Rubbish Collection Kingston Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Rubbish Collection Kingston collects, uses, stores and protects personal data about customers and prospective customers in the Kingston area. It is intended to provide clear information about your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, and how you can exercise those rights.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Rubbish Collection Kingston customers and service users in our operating area, including individuals, residential customers, landlords, letting agents and business clients who contact us, request a quote or use any of our rubbish removal and waste collection services.

Who we are and how to contact us

Rubbish Collection Kingston is a waste removal service provider operating in the Kingston area. We are the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy, which means we decide how and why your personal information is used.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, or if you wish to exercise your data protection rights, you can contact us using the contact details provided on our website or any of our service communications.

Personal data we collect

We collect and process personal data that is necessary for providing our services, running our business and complying with the law. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identification and contact details, such as your name, address, email address and telephone number.

Service and booking information, such as service address, property access instructions, preferred dates and times for collection, details of the rubbish or items to be collected, photographs you choose to send, and notes about your specific requirements.

Account and billing information, such as invoices, payment status, partial payment details, and correspondence regarding quotes and contracts. We do not store full payment card details; card payments are processed securely by third party payment processors.

Communication data, such as emails, messages, phone call notes and any feedback or complaints you provide.

Website and technical data, such as your IP address, device information, approximate location, and information collected through cookies or similar technologies where applicable, to help us improve our website and services.

How we collect personal data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us to request a quote, make a booking, confirm a service, pay an invoice or communicate with us by email, phone or other channels. We may also collect personal data indirectly through third parties who refer you to us, such as letting agents, landlords, estate agents or business partners, where they have permission to share your information for arranging rubbish collection services.

We may receive limited personal data from payment providers and banks, for example confirmation that a payment has been made or declined. We may also collect technical information when you visit our website through your browser or device.

Lawful basis for processing

We only process personal data where we have a lawful basis under data protection laws. Depending on the situation, we rely on the following lawful bases:

Contract. We process personal data to enter into and perform a contract with you, including providing quotes, confirming bookings, collecting rubbish, issuing invoices and managing your account.

Legal obligation. We may process personal data when necessary to comply with legal requirements, such as accounting, tax records, waste transfer documentation and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate interests. We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This can include managing our relationship with you, improving our services, ensuring site and staff safety, preventing fraud and handling customer enquiries and complaints.

Consent. In some cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where we send you certain types of marketing communications by email or SMS. When we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

How we use your personal data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage our rubbish collection and waste removal services, including booking visits, planning routes, collecting and disposing of rubbish and confirming completion of work.

To respond to enquiries, provide quotes and give you information about our services when you request it.

To manage billing, process payments and maintain accounting and tax records.

To communicate with you about your bookings, changes to services, important updates or issues affecting your collection.

To improve our services and customer experience, including reviewing feedback and analysing service performance.

To maintain the security and integrity of our operations, prevent fraud and protect our legal rights.

To send you marketing communications, where permitted, about services that may be relevant to you. You can opt out of such communications at any time.

Data sharing and processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy and where they provide sufficient guarantees to protect your data.

These third parties may act as data processors and include:

Payment service providers who process card and electronic payments on our behalf.

IT and hosting providers who support our website, email and storage systems.

Customer management, booking or scheduling software providers that help us manage enquiries, bookings and service delivery.

Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers where required for compliance or to protect our legal interests.

Waste transfer stations and licensed waste carriers where documentation includes limited personal data, as necessary for legal waste disposal requirements.

We require all processors to keep your data secure, to use it only according to our instructions and to comply with data protection laws. We may also share personal data where required by law, regulation, court order or law enforcement authorities.

International transfers

Where any of our service providers or systems involve transferring personal data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses or equivalent protective measures required by data protection law.

Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including for satisfying legal, accounting or reporting requirements.

In general, we retain customer and booking records for a period aligned with our legal obligations for tax and accounting, usually up to seven years after the end of the financial year in which the transaction took place. Operational records that are no longer needed may be held for shorter periods.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked back to an identifiable person.

Your data protection rights

As a data subject, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data under data protection laws. These include:

Right of access. You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and information about how we process it.

Right to rectification. You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.

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 purpose originally collected, or where you withdraw consent and no other lawful basis applies.

Right to restriction. You may request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in specific situations, such as while we are investigating a concern about accuracy or our use of the data.

Right to data portability. Where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you may request that we provide your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format or transfer it to another controller where technically feasible.

Right to object. You have the right to object to processing that is based on our legitimate interests, including profiling, and to object at any time to direct marketing.

Rights related to automated decision making. Rubbish Collection Kingston does not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

You can exercise your rights by contacting us using our published contact details. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to respond within one month, subject to any lawful extensions.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data, we encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK data protection authority, the Information Commissioner's Office.

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 processing practices. Any updated version will apply to all Rubbish Collection Kingston customers and service users in the Kingston area from the date it is published. We recommend that you review this page periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.