Waste Collection Croydon Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Waste Collection Croydon collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to customers and prospective customers. It applies to all Waste Collection Croydon customers and service users within the Croydon area, including individuals, households, landlords and business clients who engage us for waste collection and related services.

Who we are

Waste Collection Croydon provides waste removal, recycling, and related services in the Croydon area. For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, Waste Collection Croydon is the data controller in respect of the personal data described in this policy. This means we decide how and why your personal data is used and are responsible for making sure it is handled lawfully and securely.

Personal data we collect

We collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you use our services. This may include:

Contact and identification data: name, address, email address, telephone number, and any other details you provide when you contact us or set up a service.

Service and contract data: waste collection service history, type of service requested, location of collections, access instructions, billing preferences, and communications relating to bookings and service delivery.

Payment data: payment method, partial card details, transaction history, and associated billing information. We do not store full payment card details when a third party processes payments on our behalf.

Communication data: details of queries, complaints, feedback and other correspondence you send to us by phone, email, post or online forms.

Technical data: limited technical information such as IP address, device type, and approximate location when you use our online services, to help maintain security and improve performance.

How we collect your data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

Request a quote or book a collection.

Communicate with us by phone, email, online forms or post.

Enter into a contract for regular or one off services.

Provide feedback, make a complaint, or respond to customer satisfaction requests.

We may also receive personal data from third parties, such as:

Payment service providers when you make a payment.

Estate agents, landlords or managing agents who arrange services on your behalf.

Public authorities or local government bodies in relation to waste collection requirements or compliance.

Lawful basis for processing

We only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the nature of our relationship with you, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract: to take steps at your request before entering into a contract and to perform our contract with you, for example to provide waste collection, recycling or related services, issue invoices and manage bookings.

Legal obligation: to comply with our legal and regulatory duties, such as record keeping, accounting, health and safety, and cooperation with regulators and public bodies.

Legitimate interests: to pursue our legitimate business interests, provided these are not overridden by your interests or fundamental rights. These include managing and improving our services, responding to customer queries, training staff, monitoring service performance, and preventing fraud or misuse of our services.

Consent: where required, for example for certain types of direct marketing communications. When we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time by contacting us using the details provided in this policy.

How we use your personal data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To set up and manage your account and service arrangements.

To schedule, deliver and manage waste collection and related services.

To communicate with you about quotes, bookings, changes to services, service updates and customer support.

To process payments, issue invoices, manage billing queries and recover debts.

To handle complaints, disputes and customer feedback.

To maintain accurate records for tax, accounting and regulatory compliance.

To improve our operations, plan routes, and optimise service efficiency in the Croydon area.

To send service related information and, where permitted, limited marketing communications about related services you may find useful.

To protect our business, staff, customers and the public, including through the detection and prevention of fraud, misuse of services or other unlawful activity.

Data sharing and processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your personal data with carefully selected third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including:

Service providers acting as data processors, such as IT hosting and support providers, customer management platforms, payment processors, and document storage providers who process personal data on our instructions and are bound by data protection obligations.

Professional advisers, such as accountants, auditors, legal advisers and insurers, who help us comply with our legal and contractual obligations.

Public authorities, regulators, law enforcement agencies and courts where we are legally required to do so, or where this is necessary to protect our rights, your rights or the rights of others.

Where we engage processors, we ensure that appropriate contracts and safeguards are in place to protect your data and ensure it is processed only in accordance with our instructions and applicable law.

International transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data, such as using standard contractual clauses or ensuring that the recipient country has been recognised as providing an adequate level of data protection.

Data retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to fulfil our contractual obligations, meet legal and regulatory requirements, handle disputes and enforce our agreements.

The exact retention period depends on the type of data and the nature of our relationship with you, but typically:

Service and contract records are kept for the duration of the service relationship and for a period afterwards to deal with any queries or disputes.

Financial and invoicing records are retained for a period required by tax and accounting laws.

Marketing preferences and consent records are kept while you remain subscribed and for a short period afterwards to demonstrate compliance.

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to you.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to certain conditions and legal exceptions, you may:

Access your data: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and information about how we use it.

Rectify your data: ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

Erase your data: request deletion of your personal data where there is no good reason for us to continue processing it, for example where it is no longer needed for the purpose it was collected.

Restrict processing: ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances, such as while we are considering a request to rectify or object.

Object to processing: object to processing that is based on our legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.

Data portability: request that we provide certain personal data to you or to another controller in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format, where this is technically feasible.

Where we rely on consent, you also have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Exercising your rights

If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights, or if you have any questions or concerns about how we handle your personal data, you can contact us using our published contact details. To help us deal with your request efficiently, you may be asked to provide information to confirm your identity and clarify your request.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any concerns directly.

Security of your 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, staff training, secure storage and regular review of our security practices. While we take reasonable steps to protect your data, no method of transmission or storage can be guaranteed as completely secure.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations or data processing practices. Any updated version will apply to all Waste Collection Croydon customers within the Croydon area from the date it is published. We recommend that you review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.