Storage Cheam Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Storage Cheam collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to customers and prospective customers in the Storage Cheam service area. It also describes your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, and how you can exercise them.
By using Storage Cheam services, visiting our premises, or otherwise interacting with us, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. This policy applies to all Storage Cheam customers and potential customers in the local area, whether you contact us online, by post or in person.
Data Controller
Storage Cheam is the organisation responsible for determining how and why your personal data is processed. Where this Privacy Policy refers to we, us or our, it refers to Storage Cheam acting as data controller for the personal data we collect and use in relation to the provision of our storage and related services.
Personal Data We Collect
We collect and process different categories of personal data depending on how you interact with us and which services you use. The types of personal data we may collect include:
Identification details such as full name, title, date of birth and proof of identity and address (for example, details from passports, driving licences or other identification documents you provide).
Contact details such as postal address, billing address, previous address, and basic correspondence information (for example, your name and message content when you write to us).
Account and contract details such as customer reference numbers, storage unit numbers, service preferences, contract start and end dates, payment history and records of your interactions with our customer service team.
Payment and transaction details such as payment method, billing records, amounts due and paid, and related financial administration data. We do not store full payment card numbers, but we may store limited details and transaction references to manage billing and refunds.
Premises and security information such as CCTV footage recorded on our sites, access control logs, time and date of entry and exit, and information related to security incidents or breaches on our premises.
Communication data such as records of your correspondence with us, including enquiries, complaints and feedback, and notes made by our staff in the course of handling your requests.
How We Collect Your Data
We collect personal data directly from you when you:
Request a quotation or information about our storage services or facilities.
Enter into a storage agreement or other contract with us, including when you sign or renew a contract.
Visit our premises and use our facilities, including access control systems and CCTV monitored areas.
Contact us by post or in person to ask questions, make a complaint or request support.
We may also receive personal data about you from third parties, such as payment service providers, credit reference agencies where applicable, or law enforcement and regulatory authorities when legally required.
Lawful Bases for Processing
We only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so under the UK GDPR. Depending on the circumstances, the relevant lawful bases may include:
Contract. We process your personal data to enter into and perform our contract with you, including setting up and managing your storage account, taking payments, communicating about your contract and providing customer support.
Legal obligation. We process certain personal data to comply with legal obligations, such as tax and accounting requirements, identity verification, fraud prevention and compliance with court orders or requests from regulatory or law enforcement authorities.
Legitimate interests. We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests or those of a third party, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights. This includes ensuring the security and integrity of our premises and property through CCTV and access control, managing and improving our services, handling customer enquiries and maintaining business records.
Consent. In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where required for specific types of optional communications. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
How We Use Your Personal Data
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
To provide storage and related services to you, including setting up and managing contracts, allocating storage units, arranging access and handling any changes you request.
To manage billing and payments, including issuing invoices, taking payments, handling arrears, processing refunds and maintaining financial records.
To communicate with you about your contract, your account status, changes to our services or terms, and responses to your enquiries, complaints or feedback.
To operate and secure our premises, including using CCTV and access logs to detect and investigate incidents, protect the safety of customers, staff and property, and support legal or insurance claims.
To comply with legal and regulatory requirements, respond to lawful requests from public authorities and assist with the prevention and detection of crime, fraud or misuse of our services.
To maintain internal records, analyse service performance, and improve our operations, processes and customer experience.
Data Retention
We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting or reporting requirements.
Contract and account data related to your storage agreement will usually be retained for a period after the end of your contract to enable us to respond to queries, handle disputes, and comply with statutory retention obligations.
CCTV footage and access logs are retained for a limited period that is appropriate for security and investigation purposes, unless a specific incident requires us to keep particular recordings or logs for longer in connection with legal or insurance proceedings.
When personal data is no longer required, we will delete or anonymise it in a secure manner, in line with our internal data retention policies and applicable legal requirements.
Data Processors and Third Parties
We may share your personal data with carefully selected third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These service providers are only permitted to process personal data under our instructions and must implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it.
These processors may include:
IT and systems providers who support our customer databases, access control systems, CCTV equipment, and data storage and backup solutions.
Payment processing providers who handle secure processing of payments and refunds on our behalf.
Professional advisers, such as accountants or legal consultants, where necessary to obtain advice or manage legal and regulatory obligations.
We may also share personal data with other third parties acting as independent controllers where required or permitted by law, such as law enforcement, regulators, courts and insurance companies, or where it is necessary to protect our rights, property or safety, or those of our customers or staff.
International Transfers
Where personal data is processed or stored outside the United Kingdom, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it in accordance with data protection law. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, contractual protections or other recognised mechanisms designed to ensure your data is afforded a level of protection essentially equivalent to that in the United Kingdom.
Your Data Protection Rights
Under the UK GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data, subject to certain conditions and exemptions. These include:
Right of access. You can request confirmation that we process your personal data and obtain a copy of that data, along with information about how it is used.
Right to rectification. You can ask us to correct or complete personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
Right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you can request that we delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected and we have no legal obligation to retain it.
Right to restriction. You can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, such as while we are considering a request to rectify or erase your data.
Right to data portability. In some cases, you can request a copy of the personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format and ask us to transfer it to another organisation where technically feasible.
Right to object. You can object to processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests, in which case we will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds or the processing is required for legal claims.
Right to withdraw consent. Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before it is withdrawn.
How To Exercise Your Rights
If you wish to exercise any of your rights or have questions about how we handle your personal data, you can contact us using our usual customer contact channels or by writing to us at our business address. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to anyone who has no right to receive it.
We aim to respond to all valid requests within one month. Where a request is particularly complex or numerous requests are made, this period may be extended in accordance with applicable law, and we will inform you if this occurs.
Complaints
If you are concerned about how we handle your personal data, we encourage you to contact us in the first instance so that we can seek to resolve the issue directly. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority for data protection in the United Kingdom if you believe that your rights have been infringed.
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 processing practices. Any changes will take effect when the revised policy is made available. We recommend that you review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.
