Privacy policy

This policy explains what Removals Ashford does with personal information collected through this website and in the ordinary course of quoting for, arranging and carrying out storage and removals work in Ashford and the surrounding TN postcodes.

Who is responsible

Removals Ashford is the data controller for the information described here. Questions, requests and complaints all go to hello@removals-ashford.co.uk, and a person reads them rather than an automated system.

What we collect, and when

When you ask for a quote

The quote form collects your name, phone number, email address, the pickup address, the drop-off address, an optional moving date, and optional notes. Nothing on that form is collected for any purpose other than answering your enquiry and, if you go ahead, carrying out the work.

When you email or ring

Whatever you choose to tell us, plus the contact details you use. If a survey happens we record the volume, the access and any notes the surveyor takes about the property — which floor, whether there is a lift, where a vehicle can stand.

If you store with us

An inventory of what is in your containers, the storage agreement, and the contact details needed to reach you while your goods are held. We need to be able to identify you before we release anything, so this information is kept for as long as the goods are with us and for a period afterwards for accounting and claims purposes.

When you simply visit

Standard server logs — IP address, browser, the pages requested — and, if analytics is enabled, aggregate measurement of which pages are read. We do not use advertising trackers, and there is no cross-site profiling here.

Why we are allowed to hold it

• To answer your enquiry. You asked us a question; replying to it is what you expect.
• To perform a contract. Once you book a move or a storage agreement, we need your details to carry it out.
• Legitimate interests. Keeping records of jobs quoted and carried out, protecting our staff and premises, and understanding which pages of this site are useful.
• Legal obligation. Accounting and tax records have retention periods set by law, not by us.

Spam protection on the form

The quote form uses Google reCAPTCHA to distinguish real enquiries from automated ones. That service receives technical signals from your browser and is governed by Google's own privacy terms. Without it the form would be unusable within a week.

Who else sees it

Enquiries are delivered to our own systems and read by the people who quote and run jobs. Beyond that, information is shared only where it is necessary:

• Our hosting and email providers, who process data on our instructions.
• Insurers, where a claim is made.
• Customs authorities and clearing agents, on an international move — the inventory and the transfer-of-residence documents are the whole basis of clearance, and they cannot be lodged without your details.
• Our accountant, and anyone else we are legally obliged to disclose to.

We do not sell enquiry data, and we do not pass your details to other removals firms or to lead-generation brokers. If you contact us and go elsewhere, nothing about that enquiry is traded on.

International moves

Where you are moving abroad, information necessarily travels with the goods — your inventory, your address at the destination, your residency documentation. That is a requirement of the destination country's customs process rather than a choice we make, and it is limited to what clearance actually requires.

How long it is kept

Enquiries that do not turn into work are kept for a reasonable period in case you come back to us, then deleted. Records of completed jobs are kept for the period needed for accounting, insurance and any claims window. Storage records are kept while the goods are held and for a period after redelivery. Ask and we will tell you what we hold on you.

Your rights

You can ask for a copy of what we hold, ask us to correct it, ask us to delete it, object to how we are using it, or ask for it in a portable form. Email hello@removals-ashford.co.uk and we will deal with it within the statutory period.

Some things we cannot delete on request — an inventory of goods currently in our warehouse, or accounting records covered by a legal retention period. We will say clearly which category anything falls into rather than refusing without explanation.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, tell us first and let us try to fix it. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Cookies

This site sets no marketing or advertising cookies. If analytics is enabled, it sets measurement cookies that count visits and page views in aggregate. Your browser can block or clear them; nothing on this site stops working if you do.

Changes

If this policy changes materially we will update this page. The terms that apply to a specific job are the ones you were given when you booked it, not whatever this page says later.

See also our terms, and how to reach us.