereafter.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify an individual. Retention periods may be extended where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

5. Sharing Personal Data and Processors

Westnorwood Storage does not sell personal data. We may share personal data only where necessary and in line with data protection law. This may include sharing with:

Payment processors that handle card or electronic payments on our behalf.
IT and cloud service providers that support secure storage, system maintenance, email, and record management.
Security providers involved in CCTV, alarm monitoring, or site protection services.
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, legal advisers, and auditors.
Debt recovery or credit control providers where lawful and necessary for unpaid accounts.
Public authorities or law enforcement where required by law or for the prevention and detection of crime.

Where we use third parties to process personal data on our behalf, they act as processors. They are only permitted to process data according to our instructions and must implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it. We take reasonable steps to ensure processors are bound by confidentiality and data protection obligations.

6. Security of Personal Data

We use appropriate safeguards to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, password protection, restricted permissions, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and monitoring of security systems. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection appropriate to the nature of the data and the risks involved.

7. Your Rights

Individuals whose personal data we process have important rights under data protection law. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, these rights include:

The right to be informed about how your data is used.
The right of access to obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
The right to rectification to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
The right to erasure in some circumstances, sometimes called the right to be forgotten.
The right to restrict processing where certain conditions apply.
The right to data portability for data provided by you and processed by automated means in certain situations.
The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Rights related to automated decision-making where applicable.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, you should provide enough information to identify your request. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to respond within the time limits set by law.

8. Marketing Preferences

Where we send marketing communications, we will do so only where permitted by law. You may object to direct marketing at any time, and we will stop using your data for that purpose. We will never unfairly require you to accept marketing in order to receive essential storage services.

9. International Transfers

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

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or the services we offer. Any revised version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers to review the policy periodically to stay informed about how their data is handled.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Westnorwood Storage is committed to processing personal data responsibly, securely, and transparently. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, retain it for appropriate periods, and limit access to trusted processors and authorised personnel. We also recognise and respect the rights of every individual whose data we process.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Westnorwood Storage customers in area and is intended to ensure our practices remain aligned with the principles of lawfulness, fairness, transparency, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, and confidentiality.