Privacy Policy - Acton Movers

This Privacy Policy explains how Acton Movers collects, uses, shares, stores, and protects personal data in connection with our moving and relocation services. It applies to all Acton Movers customers in our service area, including individuals who request quotes, book services, communicate with us, or receive services from us. 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 other applicable data protection laws.

1. Who We Are

Acton Movers provides residential and commercial moving services, including packing, transportation, storage coordination, and related support services. For the purposes of data protection law, Acton Movers acts as the data controller for the personal data we collect and process about our customers, prospective customers, suppliers, and website or service users where relevant.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for providing our services, managing our business, and meeting our legal obligations. The categories of data we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name, title, and where relevant, the names of household members or authorised representatives.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information including move dates, pickup and delivery addresses, property access details, inventory lists, special handling instructions, and service preferences.
Payment and transaction information such as billing details, payment status, invoices, and records of services purchased.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, and complaints or feedback.
Operational data relating to packing, access, scheduling, insurance coordination, and logistics planning.
Special category data only where strictly necessary and only if you choose to provide it, for example information that may reveal health or accessibility needs affecting the move. We will process this data with extra care and only where a lawful basis exists.

We do not intentionally collect more information than is needed. Where possible, we ask that you avoid sharing sensitive personal data unless it is necessary for the moving service or required by law.

3. How We Collect Personal Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

request a quote or assessment;
book or change a moving service;
communicate with our team by phone, email, message, or in person;
make a payment or receive an invoice;
submit a complaint, enquiry, or feedback;
provide information for insurance, storage, or access arrangements.

We may also receive data from third parties where necessary, such as building managers, landlords, agents, payment processors, or subcontracted service providers involved in fulfilling the move. In every case, we only use such data where it is lawful and appropriate to do so.

4. Why We Use Your Data and Our Lawful Basis

Under data protection law, we must have a valid legal reason to use your personal data. The main lawful bases we rely on are set out below.

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform our contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, scheduling moves, carrying out the service, managing payments, and resolving service issues.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, insurance, fraud prevention, record-keeping, and regulatory requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data for our legitimate business interests where these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing business operations, improving services, training staff, maintaining security, preventing misuse, and handling customer communications. We always consider the impact on your privacy before relying on this basis.

Consent

Where required, we will ask for your consent before processing certain personal data, especially where it is optional or involves marketing communications. You may withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing.

Vital Interests

In rare situations, we may process data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as where emergency assistance is needed during a move.

If we process special category data, we will only do so where permitted by law and with an additional lawful condition, such as explicit consent or substantial public interest where applicable.

5. How We Use Personal Data

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and service assessments;
to plan, arrange, and carry out removal services;
to communicate with you before, during, and after the move;
to process invoices, payments, and refunds where applicable;
to manage customer accounts and service records;
to meet legal, tax, and regulatory duties;
to investigate complaints, claims, or disputes;
to improve our services, staff training, and operational efficiency;
to protect our business, customers, and property from fraud or misuse.

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.

6. Sharing Your Personal Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us deliver our services or support our business. These third parties act as processors where they process data on our instructions, or as independent controllers where they determine their own purposes.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

payment processors that handle card or electronic payments;
IT and cloud storage providers that host our systems securely;
email, messaging, or communication platforms used to send updates;
accounting and invoicing software providers;
customer relationship management tools;
subcontracted movers, packers, or logistics partners when needed to complete the service;
professional advisers, such as insurers, auditors, or legal advisers, where appropriate.

All processors are required to keep personal data secure, use it only for the agreed purposes, and comply with applicable data protection obligations. We do not sell your personal data.

We may also disclose personal data where necessary to comply with a legal request, court order, government requirement, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of Acton Movers, our customers, or others.

7. International Transfers

If any of our service providers store or process data outside the UK or European Economic Area, we will take appropriate safeguards to protect your personal data. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal protections. We will ensure that any international transfer is handled in accordance with data protection law.

8. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including meeting legal, accounting, tax, and insurance obligations. Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason it was collected.

Quote and enquiry records are generally kept for a limited period to support follow-up, service planning, and dispute handling.
Contract and service records are kept for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Claims, complaints, and legal records may be retained longer where necessary to defend or establish legal rights.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention procedures.

9. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, misuse, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of our data handling practices. While no system is completely risk-free, we work hard to reduce privacy risks to an appropriate level.

10. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restrict processing – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent.

If you exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. Some rights are subject to legal conditions and may not apply in every case. However, we will always review your request carefully and respond in accordance with the law.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental to arranging a family move and only to the extent necessary. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child inappropriately, we will take steps to delete it where required.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. The latest version will apply to your use of our services from the date it is published or otherwise made available. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so you remain informed about how your personal data is handled.

13. Final Statement

Acton Movers is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of every customer. We process information responsibly, keep it secure, and use it only for legitimate business and service purposes. This policy applies to all Acton Movers customers in our area, and by using our services you acknowledge that your personal data will be handled in line with this Privacy Policy and applicable law.