Privacy Policy - Scotland Removals

This Privacy Policy explains how Scotland Removals collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Scotland Removals customers in area, including individuals who request quotes, book services, receive moving support, or otherwise interact with us in connection with our removal and relocation services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This policy is written to help you understand what happens to your information and what rights you have in relation to it. By using our services, you acknowledge that you have read this policy.

1. Who We Are

Scotland Removals provides domestic and commercial removal services, including packing, transport, storage coordination, and related moving support. In the course of providing these services, we may process personal data about customers, prospective customers, authorised representatives, and other individuals connected to a move.

2. What Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for our services, legal obligations, and business operations. The types of data we may collect include:

Identity information: your name, title, and any details needed to identify you.
Contact information: address, telephone number, and email address.
Service information: move dates, pickup and delivery addresses, property access details, inventory lists, and service preferences.
Billing and payment information: invoice details, payment status, and limited financial records required to complete transactions.
Communication records: emails, call notes, messages, complaint details, and records of requests or instructions.
Technical data: basic device or usage information if you interact with us through digital systems, such as logs and security records.
Special category data: we do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and you choose to provide it, for example where accessibility needs are relevant to a move.

We may also receive information from third parties where it is necessary to provide our services, such as letting agents, solicitors, estate agents, property managers, employers, or someone authorised to act on your behalf.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and assess service requirements;
to arrange, manage, and complete removal services;
to communicate with you about your booking, access arrangements, timing, and service updates;
to issue invoices, process payments, and maintain records;
to handle complaints, claims, and customer support requests;
to improve our operations, training, and service quality;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
to protect our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected, unless we have a lawful basis to do so and you are informed where required.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Scotland Removals relies on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract: processing is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract and to perform our contract with you.
Legal obligation: processing is necessary to comply with tax, accounting, insurance, employment, and other legal requirements.
Legitimate interests: processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as service improvement, record keeping, fraud prevention, and business administration, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
Consent: where required by law, we will rely on your consent, which you may withdraw at any time.
Vital interests: in rare cases, we may process data where necessary to protect someone’s life.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we carry out an appropriate assessment to ensure that your privacy rights are respected.

5. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors or independent controllers, but only where necessary and subject to appropriate safeguards. These may include:

IT and hosting providers: for secure storage, email services, backups, and system maintenance.
Payment service providers: to process card or online payments.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers: to manage invoices, taxes, and financial records.
Customer relationship or scheduling systems: to manage bookings and operational workflows.
Professional advisers: such as lawyers, insurers, or auditors where needed for advice or compliance.
Subcontracted service providers: where required to support the delivery of a move, under contractual controls.

All processors are required to handle personal data securely, process it only on our instructions, and implement suitable technical and organisational measures. We do not sell personal data.

We may also disclose personal data if required to do so by law, court order, regulatory authority, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Scotland Removals, our customers, staff, or others.

6. 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, insurance, and reporting requirements. The retention period may vary depending on the type of information and the reason for processing.

Quotation and enquiry records: kept for a reasonable period to manage follow-up and business records.
Contract and service records: retained for the duration of the service and for a period afterwards to address claims, disputes, and compliance matters.
Financial and tax records: retained for the period required by law.
Complaint and incident records: retained as long as needed to resolve the matter and for related legal protection.
Security logs: retained for a limited period unless required for investigation or legal purposes.

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, destroy, or anonymise it.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, staff training, secure storage, and regular review of our procedures. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we aim to maintain a level of protection proportionate to the risks involved.

8. Your Rights

You have rights over your personal data under data protection law. Subject to legal limitations, these include the right to:

access the personal data we hold about you;
rectify inaccurate or incomplete information;
erase your data in certain circumstances;
restrict 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 at any time where we rely on consent;
complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you are concerned about how your data is handled.

Some rights may not apply in every situation, for example where we must retain information to comply with legal obligations or defend legal claims.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is necessary in the context of providing a move and where appropriate authority has been provided by a parent, guardian, or authorised adult.

10. International Transfers

If personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as an adequacy decision or approved contractual protections, so that your information remains protected to the required legal standard.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data handling practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data.

Scotland Removals is committed to respecting your privacy and processing personal data responsibly. If you have any questions about this policy or how your data is handled, please review your service documents or contact the relevant customer service channel used for your booking.