Storage Colney Hatch Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Storage Colney Hatch collects, uses, stores and protects the personal data of all customers and prospective customers in the Storage Colney Hatch service area. It also sets out your rights under applicable data protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and related legislation.
By using our storage facilities, contacting us, or otherwise providing your personal data, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
Who This Policy Applies To
This Privacy Policy applies to all Storage Colney Hatch customers, former customers, prospective customers and authorised users of storage units within our service area. It also applies to individuals who contact us with enquiries, whether by visiting our site, by post, or through other communication channels.
Personal Data We Collect
We collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with Storage Colney Hatch. This may include:
Identity data such as name, title, date of birth and proof of identity documents.
Contact data such as billing address, service address, and any other contact details you choose to share.
Contract and account data such as unit numbers, access permissions, rental agreements, move-in and move-out dates, payment history and related correspondence.
Payment and billing data such as limited payment details necessary to process your transactions, and records of invoices, payments and refunds.
Security and access data such as CCTV footage in and around our facilities, entry and exit records from access control systems, and records of security incidents.
Communication data such as emails, letters, notes of telephone conversations or in-person enquiries, and any feedback or complaints you provide.
Technical and usage data such as information about how you access our services, basic device and system logs, and preferences relating to how we communicate with you.
How We Collect Your Data
We may collect personal data directly from you when you sign a storage contract, visit our facilities, make an enquiry, or otherwise communicate with us. We may also obtain data from third parties where this is necessary for due diligence, fraud prevention or debt recovery, always in accordance with data protection law.
Lawful Basis for Processing
Storage Colney Hatch only processes personal data where there is a lawful basis under the UK GDPR. Depending on the context, we rely on one or more of the following legal grounds:
Contract performance. We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into, administer or perform a contract for storage services with you. This includes taking steps at your request before entering into a contract.
Legal obligations. We process data where we are required to do so by law, such as maintaining accounting records, cooperating with law enforcement, or complying with health and safety and security regulations.
Legitimate interests. We process 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 and freedoms. Examples include securing our premises, preventing and detecting fraud or criminal activity, managing our operations, and improving our services.
Consent. In limited circumstances, we may rely on your explicit consent, for example for certain types of optional marketing communications. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.
How We Use Your Personal Data
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
To set up, manage and administer your storage agreement, including processing bookings, moves, renewals and terminations.
To process payments, manage billing, and recover debts where necessary.
To respond to your enquiries, requests and complaints, and to provide customer support.
To maintain the safety and security of our facilities, including the use of CCTV and access control systems.
To manage our relationship with you, including notifying you about changes to our terms, services or this Privacy Policy.
To manage and improve our operations, including record keeping, auditing and internal reporting.
To comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests from public authorities.
Data Retention
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet any legal, accounting or reporting requirements.
In general, we retain contract and billing records for the period of your storage agreement and for a number of years after it ends, in line with statutory limitation periods and tax and accounting rules. CCTV images and access records are kept for shorter periods, typically only long enough to investigate incidents or support security and legal requirements.
When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete or anonymise it in accordance with our data retention and destruction policies.
Data Processors and Third Parties
Storage Colney Hatch may share personal data with carefully selected third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These may include:
IT and cloud service providers who host or support our systems and data storage.
Payment processing and billing service providers.
Security service providers who support CCTV, access control and facility safety.
Professional advisers such as accountants, auditors or legal advisers, where necessary.
Debt collection agencies and tracing agents where this is required to recover outstanding amounts owed to us.
All data processors are contractually required to process personal data only on our documented instructions, to protect it with appropriate technical and organisational measures, and to maintain confidentiality.
We may also need to share data with public authorities, regulators, law enforcement or courts where we are legally required to do so or where this is necessary to protect our rights or the rights of others.
International Transfers
Where any of our service providers or their systems are located outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place before transferring personal data. These safeguards may include the use of legally approved standard contractual clauses or other recognised transfer mechanisms, to ensure that your data continues to be protected to a standard essentially equivalent to that under UK law.
How We Protect Your Data
We take the security of your personal data seriously. Storage Colney Hatch uses a combination of technical and organisational measures designed to protect data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access.
Measures include access controls, staff training, secure storage of physical records, system security controls, and procedures for managing and responding to potential security incidents. While no system can be guaranteed as completely secure, we continually review and enhance our security arrangements.
Your Data Protection Rights
Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data, subject to certain conditions and exemptions. These rights include:
Right of access. You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, together with information about how it is processed.
Right to rectification. You can ask us to correct or complete any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.
Right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you can request that we delete your personal data. This is not an absolute right and may not apply where we need to retain data to comply with legal obligations or establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
Right to restriction. You can ask us to restrict the processing of your data in certain situations, for example while we are verifying its accuracy or considering an objection.
Right to data portability. In some cases, you can request that we provide your data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, or that we transmit it to another controller where this is technically feasible.
Right to object. You can object at any time to processing based on our legitimate interests, including profiling, on grounds relating to your particular situation. We will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds or the processing is required for legal claims.
Rights in relation to automated decision-making. Storage Colney Hatch does not carry out automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you without human involvement.
Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
Exercising Your Rights and Complaints
If you wish to exercise any of your rights or have questions about how Storage Colney Hatch handles your personal data, you can contact us using the details provided in your storage agreement or other official documentation from us.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority for data protection if you are unhappy with how we have used your data. We encourage you to contact us first so that we can seek 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 requirements or data protection guidance. The latest version will always apply to the processing of your personal data. We will take appropriate steps to inform you of any significant changes that affect you.
This Privacy Policy applies to all Storage Colney Hatch customers and users within our service area and is effective from the date of publication.
