Rubbish Collection Kingston upon Thames Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Rubbish Collection Kingston upon Thames collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data relating to our customers and prospective customers within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. It also describes your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This policy applies to all services provided by Rubbish Collection Kingston upon Thames to individuals, households, landlords, letting agents, housing associations, and business customers in the Kingston upon Thames area, whether you contact us online, by phone, in writing, or in person.

Data controller details

The data controller responsible for your personal data is Rubbish Collection Kingston upon Thames. We determine the purposes and means of processing personal data in connection with the rubbish and waste collection services that we provide in the Kingston upon Thames area.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or about how we handle your personal data, you can contact us using the details provided on our standard customer communication channels.

Personal data we collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data when you use our services or interact with us:

Identification and contact details such as your name, title, postal address, property location for collection, email address, telephone number and mobile number.

Service and contract details such as the type of service requested, size and nature of the waste collection, frequency of collections, preferred dates and times, and any special instructions you provide.

Payment and billing information such as payment method, billing address, and invoice records. Card details are handled via secure payment processors and are not retained by us beyond what is necessary for processing payments and managing refunds or queries.

Communication records such as emails, call notes, text messages, and any other correspondence between you and Rubbish Collection Kingston upon Thames, including complaints, queries, and feedback.

Usage and technical information such as how you interact with our website or digital services, basic device and browser information, and log information that may be collected through standard website or communications systems.

Photographs and site notes where necessary, for example images of waste to provide quotations, confirm completion of a collection, verify compliance with environmental regulations, or investigate a complaint.

How we collect your personal data

We collect personal data directly from you when you request a quote, book a service, make a payment, contact our customer service team, submit a complaint or query, or otherwise communicate with us about rubbish collection services.

We may also receive personal data from third parties where this is necessary to provide our services, for example from managing agents, landlords, letting agents, business partners, or local organisations that arrange waste services on your behalf.

In addition, we may collect some technical and usage data automatically when you visit or interact with our website or digital tools, using standard technologies such as server logs.

Lawful bases for processing

We only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so under data protection law. Depending on the specific processing activity, we rely on one or more of the following bases:

Performance of a contract We process your personal data to take steps at your request before entering into a contract and to perform the contract once it is in place. This includes providing quotations, confirming bookings, carrying out rubbish collection and related services, issuing invoices, and communicating with you regarding the service.

Legal obligation We process certain data where this is necessary to comply with legal and regulatory obligations, including environmental regulations, waste transfer and duty of care requirements, tax and accounting laws, and health and safety obligations.

Legitimate interests We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This includes managing our relationship with you, improving our services, handling enquiries and complaints, sending service related updates, and maintaining accurate business records.

Consent In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of optional marketing communications where consent is the appropriate lawful basis. You can withdraw your consent at any time using the contact details provided through our usual customer communication channels.

How we use your personal data

Rubbish Collection Kingston upon Thames uses your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage rubbish collection and related services in the Kingston upon Thames area, including arranging collections, accessing your property as agreed, and managing any follow up work.

To respond to your enquiries, provide quotations, confirm bookings, adjust collection times or locations, and keep you informed about the status of your service.

To process payments, issue invoices and receipts, manage refunds and chargebacks, and maintain accurate financial records.

To comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including waste documentation, record keeping obligations, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

To manage our business operations, including internal administration, service quality monitoring, staff training, and the prevention and detection of fraud or misuse of our services.

To send you information directly related to the services you receive, such as important service notices, operational updates, or changes to this Privacy Policy.

Where permitted, to inform you about new or related services that may be of interest to you, in accordance with your communication preferences and applicable marketing rules.

Data sharing and processors

We may share your personal data with trusted third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These processors are only permitted to process your personal data in accordance with our written instructions and are required to implement appropriate security measures.

Examples of data processors we may use include payment service providers who process your payments securely, IT and cloud service providers who host our systems and data, customer relationship management and communications providers, and professional advisers such as accountants or auditors where necessary for our business operations.

In some cases we may share personal data with independent data controllers where necessary. This may include banks and financial institutions, insurers, legal advisers, and regulatory or enforcement authorities when required by law.

We do not sell your personal data and we do not permit third parties to use your personal data for their own unrelated marketing purposes.

Data retention

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

In general, customer and service records are kept for the duration of your relationship with us and for a defined period afterwards to deal with any enquiries, disputes, or claims. Financial and transaction records are typically retained for at least six years in line with tax and accounting obligations.

Where we no longer need your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, we will either securely delete it or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to you.

International transfers

If we transfer personal data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with applicable data protection laws. This may include using countries that have an adequacy decision or entering into standard contractual clauses or other legally recognised safeguards.

Data security

We take the security of your personal data seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, encryption, staff training, and regular review of our security practices.

Your data protection rights

As a data subject under the UK GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights apply to all Rubbish Collection Kingston upon Thames customers within the Kingston upon Thames area, subject to certain legal limitations and exemptions.

Right of access You have the right to request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and to receive a copy of that data, along with certain information about how it is used.

Right to rectification You have the right to ask us to correct inaccurate personal data and to complete incomplete data that we hold about you.

Right to erasure In certain circumstances, you may have the right to request that we delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and there is no overriding legal reason for us to continue processing it.

Right to restrict processing You have the right in some situations to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data, for example while we investigate a concern about its accuracy or our use of it.

Right to data portability Where we process your personal data by automated means on the basis of your consent or a contract, you may have the right to receive that data in a structured, commonly used, and machine readable format and to request that we transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.

Right to object You have the right to object at any time to our processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis, including any profiling based on those interests. You also have an absolute right to object to direct marketing.

Rights in relation to automated decision making You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal or similarly significant effects about you, unless certain conditions are met.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using our usual customer communication details. We may need to verify your identity before responding and we will respond within the timeframes required by law.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, please contact us in the first instance so that we can try to resolve your concern. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK supervisory authority for data protection, the Information Commissioner's Office.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, our data processing practices, or legal and regulatory developments. Any updates will be made available through our usual customer information channels, and the updated policy will apply from the date it is published.

By continuing to use the services of Rubbish Collection Kingston upon Thames after any changes to this Privacy Policy, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the updated policy as it applies to your use of our services in the Kingston upon Thames area.