Rubbish Collection Westminster Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Rubbish Collection Westminster collects, uses, stores and shares personal data about its customers in the Westminster area. It also explains your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. This Privacy Policy applies to all customers and prospective customers who use, or enquire about using, Rubbish Collection Westminster services within the Westminster area.

Who we are and how to contact us

Rubbish Collection Westminster is a waste and recycling collection service operating in the Westminster area. For the purposes of data protection laws, Rubbish Collection Westminster is the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. 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 service information channels in the Westminster area. When you contact us about your data, please provide your name, contact details and a clear description of your request.

Personal data we collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary to provide and manage our rubbish collection services and to meet our legal obligations. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Your contact details, such as your full name, address in the Westminster area, email address and telephone number.

Service information, such as details of the type of rubbish collection service you use, your preferred collection schedule, records of collections provided at your address and information about any additional services or special requirements.

Billing and payment data, such as billing address, service charges, payment history and limited payment details necessary to process your payments. Where payments are processed by a third party payment provider, we generally do not receive or store full card details.

Communication records, such as emails, letters, call notes, and messages that you send to us or that we send to you in connection with your rubbish collection service.

Technical and usage information, such as basic details about how you access our service information channels, including date and time of contact and basic device or browser details, where applicable.

Compliance and security information, such as records of incidents, complaints, disputes, and any information required to comply with health and safety, environmental and regulatory obligations.

How we collect your data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us to request a quotation, set up or manage a rubbish collection service, make a payment, submit a query or complaint, or otherwise communicate with us. We may also receive personal data from third parties where this is necessary to provide our services or to comply with applicable law. For example, we may receive address or contact details from local property managers, landlords, or public bodies in connection with waste and recycling services for specific properties in Westminster.

Lawful basis for using your data

We only process your personal data when we have a lawful basis to do so. Depending on the context, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract: We process your personal data to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, and to perform our contract with you. This includes setting up, delivering and managing rubbish collection services, processing payments, responding to queries about your service and providing customer support.

Legal obligation: We process your personal data where this is necessary to comply with legal and regulatory obligations, including environmental regulations, waste management rules, health and safety requirements, accounting standards and tax laws.

Legitimate interests: We process your personal data where this is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This may include managing and improving our services, handling complaints and disputes, preventing fraud, ensuring site and system security, and keeping you informed about important service changes that are relevant to you.

Consent: In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where you have expressly agreed to receive certain forms of direct marketing or optional communications. When we rely on consent, you are free to withdraw it at any time.

How we use your personal data

We use your personal data to provide and manage rubbish collection services in the Westminster area, and in particular to:

Set up and manage your customer account and service arrangements.

Plan and carry out rubbish and recycling collections at your address.

Issue invoices, process and record payments and manage any arrears or billing queries.

Respond to your questions, requests, feedback and complaints.

Monitor service performance, manage operational logistics and improve our services.

Comply with legal, regulatory and environmental obligations, including providing information to relevant public authorities where required by law.

Protect our rights and the rights of others, including preventing and addressing misuse of our services, fraud or criminal activity.

Sharing your data and use of processors

We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where this is necessary to provide our services, meet our legal obligations or protect our legitimate interests. These third parties act either as independent controllers or as data processors on our behalf.

Data processors are organisations that process personal data for us and according to our instructions. Typical processors we may use include:

IT and systems providers that host or support our customer databases, communication tools and operational systems.

Payment processing providers that manage secure payment transactions on our behalf.

Customer service support providers that assist with handling calls, emails or service requests.

Professional advisers such as accountants and legal advisers who support our business operations.

Where we use processors, we ensure there is a written contract in place requiring them to keep your data secure, use it only for the agreed purposes and comply with data protection law.

We may also share personal data with public authorities, regulators, law enforcement agencies or courts where we are legally required to do so, or where it is necessary to protect our rights or the rights of others.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

International transfers

Where any of our service providers or processors are located outside the United Kingdom, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that your personal data is protected in line with applicable data protection laws. This may include relying on an adequacy decision or using standard contractual clauses or equivalent safeguards approved by data protection authorities.

Data retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to fulfil our contract with you, to meet legal and regulatory requirements and to resolve disputes.

In general, we retain customer account and service records for a period necessary to meet accounting and tax obligations and to respond to any queries or disputes that may arise after the service ends. Communication records and operational data are kept for periods that reflect operational needs and legal requirements. When personal 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. These rights apply to all Rubbish Collection Westminster customers in the Westminster area, subject to certain legal exemptions.

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

Right to rectification: You have the right to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

Right to erasure: You may ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected and there is no legal requirement for us to keep it.

Right to restriction: You have the right to ask us to restrict our use of your personal data in specific situations, such as while we are considering a request to correct or erase it.

Right to data portability: In some cases, you have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and to ask us to transmit it to another organisation where this is 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 our lawful basis. We will stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests or we need to continue processing for legal reasons.

Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on your consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing that took place before you withdrew it.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the contact details provided on our main service information channels. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request.

Complaints and your right to contact the regulator

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, we ask that you contact us first so that we can try to address your concerns. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the data protection regulator in the United Kingdom. Details of how to do this are available from the regulator directly.

Security of your personal 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 are designed to provide a level of security appropriate to the risks associated with the processing of your data. However, no system can be guaranteed as completely secure, and you are encouraged to take steps to keep your own information safe, such as protecting your account and communication devices.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, our practices or legal requirements. When we make significant changes, we will take reasonable steps to inform customers in the Westminster area. The most recent version of this Privacy Policy will always apply to the personal data we hold and use.