Privacy Policy - Rubbish Junk

This Privacy Policy explains how Rubbish Junk collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our waste collection, rubbish removal, and related services. It applies to all Rubbish Junk customers in area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and business customers who use our services or interact with us in connection with a booking, quotation, enquiry, or service delivery.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy is intended to inform you about the categories of data we collect, the purposes for which we use it, the legal bases on which we rely, how long we keep it, the third parties who may process it on our behalf, and the rights you have over your personal information.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the personal data that is necessary to provide our services, manage our relationship with you, and meet our legal obligations. The type of information we may collect includes:

Identity information such as your name, title, and, where relevant, company or organisation name.
Contact details such as address, telephone number, and email address.
Service information such as collection address, access instructions, service preferences, photographs you provide, and details of items to be removed.
Transaction information such as payment status, invoices, booking records, and service history.
Communications including messages, complaints, enquiries, and feedback.
Technical information if you use an online form or digital service, such as device type, browser data, and IP address.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it to us, or it is incidentally included in communications. If such information is received, we will handle it with additional care and only where lawful to do so.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and respond to enquiries;
to arrange and deliver rubbish removal services;
to communicate about bookings, changes, cancellations, and service issues;
to process payments and maintain financial records;
to manage complaints, disputes, and customer support;
to comply with legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations;
to improve our services, operations, and customer experience;
to prevent fraud, misuse, and unlawful activity;
to maintain internal records and service quality.

We only use personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose and that such use is lawful.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Rubbish Junk relies on the following bases, depending on the context:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing enquiries, confirming bookings, carrying out collections, issuing invoices, and handling service-related communications.

Legal Obligation

We may process data to comply with legal duties, such as record-keeping, tax compliance, regulatory requirements, waste transfer documentation, and other statutory obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This may include maintaining customer records, improving services, preventing fraud, ensuring security, and handling complaints.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example if we wish to send certain optional communications or process information that is not otherwise covered by another lawful basis. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf or as independent controllers where appropriate. These organisations are only permitted to use your data in accordance with our instructions or their own legal obligations.

Examples of processors and recipients may include:

Payment service providers who process card or electronic payments securely.
IT and hosting providers who store or support our systems, email services, or digital records.
Accounting and bookkeeping services that help manage invoices, tax records, and financial reporting.
Customer management or booking systems used to organise service requests and records.
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, legal advisers, or auditors where necessary.
Public authorities or regulators where disclosure is required by law.

We require all processors to implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures and to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. We do not sell your personal data.

5. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. The retention period will depend on the nature of the data and the reasons for processing it.

In general:

Customer and service records are retained for as long as needed to manage the relationship and after that for a reasonable period to deal with follow-up queries or disputes.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law, which may be several years.
Communication records may be retained for quality, training, and complaint-handling purposes for a limited time.
Legal or insurance-related records may be retained for longer where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

When personal data is no longer needed, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or archived in accordance with our retention practices.

6. Your Rights

You have a number of rights under data protection law, subject to certain conditions and exceptions. These rights include:

Right of access – you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – you may request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – you may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object – you may object to processing based on legitimate interests.
Right to data portability – you may request certain data in a portable format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to raise concerns about how your data is handled. If you believe your rights have not been respected, you may seek review through the appropriate data protection authority.

7. Security of Your Information

We take appropriate measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include restricted access controls, secure storage, staff training, and contractual safeguards with processors. However, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, and we encourage you to take care when sharing information with us.

8. International Transfers

Where data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that suitable safeguards are in place and that the transfer complies with applicable data protection law. Such safeguards may include adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. The most current version will apply to your use of our services. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we handle personal data.

10. Summary of Key Principles

In summary, Rubbish Junk processes personal data only where necessary, lawfully, and transparently. We collect data to provide and improve our services, meet legal duties, and manage our customer relationship responsibly. We keep data for no longer than needed, share it only with trusted processors or where required by law, and respect your rights over your information. This policy applies to all Rubbish Junk customers in area and is designed to ensure that personal data is handled with care, fairness, and accountability.