Storage Downe Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Storage Downe collects, uses, stores and shares personal data relating to our customers and prospective customers. It applies to all Storage Downe customers and users of our services in the area in which we operate, including individuals acting on behalf of businesses. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a lawful, fair and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and other applicable data protection laws.
Who this policy applies to
This policy applies to all Storage Downe customers, including self-storage users, business account holders, authorised contacts, guarantors where applicable, and anyone who contacts us to enquire about our services or to visit our site. By using our services or providing personal data to us, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
Personal data we collect
We may collect and process the following categories of personal data, depending on how you use our services:
Identification and contact data: name, postal address, billing address, contact address, date of birth, and identifiers such as customer number. Contact details: email address and other communication details you choose to provide. Contract and account data: storage unit details, rental dates, payment history, contract documents, access permissions, correspondence about your account and notes relating to the performance of our contract with you. Payment and billing data: payment method details and transaction records. Criminality and security data: information relating to suspected or alleged criminal activity, CCTV images taken on or around our premises, incident reports, and access records for security and fraud prevention purposes. Website and usage information: technical information collected via our website such as IP address, device identifiers, browser type, visit time and pages visited, together with any information you provide through online forms.
We may obtain personal data directly from you, from someone who is authorised to act on your behalf, from publicly available sources, from credit reference or fraud prevention agencies where lawful, and from our service providers when they act on our instructions.
Lawful bases for processing
We process your personal data only where we have a lawful basis to do so. Depending on the circumstances, this will include one or more of the following:
Performance of a contract: to enter into and fulfil our storage and related service contracts with you, including setting up your account, managing access to your unit, processing payments, handling queries and providing customer support.
Compliance with legal obligations: to comply with laws and regulations that apply to us, including tax and accounting rules, prevention of fraud and money laundering, and obligations to law enforcement or other public authorities where we are required to do so.
Legitimate interests: to pursue our legitimate business interests, provided that your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. These interests include securing our premises and property, managing and improving our services, preventing and detecting crime or misuse of our facilities, maintaining accurate records, and defending or establishing legal claims.
Consent: in specific situations where the law requires your consent, we will process your data only where you have given clear and informed consent. You may withdraw consent at any time, but this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal or processing based on other lawful bases.
How we use your personal data
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
To provide and manage storage services, including booking, access control, customer verification and contract administration. To communicate with you about your account, payments, renewals, changes to terms and important notices about the site or your unit. To process payments, issue invoices and manage debt collection where necessary. To maintain the safety and security of our premises, staff, customers and property, including the use of CCTV, access systems and incident logging. To manage our customer relationship, handle enquiries and complaints, and improve our services and operations. To comply with legal and regulatory obligations and to cooperate with law enforcement or regulatory bodies where required by law.
Data retention
We keep personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Retention periods will depend on the nature of the information and the reasons for which it is processed.
In general, we retain contract and account records for a period necessary to meet tax, accounting and legal obligations and to handle any disputes or claims that may arise after the end of your contract. CCTV footage and access logs are retained for a shorter period, limited to what is reasonably necessary for security, crime prevention and investigation, unless a longer retention period is required due to an active incident or legal request. When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete or anonymise it.
Sharing personal data and processors
We may share your personal data with third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, in accordance with data protection laws and subject to appropriate safeguards.
Service providers and processors: we may use carefully selected third party providers to help us deliver our services and operate our business. These may include providers of storage management software, payment processing services, IT hosting and maintenance, security and CCTV monitoring, debt collection, document archiving, and professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers. These providers act as processors on our behalf and are only permitted to use your personal data in accordance with our instructions and for the specified purposes.
Other recipients: we may disclose personal data to law enforcement agencies, courts, regulatory authorities or other public bodies when required by law or where necessary to protect our rights, our customers, or the safety of individuals. We may also disclose limited information to third parties involved in a potential or actual sale, restructuring or transfer of our business, subject to confidentiality obligations, where permitted by law.
We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
International transfers
Where our service providers are located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, or where data is accessed from another country, we will ensure that an adequate level of protection is in place for your personal data. This may include using countries that have been recognised as providing an adequate level of protection, or using appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses approved by relevant authorities.
Your data protection rights
You have a number of rights under data protection laws in relation to the personal data we hold about you. These include:
Right of access: you can request confirmation that we process your personal data and obtain a copy of that data, together with information about how we use it.
Right to rectification: you can ask us to correct or complete any 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 necessary for the purposes for which it was collected or where you have withdrawn consent and there is no other legal basis for processing.
Right to restriction: you can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, such as where you contest its accuracy or where you have objected to our use of it and we are considering that objection.
Right to object: you can object to our processing of your personal data based on legitimate interests, including profiling, on grounds relating to your particular situation. We will stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests or where processing is necessary for legal claims.
Right to data portability: where processing is based on your consent or on a contract and carried out by automated means, you may be entitled to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and to have it transmitted to another controller where technically feasible.
Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on your consent to process personal data, you may withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing that took place before withdrawal.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe that your data protection rights have been infringed.
How we protect your personal data
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access. These measures include access controls, physical security measures on site, secure storage systems, staff training and regular review of our data handling practices. While we strive to protect your information, no system can be guaranteed as completely secure and you should always take care when sharing personal data.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements or other factors. Any changes will take effect when the revised version is made available. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we handle your personal data.
