Privacy Policy - Harlington Storage

Harlington Storage is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers in the area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information in connection with our storage services, account management, billing, customer support, and related operations. It applies to all Harlington Storage customers in the area, including individuals, businesses, and authorised representatives who use or inquire about our services.

1. Who We Are

Harlington Storage acts as the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means we decide how and why your personal information is processed when you use our services or interact with us. We only process personal data where we have a valid legal basis under the UK GDPR and applicable data protection laws.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide and manage our services, operate our business, and meet legal obligations. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of personal data:

Identity details, such as your name, date of birth, and proof of identity where required.
Contact details, such as postal address, email address, and telephone number.
Account and service details, including booking records, unit allocation, access permissions, communications, and service preferences.
Payment information, such as payment method, transaction records, invoices, and billing history.
Security and access data, including CCTV recordings, access logs, vehicle registration information, and incident reports.
Correspondence, including emails, forms, complaints, support requests, and notes from customer interactions.
Technical data, such as device and browser information, where collected through digital systems used to manage services.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it or we are required to process it for a lawful reason. If we do collect such data, we will handle it with additional safeguards and only where permitted by law.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to set up and administer customer accounts;
to provide storage units and related services;
to verify identity and prevent fraud;
to process payments, refunds, and outstanding balances;
to maintain security, including access control and incident management;
to communicate with you about your account, bookings, or service issues;
to handle complaints, claims, and disputes;
to meet legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
to improve our services, premises, systems, and customer experience.

We will always seek to process your data in a fair, lawful, and transparent way. We do not use personal data for unrelated purposes without first ensuring that we have a valid legal basis to do so.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Depending on the context, Harlington Storage may rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing your storage agreement, processing payments, allocating units, and providing customer support.

Legal Obligation

We process personal data where required to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, fraud prevention, regulatory compliance, and lawful disclosure requests.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include protecting our premises, preventing misuse of services, managing business operations, and improving security. We always assess the impact on your privacy before relying on this basis.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where required for certain optional communications or specific processing activities. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

5. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of record and the nature of the relationship with you.

Customer account and contract records are generally retained for the duration of the service and for a period afterward to manage claims, disputes, or legal requirements.
Financial and transaction records are retained for the time required under tax and accounting laws.
Security records, including access logs and CCTV footage, are retained for a limited period unless needed for investigation, enforcement, or legal proceedings.
Correspondence and complaints are retained for as long as necessary to resolve the matter and for follow-up or audit purposes.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to an identifiable individual.

6. Processors and Sharing of Data

Harlington Storage may share personal data with trusted third-party processors and service providers who help us operate our business. These processors act on our instructions and are only permitted to use your data for the services they provide to us. We require them to maintain appropriate security and confidentiality measures.

Examples of processors may include:

payment service providers;
accounting and bookkeeping providers;
IT and system support providers;
security and surveillance service providers;
customer communication and administrative support providers.

We may also disclose personal data where necessary to comply with the law, enforce our contractual rights, respond to lawful requests, protect the rights, property, or safety of Harlington Storage, our customers, staff, or others, or support an insurance or legal claim. We do not sell personal data.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access restrictions, staff training, secure storage, monitoring, and contractual controls with processors. While we take security seriously, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

8. Your Rights

As a data subject under the UK GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to legal limits and exemptions, these rights include:

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 request transfer of certain data to you or another controller.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to raise concerns about how we handle your personal data. If you believe your data protection rights have been infringed, you may lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue promptly and fairly.

9. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it in accordance with data protection law. These safeguards may include 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 our services, legal requirements, or data processing practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Harlington Storage is dedicated to handling personal data responsibly, transparently, and in compliance with applicable privacy laws. We collect only what we need, process data on a valid lawful basis, retain it for only as long as necessary, use trusted processors under contract, and respect your rights as a customer. This Privacy Policy applies to all Harlington Storage customers in the area and is intended to provide clear information about how your personal data is managed.