Rubbish Clearance Highbury Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Rubbish Clearance Highbury collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data belonging to our customers and prospective customers in the Highbury area. We are committed to safeguarding your privacy and handling your personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all services provided by Rubbish Clearance Highbury to customers and prospective customers located in the Highbury area. It covers personal data obtained through our website, telephone calls, emails, messaging services, in-person enquiries, and during the provision of rubbish clearance and related services at your premises.

Who we are and how to contact us

Rubbish Clearance Highbury is a rubbish removal and waste clearance service operating in and around Highbury. For the purposes of data protection law, we are the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the way we handle your personal data, or if you wish to exercise any of your rights, you can contact us using the contact details on our website or via the usual communication channels you use to book our services.

Types of personal data we collect

We collect and process different categories of personal data depending on how you interact with us and which services you use. The personal data we may collect includes:

Identification and contact details such as your name, address, email address, telephone number, and the address where services are to be carried out.

Service and booking information such as details of your enquiry, the type of rubbish clearance service requested, access instructions, preferred dates and times, photographs you send us to assess the job, and notes relating to the work to be undertaken.

Payment and transaction data such as partial card details processed via a secure payment provider, bank transfer details, the amount charged, invoice information, and records of payments and refunds.

Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, and any feedback or complaints you send us.

Technical and usage information about how you interact with our website, such as your IP address, browser type, device information, pages viewed and the date, time, and duration of visits. This may be collected using cookies and similar technologies where permitted by law.

How we collect your personal data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us to request a quotation, make a booking, ask a question, provide feedback, or otherwise interact with us. This may be via telephone, email, messaging services, online forms, or in person.

We may also collect information automatically when you visit our website, for example through cookies and server logs, to help us understand usage patterns and improve our website and services.

Lawful basis for processing your data

Data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for each use of your personal data. Rubbish Clearance Highbury relies on the following lawful bases:

Contractual necessity: We process your personal data when it is necessary to enter into and fulfil a contract with you, including providing quotations, scheduling and delivering services, taking payment, and communicating with you about your booking.

Legitimate interests: We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This includes managing and improving our operations, keeping records of jobs, responding to enquiries and complaints, training staff, and promoting similar services to existing customers in a proportionate manner.

Legal obligations: We process personal data where necessary to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, such as record-keeping, accounting, taxation, and waste disposal regulations.

Consent: In limited cases we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of optional marketing communications or use of non-essential cookies. Where we rely on consent, you are free to withdraw it at any time.

How we use your personal data

We use personal data for the purposes described below, always within the scope of the applicable lawful basis:

To provide and manage our services, including giving quotations, confirming bookings, planning routes, carrying out rubbish clearance, issuing invoices, and taking payment.

To communicate with you about your enquiry or booking, including confirmations, reminders, updates about arrival times, follow-up questions, and responses to any issues raised.

To manage our business operations, such as internal record-keeping, job scheduling, staff allocation, service quality monitoring, and handling complaints and disputes.

To improve our services and website by analysing usage information, feedback, and service outcomes so that we can enhance efficiency and customer experience.

To comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including maintaining financial and tax records and demonstrating compliance with relevant waste management laws.

To send existing customers limited and proportionate information about similar services that may be of interest, where permitted by law and subject to your right to opt out at any time.

Use of data processors and third parties

We may share your personal data with carefully selected third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These processors are only permitted to use your personal data in accordance with our instructions and for the specific purposes we have defined. They are required to implement appropriate security measures and to protect your data.

Such processors may include payment processing providers, IT and hosting providers, website analytics and maintenance providers, communication tools and email platforms, and professional advisers such as accountants where necessary.

We may also share personal data with other third parties where required by law, for example with law enforcement authorities, regulators, or tax authorities, or where it is necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

International transfers

Some of our service providers may store or access personal data from locations outside the United Kingdom. Where this occurs, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as using service providers based in countries that provide an adequate level of protection or implementing approved data protection clauses or equivalent safeguards. You can contact us for further details of these safeguards if relevant.

Data retention and storage

We keep personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required to meet legal, accounting, or regulatory obligations.

In general, we retain customer and job records, including invoices and associated communications, for a period that aligns with applicable limitation periods and tax and accounting requirements. After these periods, data is securely deleted or anonymised so that it can no longer be linked to an identifiable individual.

The retention period for enquiries that do not result in a booking may be shorter and is based on our legitimate interest in responding to follow-up questions and understanding demand for our services.

How we protect your personal data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. Measures may include access controls, secure storage, encryption or pseudonymisation where appropriate, staff training, and regular review of our data handling practices.

Your data protection rights

You have several rights under data protection law in relation to your personal data held by Rubbish Clearance Highbury. These rights include:

The right of access: You can request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you, together with certain information about how we use it.

The right to rectification: You can request that we correct or complete any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.

The right to erasure: In certain circumstances you can ask us to delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected and there is no legal reason for us to keep it.

The right to restriction: You can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, such as while we are considering a request for rectification or where you object to our use of your data.

The right to object: You can object to our processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis. You always have the right to object to direct marketing.

The right to data portability: In some cases, you can request that we provide the personal data you have given us in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format and transfer it to another controller where this is technically feasible.

Where our processing is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided on our website or via your usual contact channel with us. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office if you are concerned about how we handle your personal data. We would, however, appreciate the chance to address your concerns first, so please contact us in the first instance where possible.

Updates to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data protection practices. Any updated version will be made available through our usual communication channels. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we protect your personal data.