Self Storage Merton Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Self Storage Merton collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to its customers and prospective customers in the Self Storage Merton service area. It is intended to be transparent and compliant with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. By using our services, making an enquiry, or visiting our premises, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
Scope of this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy applies to all individual customers and prospective customers of Self Storage Merton in our operating area, including anyone who contacts us about storage services, visits our premises, uses our storage units, or otherwise interacts with us as a consumer. It does not apply to employees, job applicants, or business-to-business contacts, which may be covered by separate notices.
Who we are and data controller responsibility
Self Storage Merton is the organisation responsible for determining how and why your personal data is processed. For the purposes of data protection law, Self Storage Merton is the data controller in relation to the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. Where we use third parties to process data on our behalf, those organisations act as data processors and are bound by contractual obligations to protect your information.
Personal data we collect
We may collect and process the following categories of personal data when you interact with Self Storage Merton or use our services:
Identification and contact details such as your full name, postal address, billing address, contact address, and similar details. Contact details such as your email address and any other communication details you choose to provide. Account and contract information such as storage unit number, rental start and end dates, payment terms, and communications relating to your contract. Payment and billing information such as payment method details and records of payments made, processed via secure payment processors. Security and access data such as CCTV footage on and around our premises, access logs, entry codes, and information about visits to the site. Communication records such as notes of telephone calls, records of enquiries, and copies of correspondence relating to your account or potential account. Technical data relating to our website such as IP address, device type, browser type, and similar information collected for security and analytics purposes.
How we collect your personal data
We collect personal data directly from you when you make an enquiry about storage, request a quote, sign a contract, make a payment, or otherwise communicate with us. We may also collect information automatically when you visit our website, through cookies and similar technologies used for necessary site functionality and analytics. In some cases, we may receive personal data from third parties such as payment processors, fraud prevention agencies, or law enforcement, but only where this is lawful and necessary.
Lawful basis for processing
We process your personal data only where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. The main lawful bases we rely on are:
Contract: We process personal data to enter into and perform a contract with you, including providing storage services, managing your account, taking payments, and communicating with you about your contract. Legal obligation: We process personal data to comply with our legal obligations, including accounting and tax requirements, health and safety obligations, and responding to lawful requests from public authorities. Legitimate interests: We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided these do not override your rights and freedoms. This includes securing our premises and units, monitoring for fraud or misuse, improving our services, and handling enquiries from potential customers. Consent: In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain optional marketing communications. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.
Purposes for which we use personal data
We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:
To provide and manage storage services, including setting up and maintaining your account, administering your contract, and managing access to your storage unit. To process payments, issue invoices, maintain financial records, and manage debt collection where necessary. To maintain the security and safety of our premises, staff, customers and stored goods, including the operation of CCTV and access control systems. To respond to enquiries and provide customer support before, during and after your contract term. To manage our business operations, including reporting, auditing, quality control, and service improvement. To meet legal and regulatory requirements and to cooperate with law enforcement and regulatory authorities where required by law. To send service-related communications such as contract updates, policy changes, or important information about your storage unit. With your consent where required, to provide you with information about services or offers that may be of interest to you.
Data retention and storage periods
We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and to meet any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. The retention period will depend on the nature of the data and the purposes for which it is used. In general, we keep customer contract and billing information for a period required by tax and accounting laws following the end of your contract. CCTV footage and access logs are retained for a limited period necessary for security and incident investigation, unless a longer retention is required in connection with a specific investigation or legal claim. Enquiry records from prospective customers may be retained for a reasonable period to respond to queries and manage our relationship, after which they are deleted or anonymised. When data is no longer required, we will securely delete it or irreversibly anonymise it.
Data processors and third party recipients
We may share your personal data with trusted third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These may include payment processing providers for handling card or electronic payments, IT and cloud service providers for data storage, backup and business systems, security service providers such as CCTV system operators or access control services, and professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers, where necessary. These processors are only permitted to process your personal data in accordance with our instructions and are required to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data.
We may also share personal data, where necessary and lawful, with law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies, courts and government authorities, and with third parties involved in the prevention and detection of fraud or other criminal activity. If we are involved in a business sale, merger or reorganisation, personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction, in compliance with data protection law.
International transfers
If any of our service providers transfer personal data outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your rights, such as standard contractual clauses or equivalent mechanisms recognised by data protection law. You may contact us for further information about these safeguards.
Security of your personal data
We take the security of your personal data seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures include access controls, secure storage systems, encryption or pseudonymisation where appropriate, staff training, and procedures for handling suspected data breaches.
Your data protection rights
Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to the personal data that we hold about you. These rights include:
Right of access: You can request a copy of your personal data and information about how we process it. Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct or complete inaccurate or incomplete personal data. 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 original purpose and we have no other lawful basis to retain it. Right to restriction: You can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in specific situations, such as while we verify accuracy or handle an objection. Right to data portability: Where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you can request that we provide your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format, or that we transmit it to another controller where technically feasible. Right to object: You can object to certain types of processing based on our legitimate interests, including any direct marketing. Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before withdrawal.
We will respond to all valid requests within the time limits set by applicable law, and usually free of charge, unless a request is clearly unfounded or excessive.
Exercising your rights and complaints
If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights or have questions about how your personal data is handled, you can contact Self Storage Merton using the contact details provided on our main customer communications or at our premises. If you are not satisfied with our response or believe that your data protection rights have been infringed, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority. Details of how to contact the authority can be obtained directly from the authority.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or the way we process personal data. Any updated version will be made available through our usual customer information channels and will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how Self Storage Merton protects your personal data.
