Privacy Policy - Marksgate Storage

Effective Date: This Privacy Policy applies to all Marksgate Storage customers in the area and explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Marksgate Storage is committed to handling personal information fairly, lawfully, transparently, and securely. We only collect and use personal data where it is necessary for the provision and management of our storage services, to meet legal and regulatory obligations, and to support our legitimate business interests in operating a safe and reliable storage facility.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We collect personal data that is necessary to provide storage services, manage your account, communicate with you, and maintain the safety and security of our premises and systems. The categories of information we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name, date of birth, and, where needed, proof of identity;
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number;
Account and contract information including booking details, unit allocation, payment status, invoices, and service preferences;
Financial information such as payment card details or bank information, where required to process payments securely;
Security information including access records, key fob or gate access logs, CCTV images, incident reports, and visitor records;
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, complaints, and customer service correspondence;
Technical information such as device, browser, or access-system logs if you use any online or electronic account services associated with your storage arrangement.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and permitted by law. If such data is ever provided to us, we will handle it with additional care and only process it where a lawful basis applies.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to set up and manage your storage agreement;
to identify you and verify your eligibility to use our services;
to process payments, refunds, and account administration;
to communicate with you about your unit, invoices, service updates, or policy changes;
to monitor access and support the security of our premises, staff, customers, and property;
to investigate incidents, disputes, suspected fraud, or misuse of our services;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, insurance, and regulatory obligations;
to improve our operations, customer service, and site management;
to defend, establish, or exercise legal claims where necessary.

We use your data only to the extent needed for these purposes and apply appropriate safeguards to limit access and prevent misuse.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a valid lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the context, Marksgate Storage may rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform our storage contract with you. This includes setting up your account, managing your unit, collecting payments, and providing access to services you have requested.

Legal Obligation

We process data where required to comply with applicable law, such as tax law, accounting rules, health and safety obligations, fraud prevention requirements, or requests from lawful authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. These interests may include maintaining site security, preventing theft or damage, managing customer service, improving our services, enforcing agreements, and ensuring business continuity.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where you choose to receive certain optional communications or where another basis is not suitable. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

Important: We do not use personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the original reason it was collected unless we have a valid legal basis to do so.

4. Sharing Your Personal Data

We may share your personal data with selected third parties who act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. These parties are only given access to the data necessary for the relevant task and must protect it appropriately.

Processors

Our processors may include:

Payment service providers for secure payment processing;
IT and cloud service providers for data storage, hosting, security, and system maintenance;
Security providers for CCTV, access control, alarm monitoring, and incident management;
Professional advisers such as accountants, auditors, insurers, legal advisers, and compliance consultants;
Customer service and communications platforms used to manage enquiries and account correspondence.

Where these providers process personal data on our behalf, they are bound by contract to follow our instructions, keep data secure, and use it only for the agreed purpose.

Other disclosures

We may also disclose data if required by law, to protect the rights and safety of Marksgate Storage or others, or in connection with a sale, merger, restructuring, or transfer of business assets, subject to appropriate safeguards.

5. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK or European Economic Area, we ensure that appropriate legal safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent protections required by law. We take care to ensure that your data remains protected to a standard consistent with UK GDPR.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, regulatory, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason for processing.

Contract and account records: retained for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period after it ends;
Payment and invoice records: retained for the period required by tax and accounting law;
Security logs and CCTV: retained for a limited time unless needed for incident investigation, legal claims, or regulatory purposes;
Complaints and correspondence: retained as long as necessary to resolve issues and maintain proper records;
Legal or claims-related records: retained until the limitation period for potential claims has expired.

When data is no longer required, we delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to an identifiable individual.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply in different circumstances and may be subject to legal limits.

Right of access: you can request confirmation of whether we process your data and obtain a copy of it;
Right to rectification: you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
Right to erasure: you can ask us to delete your data where there is no valid reason to keep it;
Right to restriction: you can ask us to limit processing in certain circumstances;
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing where applicable;
Right to data portability: you can request that certain data you provided to us be transferred to you or another organisation in a structured, commonly used format;
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time;
Right to complain: you can raise concerns with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe your data has been mishandled.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a rights request. We will respond within the time limits required by law and may extend that period where requests are complex or numerous.

8. Security of Your Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, loss, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, staff confidentiality obligations, encryption, secure storage, monitoring, and regular review of our data handling practices. While no system is completely risk-free, we work continuously to reduce risks and maintain a high level of security.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adult customers and business users. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children for storage account purposes. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected data from a child without proper authorisation, we will take steps to delete it or otherwise process it lawfully.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, our services, or our data handling practices. Where appropriate, we will provide a notice of significant changes. Please review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Marksgate Storage is dedicated to processing personal data in a transparent and responsible way. We collect only the information needed to provide and secure our services, rely on lawful grounds for processing, retain data for appropriate periods, use trusted processors under contract, and respect your data protection rights. This policy applies to all Marksgate Storage customers in area and is designed to ensure that your personal information is handled with care, fairness, and compliance.