Privacy Policy - Storage London

This Privacy Policy explains how Storage London collects, uses, shares, stores, and protects personal data for all Storage London customers in the area. It applies to individuals who use our storage services, make enquiries, create accounts, visit our locations, communicate with us, or otherwise interact with Storage London. We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable privacy laws.

We believe privacy should be clear, fair, and transparent. This policy sets out what data we collect, the lawful basis for processing, how long we keep data, when we share it with processors and other third parties, and what rights customers have over their information. By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy.

1. Personal Data We Collect

Storage London may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity data: name, title, date of birth, and similar identifiers.
Contact data: address, email address, telephone number, and mailing details.
Account data: customer reference numbers, login details, and service preferences.
Transaction data: payment records, billing history, invoices, and service usage information.
Security data: CCTV recordings, access logs, entry and exit records, and incident reports where relevant.
Communication data: correspondence, complaints, feedback, and records of enquiries.
Technical data: device and browser information, IP address, cookie or similar tracking information where applicable.
Verification data: identification documents and proof of address where required for fraud prevention, security, or legal compliance.

We usually collect data directly from you when you complete forms, sign agreements, make payments, communicate with us, or use our facilities. In some cases, we may receive data from third parties such as payment providers, identity verification providers, legal advisers, insurers, debt recovery services, or public authorities where lawful and appropriate.

2. How We Use Personal Data

Storage London uses personal data for the following purposes:

to provide storage services and manage customer accounts;
to verify identity and maintain security;
to process bookings, payments, refunds, and billing;
to communicate about service updates, notices, and customer support;
to administer site safety, access control, and incident management;
to detect, prevent, and investigate fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access;
to comply with legal, regulatory, tax, and accounting obligations;
to defend or establish legal claims;
to improve our services, operations, and customer experience;
to monitor and secure premises, systems, and assets;
to meet insurance requirements and manage risks.

We only process personal data where it is necessary and proportionate for the stated purpose. We do not use personal data in ways that are incompatible with the purpose for which it was collected unless we have a lawful basis to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, Storage London must have a lawful basis for each processing activity. Depending on the context, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Performance of a contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as providing storage services, managing your account, processing payments, and delivering customer support.

Legal obligation

We may process personal data to comply with legal duties, including tax, accounting, health and safety, consumer law, fraud prevention, and lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. These interests may include protecting premises, preventing crime, improving services, managing risk, and enforcing agreements.

Consent

In limited situations, we rely on your consent, for example where the law requires consent for certain communications or optional cookies or marketing activities. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Vital interests

In rare circumstances, we may process personal data to protect someone???s vital interests, for example in an emergency involving health or safety.

We assess the lawful basis carefully for each processing activity and only retain or use personal data when there is a valid reason to do so.

4. Retention of Personal Data

Storage London keeps personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data and the reason it is held.

Contract and account records: usually retained for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Payment and accounting records: retained in line with tax and financial record-keeping requirements.
Security records and CCTV: retained for a limited period unless needed for investigation, legal proceedings, or safety matters.
Communications and complaints: retained for as long as needed to resolve the issue and support record-keeping.
Legal claims or disputes: retained until the claim is resolved and any related limitation period has expired.

When data is no longer required, we will delete, anonymise, or securely destroy it. Retention periods may be extended where required by law or necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

Storage London may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary and lawful. These third parties may act as data processors or independent controllers depending on the service they provide.

Processors

We may use processors to carry out tasks on our behalf, such as:

payment processing services;
IT hosting and cloud infrastructure providers;
customer relationship and communication platforms;
security and CCTV service providers;
identity verification or fraud prevention services;
professional advisers, such as legal, accounting, or insurance advisers;
maintenance, cleaning, or operational support providers where access to personal data is necessary.

Where a processor handles personal data for us, it does so under contractual obligations requiring appropriate confidentiality, security, and compliance with data protection law.

Other disclosures

We may also disclose personal data to:

law enforcement, regulators, courts, or public authorities where required;
debt recovery or dispute resolution services where necessary and lawful;
insurers and claim handlers in connection with incidents or claims;
successors or transferees in the event of a business reorganisation, sale, or merger.

We do not sell personal data. Any sharing is limited to what is necessary for operational, legal, or security purposes.

6. International Transfers

If personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, Storage London will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms designed to protect personal data to the same standard required under UK GDPR.

7. Security of Personal Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, encryption, monitoring, and operational procedures designed to reduce risk.

Although we take reasonable steps to secure data, no system can be guaranteed as completely secure. We therefore encourage customers to take care when sharing information and to notify us promptly if they suspect any unauthorised use of their personal data.

8. Your Rights

Subject to the conditions and exemptions in data protection law, customers have the following rights:

Right of access: to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure: to request deletion of personal data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction: to request limitation of processing in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability: to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format and transfer it where applicable.
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 may withdraw it at any time.
Right not to be subject to solely automated decisions: where applicable, you have the right to challenge decisions made solely by automated means that have legal or similarly significant effects.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We will respond within the time limits required by law unless the request is particularly complex or multiple requests have been made.

9. Children???s Data

Storage London???s services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless required in limited circumstances and with appropriate legal justification. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected children???s data without proper basis, we will take appropriate steps to delete or protect 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 our data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Storage London customers in the area.