Storage Docklands Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Storage Docklands collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to its customers and prospective customers. It applies to all Storage Docklands customers and account holders in the Storage Docklands service area, including individuals and business contacts who interact with us in connection with self-storage or related services.
Storage Docklands acts as the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation and any local data protection legislation that applies in the area where our services are provided.
Personal Data We Collect
We collect and process personal data that is necessary for the provision and administration of our services. The types of personal data we may collect include the following categories.
Identification details such as full name, title, date of birth and identification document details when required for verification or fraud prevention purposes.
Contact information such as billing address, service address, postal address and any other address you provide to us for correspondence, together with any contact names you provide for your account.
Account and contract information such as customer account numbers, contract start and end dates, unit numbers, payment history, communication history and any preferences you choose to share with us relating to your account or how we contact you.
Payment and billing information such as records of payments made, payment method type, and invoice and transaction records. We do not store full payment card details, but we may process limited card or account details through third party payment processors.
Communications data including copies or summaries of correspondence with you by post or other channels, and any information you choose to provide when you contact us with a query, complaint or request.
Security and access data such as access logs, entry and exit times for storage facilities, access code usage and information derived from security or access control systems that we operate to protect our premises, customers and staff.
Technical and usage data such as information about how you use our services and interact with our systems, for example system logs for administration, security and service improvement.
Lawful Basis For Processing
We process your personal data only where we have a lawful basis under applicable data protection laws. Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases.
Performance of a contract: We process your personal data when it is necessary to enter into a contract with you or to perform a contract that we have with you. This includes creating and managing your account, providing storage services, handling payments, managing renewals and terminations, and communicating with you about your contract.
Compliance with legal obligations: We may process your personal data to comply with legal or regulatory obligations, such as record keeping obligations, tax and accounting rules, the prevention of fraud and other unlawful acts, and responding to lawful requests from public authorities or law enforcement.
Legitimate interests: We may process personal data where necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided that your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. These legitimate interests may include ensuring the security and integrity of our premises, systems and services, improving and developing our services, managing and protecting our business, and pursuing or defending legal claims.
Consent: In limited circumstances, we may request your consent to process your personal data for specific purposes that are not necessary for the performance of a contract, for compliance with legal obligations, or for our legitimate interests. Where we rely on your consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time, although this will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before it was withdrawn.
How We Use Personal Data
We use the personal data we collect to provide and manage our services, operate and improve our storage facilities, and maintain our relationship with you. This may include opening and managing customer accounts, verifying identity where appropriate, taking and processing payments, monitoring access to storage facilities for security and safety, responding to customer queries and complaints, providing service updates and important notices relating to your contract, maintaining business and financial records, and analysing service usage to help us maintain and improve our operations.
Data Retention
We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying legal, accounting or reporting requirements, and to establish or defend legal rights.
Typically, we retain key customer account, contract and billing records for a set number of years after your contract or final interaction with Storage Docklands ends, in line with statutory limitation periods and our business needs. Security and access data is usually retained for a shorter period, unless we need to keep it longer in connection with an investigation, dispute or legal claim. Communications and correspondence may be retained for as long as necessary to deal with your enquiry or complaint and to maintain appropriate records.
When personal data is no longer required, we will either securely delete it or irreversibly anonymise it so that it can no longer be associated with an identifiable individual.
Data Processors and Sharing of Personal Data
We may share personal data with carefully selected third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These processors are engaged to provide services that assist us in operating our business and delivering our services. Examples of such services include payment processing, customer account management systems, secure data hosting and storage providers, document management and archiving services, and professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers acting under a duty of confidentiality.
Where we use data processors, we ensure that they are subject to written contracts that require them to process personal data only on our documented instructions, to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, and to assist us in meeting our data protection obligations.
We may also share personal data with other third parties where this is required by law, where it is necessary to protect our rights, property or safety, or that of our customers, staff or others, or in connection with a business transaction or restructuring, but only to the extent permitted by law.
We do not sell personal data to third parties.
International Data Transfers
Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom or the local jurisdiction in which it was collected, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These safeguards may include the use of data transfer mechanisms recognised by data protection authorities as providing an adequate level of protection for personal data, as well as contractual protections. We will only transfer personal data internationally in compliance with applicable data protection laws.
Your Data Protection Rights
Under applicable data protection laws, you have certain rights in relation to the personal data that we hold about you. These rights apply to all Storage Docklands customers in our service area, subject to legal limitations and exemptions.
Right of access: You have the right to request confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and, where we do, to request a copy of that personal data together with information about how we process it.
Right to rectification: You have the right to request that inaccurate or incomplete personal data about you is corrected or completed without undue delay.
Right to erasure: In certain circumstances, you may have the right to request that we erase your personal data. This right is not absolute and may not apply where we need to retain personal data for legal obligations or in connection with legal claims.
Right to restriction of processing: You may be entitled to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we verify the accuracy of data you believe to be inaccurate.
Right to data portability: In some cases, you may have the right to receive personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format, and to request that we transmit that data to another data controller where technically feasible.
Right to object: You have the right to object to processing of your personal data that is based on our legitimate interests, on grounds relating to your particular situation. We will then stop processing the data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms, or where processing is required for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
Where we rely on consent as the lawful basis for processing, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing that took place before consent was withdrawn.
Exercising Your Rights and Complaints
If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights, you may contact Storage Docklands using the contact methods made available through our usual customer communication channels. To protect your privacy and security, we may need to verify your identity before we respond to your request. We aim to respond to all legitimate requests within the time periods required by law.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority if you believe that your personal data has not been handled in accordance with applicable data protection laws. We encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve your concerns directly.
Changes To This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, our data processing practices or legal requirements. The most recent version will always apply to the processing of your personal data. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically so that you remain informed about how Storage Docklands protects your personal data.
