Privacy Policy - Bow Removals

This Privacy Policy explains how Bow Removals collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Bow Removals customers in area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who contacts us for a quotation, booking, or service enquiry. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, transparent, and secure manner in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Bow Removals provides removal-related services for residential and commercial customers. In the course of delivering our services, we may process personal data about customers, household members, business contacts, delivery recipients, and other individuals connected with a booking. This Policy explains how we do so and sets out the rights available to data subjects.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity data, such as name, title, and any relevant identifiers needed to manage a booking or account.
Contact data, such as telephone number, email address, and service address.
Booking and service data, including move dates, property access details, inventory information, special handling requirements, and service preferences.
Payment and transaction data, such as payment status, invoices, records of charges, and limited payment-related details necessary to process a transaction.
Communication data, including emails, messages, notes from calls, complaint records, and customer feedback.
Technical and usage data, where relevant, such as basic website or device information used for security, fraud prevention, or service improvement.
Special category data, only where strictly necessary and with an appropriate lawful basis, for example where a customer voluntarily provides accessibility needs or health-related information required to deliver a safe service.

We aim to collect only the personal data that is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. If you choose not to provide certain information, we may not be able to provide part or all of the requested service.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and assess service requirements;
to arrange and deliver removal services;
to manage bookings, schedules, and operational logistics;
to communicate with customers before, during, and after a service;
to process invoices, payments, refunds, and accounting records;
to handle complaints, claims, and service disputes;
to meet legal, tax, and regulatory obligations;
to maintain security, prevent fraud, and protect our business and customers;
to improve service quality and internal operations;
to keep evidence of instructions, agreements, and service outcomes.

We do not use personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reason it was collected, unless permitted by law or we have informed you and, where necessary, obtained consent.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only where we have a lawful basis under the UK GDPR. Depending on the circumstances, the lawful basis may be one or more of the following:

4.1 Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations you request, managing your booking, arranging the move, and delivering the services you have purchased.

4.2 Legal Obligation

We may process data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, record-keeping, and regulatory requirements.

4.3 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. This may include service administration, maintaining accurate records, preventing fraud, improving operations, and defending legal claims. When we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the impact on individuals and apply safeguards where appropriate.

4.4 Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where we need to process certain optional information or where the law requires consent. Where consent is used, it will be freely given, specific, informed, and easy to withdraw.

4.5 Vital Interests and Special Category Data

In rare cases, we may process special category or sensitive information where it is necessary to protect vital interests, comply with employment or health and safety obligations, or with explicit consent where required. We will only do so when strictly necessary and proportionate.

5. Sharing Personal Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy. Where we use third parties to process data on our behalf, they act as processors and may only process data according to our instructions and under appropriate contractual safeguards.

Typical categories of processors and recipients include:

IT and hosting providers that support secure storage, communications, and systems maintenance;
payment processors that handle transaction-related services;
accounting and bookkeeping providers that assist with financial administration;
customer management or scheduling tools that help us organise bookings and service records;
professional advisers, including insurers, auditors, legal advisers, and consultants;
subcontractors or operational partners involved in service delivery, where necessary for your booking;
public authorities or law enforcement, where disclosure is required by law or needed to protect rights, safety, or property.

We require processors to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data. We do not sell personal data.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for legal, accounting, tax, insurance, and dispute-resolution purposes. Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason for processing.

Quotation and enquiry records may be retained for a limited period to manage follow-up queries and maintain business records.
Booking and service records may be retained for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by applicable law.
Complaint, claim, and dispute records may be retained longer where necessary to defend or establish legal rights.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete, anonymise, or securely archive it in line with our retention practices.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate security measures designed to protect personal data against accidental loss, unlawful access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and procedural safeguards. No system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, but we work to reduce risks and respond appropriately to any suspected data incident.

8. International Transfers

If any personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place and that the transfer complies with applicable data protection law. This may include using approved contractual protections or transferring data only to countries with adequate legal protections.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to legal limits and exemptions, these may include:

the right of access to obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
the right to rectification to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
the right to erasure in certain circumstances, sometimes called the right to be forgotten;
the right to restrict processing in certain cases;
the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
the right to data portability where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means;
the right to withdraw consent where we rely on consent;
the right to complain to the Information Commissioner???s Office if you are unhappy with how your data is handled.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a rights request. We will aim to respond within the time limits set by law.

10. Children???s Data

Our services are generally intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with a booking or service and provided by an adult with authority to do so. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without appropriate authorisation, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or operational practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review it periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

12. Summary of Our Commitments

We collect only the personal data needed to deliver and manage our services.
We rely on lawful bases such as contract, legal obligation, legitimate interests, and consent where appropriate.
We retain data only for as long as necessary.
We share data only with trusted processors and other parties where legally justified.
We respect and support your rights under data protection law.

Bow Removals is committed to protecting personal data and handling it responsibly for all customers in area.