Storage Hammersmith Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Storage Hammersmith collects, uses, stores and protects your personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and applicable data protection laws. This policy applies to all Storage Hammersmith customers within our service area, as well as prospective customers who interact with us before entering into a contract.
Scope and Data Controller
Storage Hammersmith is the controller of the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means we decide what information is collected, how it is used, and for how long it is kept. This policy applies to all personal data processed in connection with our storage services, including online and in person interactions.
Types of Personal Data We Collect
We may collect and process the following categories of personal data about you when you use our services or contact us with an enquiry:
Identification details, such as full name, title, date of birth and proof of identity details where required for security and legal purposes.
Contact details, such as correspondence address, billing address, and any additional contact preferences you provide.
Contract and account information, such as storage unit number, contract start and end dates, payment history, communications relating to your contract, and any special instructions relating to your booking.
Payment and transaction information, such as payment method details, billing records and transaction history. Card details are processed securely by our payment service providers and are not stored in full by us.
Security and access data, such as CCTV footage in and around our premises, access logs, entry codes or fob identifiers, and records of visits where applicable.
Communication data, such as emails, letters, contact form submissions and notes of telephone conversations that relate to your queries, bookings or complaints.
Technical and usage information, where you visit our website, such as IP address, device and browser information, basic analytics data and preferences such as language or cookie settings.
How We Collect Your Data
We collect personal data directly from you when you make an enquiry, request a quote, sign a storage agreement, make a payment, visit our premises, contact us with a question or complaint, or otherwise communicate with us.
We may also collect personal data automatically when you use our website through essential technical logging and basic analytics tools. In certain circumstances, we may receive personal data from third parties such as referencing agencies, payment providers or law enforcement authorities, where this is lawful and necessary for the provision of our services or to comply with our legal obligations.
Lawful Bases for Processing Your Data
We process your personal data only where we have a valid legal basis under data protection law. Depending on the context, we may rely on the following lawful bases:
Contract: We process your data where it is necessary to enter into, perform or manage a storage contract with you, including setting up your account, administering payments, managing access and responding to service-related queries.
Legal obligation: We process your data where we must comply with legal or regulatory requirements, such as tax and accounting rules, anti money laundering checks, and obligations to assist law enforcement or regulatory authorities.
Legitimate interests: We process your data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. These interests include maintaining the security of our premises, preventing fraud, managing and improving our services, and handling customer queries and complaints.
Consent: In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of optional marketing communications or for specific non essential website cookies. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
How We Use Your Personal Data
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
To provide storage services, including setting up and managing your account, granting and controlling access to units, administering contracts, and processing payments.
To communicate with you about your contract, bookings, service updates, payment reminders, and any changes to our terms or policies.
To maintain safety and security in and around our premises using access control systems and CCTV monitoring, and to help prevent and investigate fraud, theft or other unlawful activity.
To manage our business operations, including financial management, reporting, staff training, quality control and service improvement.
To meet our legal and regulatory obligations, including record keeping, responding to valid requests from authorities, and enforcing our contractual rights.
To send you information about similar services that may be of interest to you, where permitted by law and subject to your right to object to such communications at any time.
Data Sharing and Processors
We do not sell your personal data. We may share your data with trusted third parties who act as processors and provide services to us under our instructions, including:
Payment and billing providers who process payments and manage direct debits or other transactions on our behalf.
IT, hosting and cloud service providers that support the operation of our systems, websites and data storage solutions.
Security and access control providers, including CCTV and alarm system providers, who help us maintain secure premises.
Professional advisers such as accountants, auditors or legal advisers where necessary to obtain professional services or meet regulatory requirements.
These processors are only permitted to process your data in accordance with our instructions, for specified purposes and with appropriate security measures in place. We may also share your data with law enforcement agencies, courts, regulatory bodies or insurers where required by law or where necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
Data Retention
We retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, accounting or reporting requirements.
Contract data and billing records are generally kept for the duration of your contract and for a period after its end to deal with any queries, disputes or legal obligations, often up to several years in line with statutory limitation periods and tax rules.
CCTV recordings and access logs are usually retained for a shorter period and only for as long as necessary to ensure security, investigate incidents and meet regulatory guidelines, unless a longer retention period is required in connection with a specific investigation or legal claim.
Where we rely on consent for certain processing, we will retain the relevant data for as long as your consent remains valid or until you withdraw it. At the end of the relevant retention periods, we will securely delete or anonymise your data.
International Transfers
Where we use service providers that are located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we take steps to ensure that your personal data is given an equivalent level of protection. This may include relying on an adequacy decision or using appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses approved by the relevant authorities.
Your Data Protection Rights
Depending on the circumstances and subject to certain legal conditions, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:
The right of access, which allows you to obtain confirmation of whether we process your data and to receive a copy of that data.
The right to rectification, which allows you to request that inaccurate or incomplete personal data be corrected.
The right to erasure, sometimes called the right to be forgotten, which allows you to request the deletion of your data where there is no good reason for us to continue processing it.
The right to restriction of processing, which allows you to request that we limit the processing of your data in certain situations.
The right to data portability, which allows you to receive personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and to transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.
The right to object, which allows you to object to processing based on our legitimate interests or to direct marketing at any time.
Where we rely on your consent, you also have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing that took place before withdrawal.
Security of Your Data
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access. These measures include access controls, secure storage solutions, staff training, and regular review of our security procedures. While we work hard to protect your information, no system can be completely secure, and you also play a role in keeping your data safe by keeping access credentials confidential.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, our data processing practices or applicable law. Any significant changes will be communicated through our usual communication channels or made clear when you next interact with us. The updated version will apply from the date it is published.
Contact and Complaints
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, or if you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights, you can contact us using the details provided on our website or in your customer documentation. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you are not satisfied with our response to your request or concern.
