Storage Woodlands Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Storage Woodlands collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to our customers and prospective customers in our service area. It also describes the rights you have under the General Data Protection Regulation and related data protection laws. By using Storage Woodlands services, visiting our premises or communicating with us, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
Scope and data controller
This Privacy Policy applies to all Storage Woodlands customers, prospective customers and visitors in our operating area, whether they interact with us online, by phone, in writing or in person at our facilities. Storage Woodlands is the data controller in respect of the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means that we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data.
Personal data we collect
We may collect and process the following categories of personal data about you, depending on how you interact with us and the services you use:
Identification and contact details, such as name, postal address, billing address, contact preferences and any identifiers required for contract administration. Account and contract information, such as unit number, contract dates, services selected, payment status, communications relating to your contract and transaction history. Payment and billing information, such as payment method details, invoices, charges and records of payments made, handled in accordance with payment industry standards. Access and security information, such as vehicle registration details, access codes or fob identifiers, sign-in logs, CCTV recordings on and around our premises and incident reports where relevant for safety and security. Communication records, such as enquiries, complaints, feedback and other correspondence between you and Storage Woodlands, including information you voluntarily provide. Technical and usage data, such as information about how you use our website or online services, including log data, device information, basic analytics, and cookie-related information where applicable.
Lawful basis for processing personal data
Storage Woodlands processes personal data only where we have a lawful basis under the GDPR. Depending on the context, we rely on the following bases:
Contract performance, where processing is necessary to enter into or perform a storage or related services contract with you, including account set-up, provisioning access, billing and customer support. Legal obligations, where we must process personal data to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, such as tax, accounting, safety and security, and record-keeping duties. Legitimate interests, where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests or those of a third party, and these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. These interests may include operating and improving our facilities and services, ensuring security of our premises, preventing and detecting fraud or misuse, and managing our business operations. Consent, where we rely on your freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous consent, for example for certain marketing communications or optional services. Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time.
Purposes of data use
We may use your personal data for the following purposes:
To manage our relationship with you as a customer or prospective customer, including handling enquiries, quotations and bookings. To enter into, administer and perform storage and related services contracts, including access control, unit allocation, rent collection and account management. To secure and monitor our premises and protect people, property and assets, including through access logs and CCTV monitoring in and around our facilities where proportionate and lawful. To process payments, maintain financial records and carry out internal accounting, reporting and audits. To provide customer service, respond to feedback or complaints, and handle disputes or claims. To conduct limited marketing and promotional activities, such as informing you of relevant services or offers, in line with applicable direct marketing rules and your preferences. To comply with legal obligations and cooperate with authorities where lawfully required, such as in the context of investigations, court orders or regulatory requests. To maintain, test and improve our systems, facilities and processes, including website functionality and security.
Data retention periods
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and to meet legal, accounting or reporting requirements. In determining appropriate retention periods, we consider the nature and sensitivity of the data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process it and applicable legal obligations.
Customer account and contract data are generally retained for the duration of your contract and for a reasonable period afterwards to manage queries, disputes, accounting and legal obligations. Financial records and invoices are retained for the period required by tax and company law. CCTV footage and access records are retained for a limited period that is proportionate to security needs, unless a specific incident requires longer retention for investigation or legal proceedings. Marketing-related data are retained until you opt out or until it becomes clear that you are no longer actively interested in our services, subject to statutory limitations.
Data sharing and processors
We do not sell your personal data. We may share your data with carefully selected third parties where this is necessary and lawful, including:
Service providers acting as data processors who support our operations, such as providers of IT systems, website hosting, cloud storage, access control systems, CCTV maintenance, payment processing, customer relationship management tools and professional advisers. These processors only process personal data on our documented instructions and are subject to confidentiality and data protection obligations. Professional advisers and insurers where necessary for legal, insurance, compliance or risk management purposes. Public authorities, regulators, law enforcement or courts where we are legally required to disclose personal data or where disclosure is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
Where processors are located outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place for international data transfers, such as adequacy decisions or standard contractual clauses, in accordance with applicable data protection law.
Security of your personal data
Storage Woodlands takes appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures may include controlled access to systems and premises, encryption or pseudonymisation where appropriate, regular backups, staff training and policies governing the handling of personal data. While we take reasonable steps to safeguard your data, no system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Your data protection rights
Under the GDPR and applicable data protection laws, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data, subject to certain conditions and legal exceptions. These rights include:
Right of access, meaning you can request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and obtain a copy of that data, along with information about the processing. Right to rectification, meaning you can request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you. Right to erasure, sometimes known as the right to be forgotten, meaning you can request deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances, for example where the data are no longer necessary for the purposes for which they were collected or where you withdraw consent and there is no other legal basis for processing. Right to restriction of processing, meaning you can request that we limit how we use your data in certain circumstances, such as while we verify accuracy or assess an objection. Right to data portability, meaning you can, in certain cases, receive personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and request that we transmit it to another controller where technically feasible. Right to object, meaning you can object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including profiling, and we will stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms or where processing is required for legal claims. You also have an absolute right to object at any time to processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes. Rights in relation to consent, meaning that where we process data based on your 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 data protection rights or have questions about this Privacy Policy or how Storage Woodlands handles your personal data, you can contact us through our usual customer communication channels. When you make a request, we may need to verify your identity to protect your data from unauthorised access.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority if you believe that our processing of your personal data infringes data protection law. We encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve your concerns directly.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations or how we process personal data. Any updated version will apply to all Storage Woodlands customers in our service area from the date it is made available. We recommend that you review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.
