Privacy Policy - Bickley Storage

Effective date: This Privacy Policy applies to all Bickley Storage customers in the area and explains how we collect, use, store, and protect personal data in accordance with applicable data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Bickley Storage is committed to handling personal information lawfully, fairly, and transparently. We only process personal data where we have a valid legal basis and only for purposes that are relevant to providing storage and related services, managing our business, maintaining security, and meeting our legal obligations.

1. What Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data when you enquire about, purchase, or use our storage services, or when you otherwise interact with us:

Identity information: name, title, and any details needed to identify you.
Contact information: address, email address, telephone number, and correspondence details.
Account and service information: booking details, unit references, access records, payment status, invoices, and customer service communications.
Financial information: limited payment information required to process transactions and administer accounts. We do not keep unnecessary payment card details unless essential for the payment method used and permitted by law.
Security and site access information: CCTV images, access logs, entry times, vehicle registration details, and incident reports where relevant to site security and operational safety.
Technical information: IP address, device details, browser type, and other technical information where collected through digital systems used to manage enquiries or services.

We may also receive personal data from third parties where necessary to provide our services, such as payment service providers, insurers, contractors, or lawful representatives acting on your behalf.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data only for legitimate business purposes connected with providing storage services and operating our business safely and efficiently. These purposes include:

setting up and managing customer accounts;
processing bookings, payments, and refunds;
verifying identity where required;
managing site access and protecting customers, staff, visitors, and property;
communicating about service updates, account matters, or incidents;
responding to enquiries, complaints, and claims;
preventing fraud, misuse, theft, and other unlawful activity;
maintaining records, audits, and internal administration;
complying with legal, regulatory, and insurance obligations.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the original reason for collection unless we have a lawful basis to do so and have informed you where required.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing storage agreements, processing payments, providing access to your storage unit, and handling account administration.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data when necessary to comply with legal obligations, such as accounting requirements, tax rules, fraud prevention duties, health and safety obligations, and lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided that your interests and rights do not override those interests. These interests may include site security, loss prevention, business administration, service improvement, and resolving disputes. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we assess the impact on individuals and take appropriate safeguards.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where certain optional communications or specific uses of data require it. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties acting as processors or independent controllers where necessary and lawful. These parties are required to handle personal data securely and only in accordance with our instructions or their own legal obligations.

Processors may include:

payment processors and banking service providers;
IT, cloud storage, and software providers;
customer management and accounting service providers;
security contractors and CCTV monitoring service providers;
maintenance, waste removal, or site support contractors;
professional advisers such as lawyers, auditors, and insurers;
government bodies, courts, law enforcement, and regulators where required by law.

We only share the minimum amount of personal data necessary for the relevant purpose. Where a third party processes data on our behalf, we require them to provide appropriate technical and organisational security measures.

5. Retention of Personal Data

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, insurance, and reporting requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data and the reason for processing.

As a general approach:

Customer account and contract records are kept for the duration of the relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to deal with queries, claims, or legal obligations.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law.
Security records such as access logs and CCTV may be retained for a limited period unless needed longer for investigation, safety, or legal reasons.
Enquiry records may be kept for a limited time where no service is taken up, so we can respond to follow-up questions and manage administration.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so it can no longer identify you.

6. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, staff training, secure storage, encryption where appropriate, and restricted system permissions. Although no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take reasonable steps to reduce risk and protect information.

7. Your Rights

Subject to certain conditions and exemptions under data protection law, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

Right of access: you can request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and obtain a copy.
Right to rectification: you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure: in some circumstances, you can ask us to delete your data.
Right to restriction: you can request that we limit the processing of your data in certain situations.
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: where applicable, you may request your data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent: where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a rights request. We will respond within the legal timeframe and provide reasons if we cannot fully comply with a request.

8. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will only do so where appropriate safeguards are in place to protect the information to the standard required by law. This may include approved contractual protections or transfers to countries recognised as providing adequate protection.

9. Children’s Data

Bickley Storage services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under 18 except where necessary in connection with a lawful contract, authorised access arrangement, or legal requirement. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without a valid basis, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or how we process personal data. Any updated version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers to review the policy periodically so they remain informed about how their information is handled.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Bickley Storage respects your privacy and is committed to processing your personal data responsibly. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, retain it for no longer than necessary, and protect it with suitable safeguards. We also recognise and support your rights under data protection law.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Bickley Storage customers in the area and is intended to provide clear information about our data handling practices.