Storage Barking Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Storage Barking collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data of its customers and prospective customers in the Barking area. It is intended to ensure transparency and compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation and relevant UK data protection laws. By using our services, visiting our premises, or interacting with us, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
Scope of this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy applies to all Storage Barking customers, prospective customers, and visitors in the Barking area who use our storage services, make enquiries, or interact with us in relation to those services. It covers personal data collected through face to face interactions, telephone conversations, written correspondence, and online forms or tools that we may provide.
Types of Personal Data We Collect
We collect only the personal data that is necessary to provide and manage our storage services, to comply with legal obligations, and to protect our legitimate interests. The types of personal data we may collect include the following categories.
Identification details such as full name, date of birth, and an identification document reference where required for verification purposes. Contact details such as home address, billing address, and other correspondence addresses, as well as any contact names you provide for authorised persons. Service and contract information such as storage unit number, contract start and end dates, payment terms, and records of communications relating to your booking and use of our facilities. Payment and billing information such as payment method details, billing history, invoices, and records of payments for our services. Security and access information such as records of authorised persons permitted to access your unit, gate access logs, and, where installed, CCTV footage from our premises. Technical and usage information when you interact with any of our online tools, such as basic device and browser information, date and time of access, and interactions with online forms, to the extent necessary for security and functionality.
How We Collect Personal Data
We collect personal data directly from you when you request a quote, make a booking, sign a storage agreement, visit our premises, communicate with us by phone or in writing, or complete any forms that we provide. We may also receive personal data about you from third parties where this is necessary to verify identity, process payments, or comply with legal requirements, for example from payment service providers, credit reference agencies, or law enforcement authorities. In each case, we limit data collection to what is relevant and necessary for the intended purpose.
Lawful Basis for Processing
We process your personal data only where we have a valid lawful basis under data protection law. The main lawful bases we rely on are as follows.
Performance of a contract. We process personal data to enter into, administer, and fulfil storage agreements, including managing bookings, processing payments, and providing access to your storage unit. Legal obligation. We process certain data to meet legal and regulatory obligations, such as tax and accounting rules, prevention of fraud, and obligations to cooperate with law enforcement or regulatory requests where required by law. Legitimate interests. We process data as necessary to pursue our legitimate interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. These interests include managing our business, improving our services, maintaining security at our premises, protecting property, and defending legal claims. Consent. In limited cases, we may seek your consent to process your data for a specific purpose that is not covered by another lawful basis, for example certain optional marketing communications. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time, and we will stop processing your data for that purpose.
How We Use Your Personal Data
We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes. To provide and manage storage services, including setting up your account, maintaining your contract, controlling access to your storage unit, and responding to your enquiries or requests. To process payments, manage billing, handle refunds where applicable, and maintain accurate financial records. To protect the safety and security of our premises, staff, customers, and stored property, including through controlled access systems and CCTV where installed. To manage customer relationships, including communicating service updates, changes to terms, and operational notices that are relevant to your contract. To comply with legal, regulatory, and tax obligations, including record keeping and responding to lawful requests from competent authorities. To exercise or defend legal claims, resolve disputes, and protect our rights and property.
Data Retention
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including any legal, accounting, or reporting obligations. In determining retention periods, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process the data, and whether we can achieve those purposes by other means.
In general, records relating to your storage contract, including identification details, billing information, and correspondence, are retained for a period necessary to comply with tax and legal obligations and to enable us to handle any disputes or claims arising from the contract. Access logs and security records, such as CCTV footage where used, are typically retained for a shorter period, unless required for an ongoing investigation or legal process, in which case they may be retained for as long as is necessary in that context.
Data Processors and Third Parties
We may share personal data with carefully selected third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These processors only process your data in accordance with our instructions and for the purposes specified in this Privacy Policy. Categories of processors may include providers of payment processing services, providers of secure data storage and hosting services, and providers of security and access control systems.
We may also share limited personal data with other third parties where we act as joint controllers or independent controllers, for example with professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers, and with public authorities where required by law. In all cases, we take steps to ensure that your personal data is handled securely and in line with data protection requirements.
International Data Transfers
Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area by our processors or service providers, we require that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or equivalent protection mechanisms recognised under data protection law. We take reasonable steps to verify that any such transfers provide an adequate level of protection for your personal data.
Your Data Protection Rights
Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These rights apply to Storage Barking customers and prospective customers in the Barking area, subject to certain legal conditions and limitations.
You have the right to access your personal data and receive a copy of the information we hold about you. You have the right to request correction of any inaccurate or incomplete data. You have the right to request erasure of your personal data where there is no longer a valid reason for us to keep it, subject to legal and contractual obligations that may require retention. You have the right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances, for example if you contest the accuracy of the data or object to our use of it. You have the right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including certain types of direct marketing, and we will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal. You also have the right to data portability in certain circumstances, 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.
Security of Your Personal 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 may include physical security at our premises, access controls, secure storage systems, and regular review of our procedures. While we strive to protect your personal data, no system can be entirely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data processing practices. When we make significant changes, we will take reasonable steps to inform you, for example by updating notices at our premises or communicating changes in connection with your contract. The most recent version of this Privacy Policy will apply to our processing of your personal data.
Contact and Complaints
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, you can contact us through the usual communication channels you use for your contract or enquiries. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe that your data protection rights have been infringed. We encourage you to contact us first so that we can seek to resolve any concerns directly.
