Waste Collection Bow Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Waste Collection Bow collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to our waste collection and associated services. It applies to all Waste Collection Bow customers in the Bow area, including residential and business customers who contact us, request a quote, make a booking, or otherwise use our services.

We are committed to complying with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. This Privacy Policy is intended to provide clear and transparent information so that you understand how and why we process your personal data.

Data controller and contact details

Waste Collection Bow acts as the data controller for the personal data we collect about our customers in the Bow area. This means that we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or about how we handle your personal data, you can contact us using the contact details provided on our main customer communications, invoices or booking confirmations.

Personal data we collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for the provision and management of our waste collection services. The types of personal data we may collect include:

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

Service details, such as the type of waste collection service booked, service frequency, service address, and access instructions for your property or business premises.

Billing and payment information, such as billing address, payment status and payment method details as required to process your transactions. We do not store full payment card details where payments are processed securely through a payment service provider.

Communication records, such as emails, messages, telephone call notes, complaints, queries and feedback related to our services.

Technical information, such as basic device and usage information where you interact with us through our website or digital channels. This may include IP address, browser type and approximate location, as necessary for security and service improvement.

How we collect your personal data

We collect data directly from you when you contact us by phone or email, request a quote, complete a form, make a booking, enter into a contract for waste collection services, make a payment, or provide feedback.

We may also receive personal data indirectly when a third party arranges waste collection on your behalf, for example, a managing agent, landlord or facilities manager, who provides us with your contact details and service address so that we can deliver the agreed services.

Lawful bases for processing your personal data

We process your personal data only when we have a lawful basis to do so. Depending on the situation, the lawful bases we rely on may include:

Contract: We process personal data that is necessary to enter into and perform a contract with you, such as providing waste collection services, managing bookings, and handling payments.

Legal obligation: We may process personal data where this is required to meet legal and regulatory obligations, such as record keeping, tax, accounting, and compliance with local authority requirements relating to waste management.

Legitimate interests: We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This can include managing our relationship with you, improving our services, ensuring the security of our systems, preventing fraud and handling customer service queries.

Consent: In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example, if we send certain types of marketing communications. Where processing is based on consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

How we use your personal data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage waste collection services, including scheduling collections, confirming bookings, and communicating with you about service arrangements.

To manage customer accounts and relationships, including issuing invoices, processing payments, handling enquiries and managing service changes or cancellations.

To respond to complaints, disputes or claims and to provide customer support.

To comply with legal, regulatory and law enforcement requirements, including record keeping obligations.

To monitor and improve our services, operations and customer experience, including reviewing feedback and analysing service performance in the Bow area.

To protect our business, staff, customers and property, including the prevention and detection of fraud or abuse of our services.

Data sharing and use of processors

We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where this is necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and permitted under data protection law. These third parties may act as data processors, processing your personal data on our instructions.

Typical categories of processors include:

Payment service providers who process payments and handle transaction security on our behalf.

IT and system support providers who host, maintain and support our customer databases, booking systems and communications platforms.

External professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers, where necessary for our business operations and compliance.

We require all processors to provide appropriate safeguards to protect your personal data and to process it only according to our documented instructions. They are not permitted to use your personal data for their own purposes.

We may also share limited information with local authorities or regulatory bodies where required by law or where it is necessary to fulfil waste management obligations or respond to lawful requests.

International transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area by one of our processors, we require that appropriate safeguards be in place, such as standard contractual clauses or equivalent protections recognised under data protection law. We take steps to ensure that your data remains protected to a standard consistent with that required under the UK GDPR.

Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including the satisfaction of any legal, accounting or reporting requirements.

In general, we retain customer records for the duration of your contract or service relationship with us, and for a reasonable period afterwards to deal with any queries, disputes or legal claims. Financial and transaction records are typically retained for a longer period where required by tax and accounting laws.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete or anonymise it so that it can no longer be associated with you.

Security of your personal data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures include access controls, secure storage, regular review of security practices and staff training on data protection responsibilities.

While we take reasonable steps to protect your personal data, no system can be completely secure. We therefore cannot guarantee the absolute security of your data, but we aim to ensure it is protected to a level that is appropriate to the risks involved.

Your data protection rights

As a customer of Waste Collection Bow, you have a number of rights under data protection law. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, these include:

Right of access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and information about how we process it.

Right to rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.

Right to erasure: In certain circumstances, you have the right to request that we delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected and we have no legal grounds to retain it.

Right to restriction of processing: You may have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, such as while a dispute about its accuracy is being resolved.

Right to data portability: In some cases, you may have the right to receive personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format, and to request that we transmit that data to another controller, where technically feasible.

Right to object: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as the lawful basis, including profiling related to those interests. We will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds to continue.

Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on consent for processing, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

Exercising your rights and complaints

If you would like to exercise any of your data protection rights or have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us using the contact details provided in our customer communications. We may need to verify your identity before responding to certain requests.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you are unhappy with how we have used your data. 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 requirements or data protection practices. Any updates will apply to all Waste Collection Bow customers in the Bow area from the date the revised policy is issued. We recommend that you review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.