Waste Collection Elephant and Castle Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Waste Collection Elephant and Castle collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to our customers and prospective customers. It also explains your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. This Privacy Policy applies to all Waste Collection Elephant and Castle customers and service users located in the Elephant and Castle area.

Who we are and scope of this policy

Waste Collection Elephant and Castle is a waste collection and related services provider operating in and around the Elephant and Castle area. In the context of applicable data protection laws, we act as the data controller for the personal data that we collect and use in connection with the provision of our services to you.

This Privacy Policy applies when you contact us, request a quote, enter into a contract with us, use our waste collection services, visit our website, or otherwise interact with us as a customer or potential customer in the Elephant and Castle area.

Personal data we collect

We collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with us. The categories of data we may collect include:

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

Service and contract information, such as details of the type of waste collection service you request, service frequency, contract start and end dates, payment terms, and correspondence about your service.

Billing and payment information, such as invoice history, partial payment details, and records of payments made and outstanding balances. We do not store full card details when you pay using card processing services.

Communication data, such as emails, telephone call notes, messages sent through contact forms, and any feedback or complaints you provide.

Technical and usage data, such as information about how you use our website, your IP address, browser type, and pages visited. This may be collected through cookies and similar technologies where permitted by law.

Operational data relating to service performance, such as collection dates and times, service disruptions, and notes relating to access to your property that may be needed to deliver our services safely and efficiently.

How we collect your personal data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us by phone, email, online forms, or in person to request information, obtain a quote, or book our services. We also collect data when you enter into a contract with us, pay an invoice, or communicate with us regarding your service.

We may receive personal data from third parties such as payment processors, business partners, or public sources where this is necessary to provide our services or comply with legal obligations.

Lawful basis for processing your personal data

We will only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so. Depending on the specific processing activity, we rely on the following lawful bases:

Performance of a contract. We process your personal data to take steps at your request before entering into a contract and to perform our contractual obligations, including providing waste collection services, billing, responding to service queries, and managing changes to your service.

Legal obligations. We process certain data to comply with legal and regulatory obligations, such as accounting, tax requirements, record keeping, and obligations relating to waste management and environmental regulations.

Legitimate interests. We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, or those of a third party, and where your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This may include managing and improving our services, maintaining security, preventing fraud, and handling customer queries and complaints.

Consent. In limited situations, such as certain forms of direct marketing communications or optional cookies, we may rely on your consent. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time by contacting us using the details provided in this Privacy Policy or using any unsubscribe options included in our communications.

How we use your personal data

We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:

To provide and manage waste collection and related services you have requested.

To set up and manage your account, including invoicing, payments, and customer support.

To communicate with you about your service, including confirmations, changes to service schedules, and important notices.

To respond to your enquiries, requests for quotes, feedback, or complaints.

To maintain accurate business records and comply with legal and regulatory requirements.

To monitor, maintain, and improve our services, operations, website, and customer experience.

To protect the security and integrity of our systems and prevent misuse or fraud.

To send you relevant information about similar services we offer, where permitted by law and where you have not opted out.

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 set out in this Privacy Policy and where we have a lawful basis to do so.

We may share data with service providers and data processors who act on our instructions and provide services such as payment processing, IT and system support, website hosting, email and communication tools, accounting and bookkeeping services, and waste transport or subcontracted collection services. These processors are contractually required to keep your personal data secure, use it only as instructed by us, and comply with applicable data protection laws.

We may share data with professional advisers, such as lawyers, accountants, or insurers, when necessary to obtain professional advice, manage disputes, or handle insurance matters.

We may share personal data with regulatory authorities, law enforcement, or public bodies where we are required or permitted by law to do so.

International transfers

Where any of our service providers or processors are located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place before any personal data is transferred. These safeguards may include the use of standard contractual clauses or other approved mechanisms to ensure your data is afforded a level of protection essentially equivalent to that provided by UK data protection law.

Data retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

In general, we retain customer account and contract information for a period necessary to provide our services and for a reasonable period after the end of the contract to handle any queries, disputes, or legal claims. Financial and invoice records are typically retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.

Where we process personal data based on your consent and you withdraw that consent, we will stop the relevant processing and, where appropriate, delete or anonymise the data, unless we have a separate lawful basis to retain it.

How we protect your personal data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures include access controls, secure storage, restricted access to personal data, and staff training on data protection responsibilities.

While we take reasonable steps to protect your personal data, no system or transmission of data over the internet can be guaranteed as completely secure. You are responsible for keeping any account details or passwords confidential and notifying us promptly of any suspected unauthorised use.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection laws, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to certain conditions and exemptions. Your rights include:

The right of access, which allows you to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, together with information about how we process it.

The right to rectification, which allows you to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

The right to erasure, in certain circumstances, which allows you to request that we delete personal data where there is no longer a lawful basis for us to retain or process it.

The right to restrict processing, which allows you to request that we limit the way we process your data in certain situations.

The right to data portability, which allows you, in certain cases, to receive personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transmit it to another controller.

The right to object, which allows you to object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including profiling, and to direct marketing activities.

The right to withdraw consent, where we rely on consent as the lawful basis for processing. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office if you believe that your data protection rights have been infringed.

Contacting us about privacy

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, how we handle your personal data, or if you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights, you can contact us using the contact details provided on our main customer communication channels. Please clearly state your request and provide enough information to help us identify you and respond appropriately.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or operational needs. Any updated version will apply to all Waste Collection Elephant and Castle customers and service users in the Elephant and Castle area from the date it is published. We recommend that you review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we use and protect your personal data.