Privacy Policy - Stamfordhill Storage

Stamfordhill Storage is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information relating to our customers, prospective customers, and other individuals who interact with us. It applies to all Stamfordhill Storage customers in the area and to anyone whose personal data we process in connection with our storage services.

1. Who we are

For the purposes of data protection law, Stamfordhill Storage acts as the data controller in relation to personal data we collect and use for our own business purposes. This means we decide why and how your personal information is processed when you use our storage services, make an enquiry, or otherwise engage with us.

We are committed to complying with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and any other applicable privacy laws.

2. Personal data we collect

We collect only the information that is necessary for the provision and management of our services. Depending on your interactions with us, this may include the following categories of data:

Identity information such as your name, date of birth, or company name if you are acting on behalf of a business.
Contact information such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Account and service information such as booking details, storage unit allocation, payment status, access records, and correspondence related to your account.
Financial information such as billing details, payment confirmations, and limited transaction records.
Verification information such as identification documents or proof of address where needed to verify identity, prevent fraud, or meet legal obligations.
Technical information such as IP address, device information, browser type, and basic usage data if you interact with our digital systems or online forms.
CCTV or site access information where collected for security, crime prevention, or safety purposes.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and we have a lawful basis to do so. We ask that you do not provide sensitive personal information unless specifically requested.

3. How we collect personal data

We may collect information directly from you when you:

make an enquiry;
reserve or use a storage unit;
complete forms or provide identification;
communicate with us by phone, email, or in person;
make payments or manage your account;
use our premises or interact with our security systems.

We may also receive information from third parties such as payment processors, identity verification providers, insurers, legal advisers, or public authorities where required or permitted by law.

4. How we use your personal data

We use personal data for legitimate business and legal purposes connected with providing storage services. These purposes include:

managing enquiries, bookings, and customer accounts;
providing, maintaining, and improving our storage services;
processing payments and recovering amounts owed;
verifying identity and preventing fraud;
protecting the security of our premises, staff, customers, and property;
meeting legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
handling complaints, disputes, and insurance matters;
sending important service-related communications.

We do not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with those stated above without first ensuring that a lawful basis exists.

5. Lawful basis for processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each use of personal data. Stamfordhill Storage relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes setting up your storage account, providing access to a unit, managing billing, and communicating about your booking or service.

Legal obligation

We may process data where required to comply with laws and regulations, including tax rules, accounting requirements, fraud prevention duties, and lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include security monitoring, preventing misuse of our services, managing business operations, and improving service quality.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example for specific optional communications or certain types of processing where consent is the most appropriate basis. Where processing is based on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

6. Sharing your personal data

We only share personal data where necessary and with appropriate safeguards. We may disclose data to:

service providers and processors who help us run our business, such as payment processors, IT support providers, cloud hosting providers, and security service providers;
professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, auditors, or legal advisers;
public authorities where disclosure is required by law, court order, or regulatory request;
debt recovery or dispute resolution services where necessary to enforce agreements or resolve claims.

Where third parties act as processors, they are only allowed to process personal data on our instructions and must protect it appropriately. We do not sell your personal data.

7. Processors

We may use third-party processors to assist with the operation of our services. These processors may handle data such as contact details, payment information, access records, technical information, or support communications. We take reasonable steps to ensure that processors are subject to written contracts requiring confidentiality, security, and compliance with data protection law.

Processors may include providers of:

payment and billing services;
customer relationship and administration systems;
secure data hosting and backups;
site security, alarm, and CCTV management;
email and document management tools.

We remain responsible for ensuring that any processor we use handles personal data only in accordance with our instructions and applicable legal requirements.

8. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, security, or reporting requirements. The retention period depends on the type of data and the reason for processing.

Customer account records are generally retained for the duration of the relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Payment and accounting records are retained for the period required by tax and financial laws.
Security records such as access logs or CCTV footage are kept only as long as needed for safety, incident handling, or crime prevention.
Enquiry records may be retained for a limited period if no booking is made, unless a longer period is required for legal reasons.

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

9. Your rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis for processing.

Right of access – you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – in certain cases, you can ask us to delete your data.
Right to restriction – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in some situations.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – where applicable, you can request certain data in a portable format.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to complain to the relevant data protection authority if you believe your rights have not been respected. We encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve any concern.

10. Security of your data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, and monitoring of systems and premises. While we take reasonable steps to safeguard information, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

11. International transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that suitable safeguards are in place and that the transfer complies with applicable data protection law. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations or standard contractual protections.

12. 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 handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their information is used.

13. Additional information

This Privacy Policy is intended to provide a clear and lawful explanation of how Stamfordhill Storage processes personal data. If a particular use of data requires further explanation, we will provide it at the relevant time and in a way that is clear and understandable. Our approach is based on the principles of lawfulness, fairness, transparency, data minimisation, purpose limitation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, and confidentiality.

By using Stamfordhill Storage services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable law.