Privacy Policy - London Storage

This Privacy Policy explains how London Storage collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data relating to our customers, prospective customers, visitors, and other individuals whose information we process in the course of providing storage services. This policy applies to all London Storage customers in the area and should be read carefully so that you understand your rights and our obligations under applicable data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

London Storage provides self-storage and related services to individuals and businesses. In the context of data protection law, we are usually the data controller for the personal data we collect and use for our own business purposes. This means we decide why and how your personal data is processed. Where we use third parties to process data on our behalf, they act as data processors under our instructions.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for lawful business purposes connected to our services, security, administration, and legal obligations. Depending on your relationship with us, we may collect the following categories of information:

Identity information such as your name, date of birth, and identification details.
Contact information such as billing address, correspondence address, email address, and telephone number.
Account and contract information such as storage unit details, agreement records, payment history, and service preferences.
Financial information such as payment card details, bank account details, and transaction records, where relevant.
Security information such as CCTV images, access logs, alarm events, and site entry records.
Communications such as emails, phone notes, written enquiries, complaints, and service-related correspondence.
Technical information such as IP address, browser type, and device data when you interact with our digital systems or online services.

We may also collect limited information about business customers, including company name, company registration details, authorised representatives, and billing contacts.

3. How We Collect Personal Data

We collect personal data in several ways:

Directly from you when you complete forms, sign a storage agreement, make a payment, or contact us.
Automatically when you enter or use our premises, where access control systems or CCTV are in operation.
From third parties such as payment providers, identity verification services, insurers, debt recovery services, or law enforcement bodies where lawful and appropriate.
From publicly available sources where necessary for identity verification, fraud prevention, or legal compliance.

4. Why We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data only where we have a lawful basis to do so. The main purposes for which we process personal data include:

setting up and managing storage agreements;
verifying identity and preventing fraud;
processing payments and managing invoices;
maintaining site security and protecting customers, staff, and property;
handling enquiries, complaints, and customer support;
meeting legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
recovering unpaid charges and enforcing contractual rights;
improving our services, systems, and customer experience;
defending legal claims and managing disputes.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must identify a lawful basis for each type of processing. London Storage typically relies on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process your personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing your storage unit, taking payment, providing access, and administering your account.

Legal Obligation

We process personal data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, anti-fraud, record-keeping, and health and safety duties.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. These interests may include site security, CCTV monitoring, preventing theft or misuse, maintaining business records, customer service, debt recovery, and protecting our legal rights. We balance our interests against your privacy rights before relying on this basis.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where consent is required by law for certain communications or optional services. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

6. Sharing Your Personal Data

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary and lawful. These parties may include:

Payment service providers who process card or bank transactions on our behalf.
IT and cloud service providers who host systems, store data, or provide technical support.
Security providers who maintain access controls, alarms, or surveillance systems.
Professional advisers such as accountants, auditors, insurers, and legal advisers.
Debt recovery and collection agencies where payment obligations remain unpaid.
Regulators, public authorities, and law enforcement where disclosure is required or permitted by law.

All processors are required to handle personal data securely, only in accordance with our instructions, and in line with data protection law. We do not allow processors to use your data for their own unrelated purposes.

7. International Transfers

If personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as an adequacy decision or approved contractual protections. We take steps to ensure that any international transfer is lawful and that your data remains protected.

8. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and in accordance with legal, contractual, and operational requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data and the reason for processing.

Customer account and contract records are normally retained for the duration of the relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Payment and financial records are retained in line with legal, tax, and accounting obligations.
Security records such as CCTV footage and access logs are retained for a limited period unless required for investigation, claims, or legal proceedings.
Correspondence and complaints may be retained for as long as needed to resolve the issue and to evidence our handling of it.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete, anonymise, or securely destroy it.

9. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include restricted access controls, encryption, secure storage, staff training, and monitoring procedures. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work continuously to reduce risk and maintain strong safeguards.

10. Your Rights

Subject to conditions and exemptions under data protection law, you have several rights regarding your personal data:

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 information.
Right to erasure ??? to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction ??? to request that we limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to object ??? to object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing where applicable.
Right to data portability ??? to receive certain information in a usable format where the legal criteria are met.
Right to withdraw consent ??? where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner???s Office if you are unhappy with how your data has been handled. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so we can try to resolve the issue promptly and fairly.

11. Children

Our storage services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from minors except where it is incidentally provided in connection with an adult customer relationship or legal obligation. If we become aware that personal data of a child has been collected without appropriate authority, we will take reasonable steps to delete or secure it.

12. Changes to This Policy

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

13. Summary of Key Principles

London Storage is committed to processing personal data in a fair, transparent, and secure manner. We only collect what we need, use it for legitimate and lawful purposes, keep it for no longer than necessary, and respect your rights as a data subject. Our aim is to ensure that customers can use our storage services with confidence that their personal information is treated responsibly and in accordance with the law.

Important: This policy applies to all London Storage customers in the area and governs the personal data we process in connection with our storage services, site security, account administration, and legal compliance.