Storage West Ham Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Storage West Ham collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to customers and prospective customers in the Storage West Ham service area. It also explains your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and related data protection laws.
By using our services, visiting our facilities or otherwise providing your personal data to us, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
Scope of this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy applies to all Storage West Ham customers, former customers, prospective customers and authorised users of storage units in the Storage West Ham operating area. It covers personal data collected in person at our premises, over the phone, through online forms, through CCTV and access control systems and through any other lawful means connected with our storage services.
Categories of Personal Data We Collect
We collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with us. The main categories include:
Identification and contact details, such as name, postal address, billing address, postcode, and other contact details you provide to us.
Account and contract information, such as details of your storage unit, contract dates, payment status, communications with us and records of any enquiries or complaints.
Payment information, such as partial payment card details or transaction references provided to us by you or your payment provider. We do not store full payment card numbers when processed via secure payment systems.
Security and access information, such as CCTV images in and around our facilities, access control logs showing dates and times of entry and exit, vehicle registration numbers where relevant, and details of authorised persons permitted to access your unit.
Technical and usage information where relevant, such as information about how you use our website, including log data and basic device information collected through standard web technologies for security, performance and service improvement.
Lawful Basis for Processing Your Personal Data
We only process your personal data where we have a valid legal basis under data protection law. Depending on the situation, we rely on the following lawful bases:
Contract. We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a storage agreement with you, including managing your booking, setting up your account, providing access to your unit, taking payment and communicating with you about your contract.
Legal obligation. We process certain personal data to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including accounting and tax rules, health and safety regulations and law enforcement requests where we are required to cooperate.
Legitimate interests. We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided that your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This includes securing our premises and property using CCTV and access control, preventing and investigating fraud or theft, maintaining accurate records of customer interactions, improving our services and enforcing the terms of your contract.
Consent. In limited cases we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of optional marketing communications. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time by contacting us or using any unsubscribe options provided.
How We Use Your Personal Data
We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:
To set up, manage and administer your storage agreement and account.
To verify your identity and your authority to access particular storage units or make changes to an account.
To process payments, issue invoices, handle queries about charges and manage any debt recovery processes.
To secure our premises, customers, staff and property through the use of CCTV, access logs and security monitoring systems.
To respond to your questions, requests, feedback or complaints and to keep a record of our communications.
To comply with applicable laws, regulations and legal processes and to cooperate with public authorities where we are required or permitted to do so.
To manage our business operations, including auditing, risk management, service improvement and staff training.
Data Retention
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and to meet our legal, accounting and reporting obligations.
Customer and contract records, including identification data, storage agreements, billing information and key correspondence, are generally retained for a period consistent with local limitation periods and accounting requirements. This is so that we can respond to questions about your contract and demonstrate compliance with our legal duties.
CCTV recordings and access control logs are retained for a shorter period, which is limited to what is necessary for security, incident investigation and legal compliance purposes. They may be kept for longer where needed in connection with an active investigation, dispute or legal claim.
Where we rely on your consent for particular processing activities and consent is withdrawn, we will cease that processing and, where appropriate, securely delete or anonymise the relevant data, provided that we do not need to retain it for another lawful reason.
When personal data is no longer required, we take reasonable steps to either delete it securely or anonymise it so that you can no longer be identified.
Data Processors and Third Parties
We may share personal data with carefully selected third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These processors are only permitted to process personal data in accordance with our documented instructions and must implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data.
Typical categories of processors include providers of secure payment processing services, document and data storage services, customer relationship management systems, information technology and security support providers and professional advisers who assist us with legal, accounting or regulatory matters.
Where we use third party processors located outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place for international data transfers in line with data protection laws, such as recognised adequacy decisions or standard contractual clauses.
We may also disclose personal data where required by law, to competent public authorities, law enforcement agencies, courts or regulators, or where disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, property or the safety of customers, staff or the public.
How We Protect Your Personal Data
We take the security of your personal data seriously. We use a combination of organisational and technical measures designed to protect your data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction or damage.
These measures include controlled access to our premises and systems, physical security features at our facilities, appropriate CCTV coverage, role based access for staff, staff training on data protection responsibilities and the use of secure technologies for transmitting and storing personal data where appropriate.
Your Data Protection Rights
Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to the personal data we hold about you. These rights are subject to certain conditions and exemptions. They include:
Right of access. You have the right to request confirmation that we are processing your personal data and to request a copy of that data, together with information about how it is used.
Right to rectification. You have the right to ask us to correct or complete personal data that you believe is inaccurate or incomplete.
Right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you have the right to request that we delete your personal data. This right is not absolute and may not apply where we need to retain the data to comply with legal obligations or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
Right to restriction of processing. You can ask us in certain situations to restrict how we use your personal data, for example while we are investigating a complaint that the data is inaccurate.
Right to data portability. For certain processing based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you may have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and to transmit it to another controller.
Right to object. You have the right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including certain types of profiling. We will stop such processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds or we need to continue processing for legal claims.
Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.
Exercising Your Rights and Complaints
If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights, or if you have questions or concerns about how we handle your personal data, you can contact us using the contact methods made available on our official communications and documentation.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe that your rights have been infringed. We encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve any concerns directly.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations or how we process personal data. Any changes will be made available through our usual channels. We recommend that you review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.
