STORAGE:

1. So long as all fees are paid up to date, You: (a) are licensed to store Goods in the Unit allocated to You by FO from time to time and only in that Unit; (b) are deemed to have knowledge of the Goods in the Unit; and (c) warrant that You are the owner of the Goods in the Unit and/or entitled at law to deal with them in accordance with all aspects of this Agreement as agent for the owner.

2. FO: (a) does not have and will not be deemed to have knowledge of the Goods; (b) is not a bailee, custodian or warehouseman of the Goods and You acknowledge that FO does not take possession of the Goods; and (c) does not grant any lease or tenancy of the Unit.

3. This Agreement will come into existence between FO and You when FO notifies You it has accepted the order by signing the cover sheet. The storage period will begin on the date agreed with You during the order process and set out on the cover sheet.

COST:

4. You are responsible to pay: (a) the Storage Fee (being the amount set out in the cover sheet or as most recently notified to You by FO). FO will take the first payment on acceptance of Your order and will take subsequent payments in advance on the invoice date for each storage period or other date agreed with You (Due Date). It is Your responsibility to see that payment is made directly to FO on time and in full throughout the storage period. You can pay using a debit card or credit card or by direct debit, in which case the designated bank account will be charged automatically on each Due Date. FO does not normally bill for fees but will issue an electronic invoice following payment. Any Storage Fees paid by direct transfer will not be credited to Your account unless You identify the payment clearly and as directed by FO and FO shall have no liability to and shall be indemnified by You if FO takes steps to enforce the Agreement (including the sale of Goods) due to Your failure to identify a payment. FO will not accept that payment has been made until it has received cleared funds; (b) a Late Payment Fee each time a payment is late or cancelled; (c) any costs incurred by the FO in collecting late or unpaid Storage Fees, or in enforcing this Agreement in any way, including but not limited to postal, telephone, unit inventory, debt collection, personnel and/or default action costs and associated legal and professional fees; (d) any government taxes or charges (including any value added tax or insurance premium tax) levied on any supplies made under this Agreement; and (e) the Cleaning Fee or charges for repairs, to be invoiced at FO’s discretion as per Condition 20;. Where You have more than one agreement with FO, all will form one account and FO may in its sole discretion apply any payment made by You or on Your behalf on this Agreement against the oldest amount due from You to FO on any agreement in the account. If You make a part payment of any Storage Fees due to FO and FO retains Your part payment, this will not affect FO’s ability to take any action against You or to exercise any rights FO has under this Agreement in respect of the Storage Fees which remain outstanding from You. The time period from which FO may take such action will still start from the Due Date when the original Storage Fees were due and the Due Date will not be extended as a result of Your part payment.

DEFAULT – RIGHT TO SELL OR DISPOSE OF GOODS:

5. FO takes the issue of prompt payment seriously and has a right of lien, which is a right to seize and sell or otherwise dispose of some or all of the Goods as security for Your obligation to make payments under this Agreement. If any sum owing to FO and other fees related to it are not paid when due (Debt), You authorise FO without further notice to: (a) refuse You and Your Agents access to the Goods, the Unit and the Facility and overlock the Unit until the Debt has been paid in full; (b) enter the Unit and inspect and/or remove the Goods to another unit or site and to charge You for all reasonable costs of doing so on any number of occasions; and (c) apply any Deposit against the Debt and, if insufficient to clear it in full, hold onto and/or ultimately sell or dispose of some or all of the Goods in accordance with Conditions 8 to 10. You acknowledge that (a) FO shall be entitled to continue to charge for storage from the date the Debt becomes due until payment is made in full or the Goods are sold or disposed of; (b) FO will sell the Goods as if FO was the owner and will pass all rights of ownership in the Goods to the buyer; and (c) if You do not pay fees on the Due Date, the value of any discounts and special offers (including periods of free storage) which You have received will be payable by You in full. 6. On expiry or termination of this Agreement, if You fail to remove all Goods from the Unit, FO is authorised to treat the Goods as abandoned and may sell or dispose of all Goods by any means in accordance with Conditions 8 to 10. You are liable for Storage Fees for the period from abandonment to the sale or disposal of the Goods together with any costs of disposal (Debt).

7. Before FO sells or disposes of the Goods, it will give You notice in writing directing You to pay (if You are in default) or collect the Goods (if they are treated as abandoned). This notice will be sent by registered or recorded delivery to the postal address last notified by You to FO in writing and by email and/or social media. If no address within the UK has been provided, FO will use any land or email address or social media details it holds for You and any ACP. If You fail to pay the Debt and/or collect the Goods (as appropriate) FO will access the Unit and begin the process to sell or dispose of the Goods. You consent to and authorise the sale or disposal of all Goods without further notice regardless of their nature, content or value. FO will sell the Goods for the best price reasonably available in the open market, taking into account the costs of sale. FO may also require payment of default action costs, including any costs associated with accessing the Unit and disposal or sale of the Goods, which shall be added to the Debt.

8. Sale proceeds will be applied first against the cost of removal and sale of Goods and second to pay the Debt. If sale proceeds do not discharge all of these costs and the Debt, You must pay FO the balance within 7 days of a written demand from FO. FO may take action to recover the balance and any legal and administration costs incurred in doing so. If sale proceeds exceed the amount due from You, FO will hold the balance for You but no interest will be payable on it.

9. If, in the opinion of FO and entirely at FO’s discretion, the Goods are either not saleable, fail to sell when offered for sale, or are not of sufficient value to warrant the expense of attempting to sell, You authorise FO to treat the Goods as abandoned and FO may dispose of all Goods by any means at Your cost. FO may dispose of the Goods at FO’s discretion in the event that (a) Goods are damaged due to fire, flood or other event that has rendered them, in the opinion of the FO, severely damaged, of no commercial value, or dangerous to persons or property, or (b) Goods may contain personal data belonging to You or others. FO does not need Your prior approval to take this action but will send Notice to You within 7 days of assessing damaged Goods.

10. Any items left unattended in common areas or outside Your Unit at any time shall be treated as abandoned and may at FO’s discretion be moved, sold or disposed of immediately with no liability to FO.

ACCESS:

11. You have the right to access the Unit during Access Hours as posted by FO and subject to the terms of this Agreement. FO will try to provide advance warning of changes to Access Hours by notice at the Facility and/or by SMS or email, but reserves the right to change Access Hours temporarily to other reasonable times without giving prior notice.

12. Only You or others authorised or accompanied by You (Your Agents) may access the Unit. You are responsible for and liable to FO and other users of the Facility for Your own actions and those of Your Agents. FO may (but is not obliged to) require proof of identity from You or any other person at any time and, at FO’s sole discretion, may refuse access to any person who is unable to produce satisfactory proof.

13. FO may refuse You access to the Unit and/or the Facility where moneys are owing by You to FO, whether or not a formal demand for payment has been made, or if FO considers the safety or security of any person, unit or goods on or at the Facility has been threatened or may be put at risk.

14. You should not leave a key with or permit access to the Unit to any person other than Your own Agent who is responsible to You and subject to Your control. If You do so, it is at Your own risk.

15. You authorise FO and its agents and contractors to enter the Unit in the following circumstances and to break any lock if reasonably necessary to gain entry: (a) on not less than 7 days’ notice to inspect or carry out repairs or alterations to the Unit or any other part of the Facility; (b) without prior notice (but with notice as soon as practicable after the event) in the event of an emergency (including for repair or alteration) or to prevent injury or damage to persons or property; (c) if FO believes the Unit is being used to store prohibited goods or for a prohibited purpose; (d) if FO is obliged to do so by law, by the Police, Fire Services, Trading Standards, HM Revenue & Customs, other competent authority or by a Court Order; or (e) to relocate the Goods or exercise FO’s lien or power of sale or disposal in accordance with this Agreement.

CONDITIONS:

16. You will be solely responsible for securing the Unit and ensuring it is locked so as to be secure from unauthorised entry at all times when You are not in the Unit. FO will not be responsible for securing any unlocked Unit. You are not permitted to apply a padlock or other device to the Unit in FO’s overlocking position and FO may have any such padlock or device forcefully cut off at Your expense. Where applicable, You will secure the external gates and/or doors of the Facility.

17. You must not store (or allow any other person to store) any of the following in the Unit: (a) food or perishable goods unless securely packed so they are protected from and do not attract vermin; (b) any living creatures; (c) combustible or flammable substances such as gas, paint, petrol, oil, cleaning solvents or compressed gases; (d) firearms, explosives, weapons or ammunition; (e) chemicals, radioactive materials, biological agents, toxic waste, asbestos or other potentially hazardous substances; (f) any item that emits fumes, or odours; (g) any illegal item or substances or goods illegally obtained such as illicit (counterfeit/smuggled) tobacco or alcohol and unlicensed or unsafe goods (such as toys, electrical goods, medicines, aerosols, cosmetics, fireworks); (h) goods which are environmentally harmful or that are a risk to the property of any person; (i) currency, deeds and securities; and (j) items which are unique in nature and/or where the value to You cannot be assessed on a financial basis. You will be liable under Condition 29 for any breach of this Condition 18.

18. You will use the Unit solely for the purpose of storage and shall not (or allow any other person to): (a) use the Unit as offices or living accommodation or as a home, business or mailing address; (b) use or do anything at the Facility or in the Unit which may be a nuisance to FO or any other person (including the escape of any substance or odour from or generation of noise or vibration which may be heard or felt outside the Unit); (c) use or do anything at the Facility or in the Unit which may invalidate or increase premiums under any insurance policies of FO or any other person; (d) paint or make alterations to or attach anything to the internal or external surfaces of the Unit; (e) connect or provide any utilities or services to the Unit unless authorised by FO; (f) cause damage to the Unit or any part of the Facility (which includes by removal, haulage or delivery contractors); or (g) create any obstruction or leave items or refuse in any common space within the Facility.

19. You must maintain the Unit by ensuring it is clean and in good repair. In the event of uncleanliness or damage to the Unit or Facility, FO will be entitled to retain any Deposit, charge a Cleaning Fee, and/or claim full reimbursement from You of the reasonable costs of repairs, replacement, restoration, proper compensation or disposal of refuse.

20. You must (and ensure that Your Agents) use reasonable care on site and have respect for the Facility and other unit users, inform FO of any damage or defect immediately it is discovered and comply with the reasonable directions of FO’s employees, agents and contractors and any other regulations or policies for the use, safety and security of the Facility as FO shall issue periodically.

21. This Agreement does not confer on You any right to exclusive possession of the Unit and FO reserves the right to relocate You to another Unit not smaller than the current Unit: (a) by giving 14 days’ notice during which You can elect to terminate this Agreement under Condition 37; or (b) on shorter notice if an incident occurs that requires the Unit or section where it is located to be closed or sealed off. In these circumstances, FO will pay Your reasonable costs of removal if approved in writing by FO before removal. If You do not arrange removal by the date specified in FO’s notice, then You authorise FO and its agents to enter the Unit and move the Goods as Your agent on Your behalf and at Your risk (except for damage caused wilfully or negligently which is subject to the limitations in Condition 27). Following removal this Agreement will be varied by substitution of the new Unit number but otherwise continues on the same terms at the storage rates in force for the original Unit at the time of the removal.

22. You must ensure the Unit is suitable for the storage of the Goods intended to be stored in it and You are advised to inspect the Unit before storing Goods and periodically during the storage period. FO makes no warranty or representation that any unit is suitable for any particular goods and accepts no liability in this regard. Unit sizes are approximate. If You have exact requirements, You must check with FO before signing this Agreement as, by signing, You agree to the actual size of the Unit and not any represented unit size.

23. FO may refuse storage of any Goods or require You to remove Goods if in FO’s opinion storage of such Goods creates a risk to the safety of any person or property.

24. You must give notice to the FO in writing of the change of any contact details on this Agreement for You or the ACP within 48 hours of any change. You agree FO is entitled to discuss any default by You with the ACP registered on the front of this Agreement.

RISK AND RESPONSIBILITY:

25. FO will not be liable for any loss or damages suffered by You as a result of You not being able to access the Facility or the Unit, regardless of the cause.

26. The Goods are stored at Your sole risk and responsibility and You shall be responsible for and bear the risk of any and all theft, damage to, and deterioration of the Goods caused by any reason. FO excludes all liability in respect of (a) loss or damage to Your business, if any, including consequential loss, lost profits or business interruption; (b) loss of or damage to Goods or any claim for return of the Storage Fees except where this results from FO’s negligence or breach of contract, in which case FO’s liability will be limited to the sum of £100 in total. FO does not exclude liability for physical injury to or the death of any person which is a direct result of negligence or wilful default on the part of FO, its agents and/or employees.

27. Subject to clause 44 if applicable, FO does not insure the Goods and it is a condition of this Agreement that the Goods remain adequately insured at all times for their Replacement Value (as set out on the cover sheet) while they are in storage. You warrant that such cover is in place, will not lapse and that the aggregate value of Goods in the Unit from time to time will not exceed the insured value. FO does not give any advice concerning insurance cover given by any policy and You must make Your own judgment as to adequacy of cover even when arranged by the FO. Inspection of any insurance documents provided by You to demonstrate cover does not mean FO has approved the cover or confirmed it is sufficient.

28. It will be Your responsibility to compensate FO for the full amount of all claims, liabilities, demands, damages, costs and expenses (including any reasonably incurred legal and professional fees) incurred by FO or third parties (Liabilities) resulting from or incidental to (a) the use of the Unit (including but not limited to the ownership or storage of Goods in the Unit, the Goods themselves and/or accessing the Facility) or (b) breach of this Agreement by You or any of Your Agents or (c) enforcement terms of this Agreement.

29. You agree to comply with this Agreement and all laws and regulations relevant to the use of the Unit. This includes laws relating to material which is stored and the manner in which it is stored. You will be responsible for all Liabilities resulting from such a breach.

30. If FO has reason to believe that You are not complying with all relevant laws FO may take any action it considers necessary, including, but not limited to, action outlined in Conditions 16 and 37, contacting, cooperating with and/or submitting Goods to relevant authorities, and/or immediately disposing of or removing Goods at Your expense. You agree that FO may take such action at any time even though FO could have acted earlier.

31. FO shall not be considered to be in breach of this Agreement nor liable for any delay in performing or failure to perform any of its obligations under this Agreement or any resulting loss or damage to Goods if such delay, failure, loss or damage results from events, circumstances or causes beyond FO’s reasonable control. Such circumstances include (but are not limited to) any Act of God, riot, strike or lock-out, trade dispute or labour disturbance, accident, breakdown of plant or machinery, fire, flood, shortage of labour, materials or transport, electrical power failures, threat of or actual terrorism or environmental or health emergency or hazard or recommended restrictions, or entry into any unit including the Unit or the Facility by, or arrest or seizure or confiscation of Goods by, competent authorities. If this happens, FO will not be responsible for failing to allow access to the Goods, Unit and/or the Facility for so long as the circumstances continue. FO will try to minimise any effects arising from such circumstances.

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

32. FO collects information about You and any ACP on registration and whilst this Agreement continues, including personal data (Data). FO processes Data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and all associated laws. Details on how FO uses Data and Your rights in relation to Data are set out in FO’s Privacy Notice which can be viewed on its website at www.northstarstorage.co.uk. You confirm any ACP has consented to You supplying Data to FO on these terms.

33. If You give consent, FO will use Data for feedback purposes, including to provide information on products or services provided by FO in response to requests from You or if FO believes they may be of interest. Your choice with regard to the relevant use of Data is indicated in the cover sheet and can be changed at any time by contacting FO.

COMMUNICATIONS AND NOTICE:

34. FO can send You notifications regarding day to day matters and minor changes to this Agreement by email and/or by SMS if You have agreed to receive notifications by SMS. These notifications will be effective one hour after sending or immediately if they relate to an urgent problem or emergency. We may also use Your social media accounts.

35. Notices to be given by FO or You for more significant changes to the services and these terms or to enforce rights under this Agreement (such as ending the Agreement, changing prices, significant disruptions or enforcing FO’s right to sell or dispose of Goods) must be in writing and must either be delivered by hand, pre-paid post or email. Notices shall be considered to have been received at the time of delivery by hand, one day after sending by email or 48 hours after posting. Notices from FO to You will be sent to the addresses on the cover sheet or the most recent address in England and/or email address notified by You to FO and/or Your social media accounts. In the event of not being able to contact You at the last notified postal or email address, Notice will be considered as having been given to You if FO serves that Notice on the ACP as identified on the front of this Agreement at the last notified postal or email address of the ACP. Any notice from You must be sent to the FO by hand or by post to the address on the cover sheet or by email to team@northstarstorage.co.uk. In the event that there is more than one storer named on the Agreement, Notice to or by any single storer is agreed to be sufficient for the purposes of any Notice requirement under this Agreement.

CANCELLING OR ENDING THE AGREEMENT:

36. If You signed up without coming into the Facility, then You have 14 days after FO confirms acceptance of the order to change Your mind (cooling off period). If You cancel during this period a refund will be provided based on the length of storage You have taken prior to cancelling and all Goods being removed from the Unit. FO can use any payment made by You to settle some or all of this. You can cancel by email, post or telephone call to FO referring to Your name, address and date of order.

37. Unless otherwise agreed in writing by both parties, either FO or You may end this Agreement at any time by giving the other party written Notice. The date on which the Agreement will end (the Termination Date) must be at least the number of days indicated on the cover sheet. In the event of illegal or environmentally harmful activities on Your part or a breach of this Agreement (which, if it can be put right, You have failed to put right within 14 days of notice from FO to do so), FO may terminate the Agreement immediately by Notice. FO is entitled to retain from any Deposit, or make a charge for, apportioned Storage Fees if less than the required Notice is given by You. You must remove all Goods in the Unit before the close of business on the Termination Date and leave the Unit in a clean condition and in a good state of repair to the satisfaction of FO. In the event that Goods and/or rubbish are left in the Unit after the Termination Date, Conditions 7 and 20 will apply. You must pay any outstanding Storage Fees and any other fees or expenses owed to FO up to the Termination Date, or Conditions 6 to 10 may apply. Any calculation of the outstanding fees will be by FO. If FO enters the Unit for any reason and there are no Goods stored in it, FO may terminate the Agreement without giving advance Notice but will send Notice to You within 7 days.

38. You agree to examine the Goods carefully on removal from the Unit and must notify FO of any loss or damage to the Goods as soon as is reasonably possible.

39. Termination or expiry of this Agreement shall not affect any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities of FO or You that came into effect during the life of the Agreement. This includes the right to claim damage for breach of the Agreement, liability for outstanding monies, property damage, personal injury, environmental damage and legal responsibility under this Agreement.

OTHER IMPORTANT TERMS:

40. FO may vary the Storage Fee or other terms of this Agreement and add new terms and conditions as long as such changes are notified to You in writing. The modified terms will take effect on the first Due Date occurring not less than 28 days after the date of FO’s notice. You may end this Agreement without charge before the change takes effect by giving notice in accordance with Condition 36. Otherwise, Your continued use of the Unit will be considered as Your acceptance of and agreement to the amended terms.

41. You acknowledge and agree that :(a) the terms of this document constitute the whole agreement with FO and, in entering this Agreement, You do not rely on any statement, promise, representation, assurance or warranty which is not set out in this Agreement; (b) any descriptions or illustrations on our website are published for the sole purpose of giving an approximate idea of the services described in them but they will not form part of this Agreement or have any contractual force; (c) the terms of this Agreement apply to the exclusion of any other terms that You seeks to impose or incorporate, or which are implied by law, trade custom, practice or course of dealing; (d) You have raised all queries relevant to Your decision to enter this Agreement with FO and FO has, prior to You entering into this Agreement, answered all such queries to Your satisfaction; (e) any special terms agreed between You and FO, been recorded in writing and incorporated into the terms of this Agreement; (f) if FO decides not to exercise or enforce any right that it has against You at a particular time, then this does not prevent FO from deciding to exercise or enforce that right at a later date unless FO tells You in writing that FO has waived or given up its ability to do so; (g) it is not intended that anyone other than You and FO will have any rights under this Agreement and accordingly the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 shall not apply to it; (h) if any provision or part-provision of this Agreement is or becomes invalid, unlawful or unenforceable to any extent, it shall be treated as deleted, but that shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the rest of this Agreement; (i) You may not assign or transfer any of Your rights under this Agreement or part with possession of the Unit or Goods whilst they are in the Facility; (j) FO may transfer its rights under this Agreement to another organisation and will let You know if it plans to do this; and (k) where there are two or more joint Storers, each person takes on the obligations under this Agreement separately.

42. This Agreement shall be governed by English law and any dispute or claim that either party brings will be decided by the Courts of England and Wales. The parties must first try to settle any dispute in connection with this Agreement by mediation. Such mediation is to be conducted by a mediator who is independent of the parties and appointed by agreement of the parties. It is a condition precedent to the right of either party to commence arbitration or litigation other than for emergency interlocutory relief, that it has first offered to submit the dispute to mediation.

INSURED CONTRACTOR – If such insurance has been agreed to

43. FO shall take out and maintain a contract of insurance in accordance with a Summary of Insurance document provided to You. This will provide cover for the Goods for the value stated as the full total replacement value of the Goods as new on the cover sheet. FO does not carry out any valuation of the Goods and is not responsible for ensuring that the full replacement value as new as stated by You in the cover sheet is an accurate or true valuation of the full replacement value as new of the Goods at any time. You are responsible for ensuring that insurance cover for the value of Goods insured is maintained at an adequate level throughout the period of this Agreement. If loss or damage occurs to the Goods as a result of any matter which may result in a claim under FO’s insurance policy, after receipt from You of a written request to notify a claim, FO will notify its insurer promptly of the claim. For the purposes of processing any such claim, You shall provide FO, FO’s insurer or any of its agents appointed to investigate such claim (such as a loss adjuster) with such information and evidence as may reasonably be required in relation to the claim. FO shall pay or arrange for payment to You that part of any proceeds of any claim made by FO which relates to damage or loss to the Goods after deduction of any outstanding sums due to FO from You. In the event that FO makes a claim under its insurance policy in respect of loss or damage to the Goods, You acknowledge that FO’s liability to make any payments to You in relation to such claim is restricted to payment to You of the amount that FO recovers from its insurer under its insurance policy in relation to the Goods. Whilst FO will notify claims to its insurer, FO is not under any circumstances obliged to start or threaten to start any legal proceedings in relation to any such claim. Nothing in this Agreement shall make or be deemed to make FO Your agent. If You fail to pay any insurance charges then any insurance cover in respect of the Goods will cease immediately from the date such charges are due.​

We take your privacy very seriously and we ask that you read this privacy policy carefully as it contains important information on who we are, how and why we collect, store, use and share personal information, your rights in relation to your personal information and how to contact us and supervisory authorities in the event you have a complaint.

WHO WE ARE

North Star Storage Limited (“we”, “us”) is the operator of the website www.northstastorage.co.uk. We collect, use and are responsible for certain information about you. When we do so, we are regulated under the General Data Protection Regulation which applies across the European Union (including the United Kingdom) and we are responsible as 'controller' of that personal information for the purposes of those laws. The person responsible for how we handle personal information is Findlay Reid.

THE PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND USE

Personal information provided by you 

In the course of operating our self storage business, we collect personal information when you provide it to us, such as your name, postal address, email address, phone numbers, date of birth, payment details, vehicle registration, drivers licence details and passport details. We also collect personal information from you if you apply for a job with us or work for us for any period of time. In this context, personal information we gather may include: contact details, financial and payment details, details of education, qualifications and skills, marital status, nationality, NI number, job title, and CV. 

Personal information provided by third parties 

Occasionally we may receive information about you from other sources (such as credit reference agencies), which we will add to the information we already hold about you in order to help us provide services to you and to improve and personalise our service to you. If you apply for a job with us, we may receive information from the people who provide references. 

Personal information about other individuals 

If you give us information on behalf of someone else as an alternate contact, referee or next of kin, you confirm that the other person has agreed that you can: 

• give consent on his/her behalf to the processing of his/her personal data; 

• receive on his/her behalf any data protection notices; and 

• if relevant, give consent to the transfer of his/her personal data abroad. 

Sensitive personal information 

We will not usually ask you to provide sensitive personal information. We will only ask you to provide sensitive personal information if we need to for a specific reason, for example, if we believe you are having difficulty dealing with your account due to illness. If we request such information, we will explain why we are requesting it and how we intend to use it. Sensitive personal information includes information relating to your ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, whether you belong to a trade union, your physical or mental health or condition, sexual life, and whether you have committed a criminal offence. We will only collect your sensitive personal information with your explicit consent. 

Children 

We do not knowingly collect personal data relating to children under the age of 16. If you are a parent or guardian of a child under the age of 16 and think that we may have information relating to that child, please contact us. We will ask you to prove your relationship to the child but if you do so you may (subject to applicable law) request access to and deletion of that child’s personal data. 

HOW AND WHEN DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM YOU? 

We gather information directly from you face to face if you come to our site for information or to sign a storage agreement and over the telephone if you ring us to make an enquiry. We collect personal information via our website and mobile applications or ‘Apps’ and other technical systems. We collect this when you use our website or Apps to sign up to, participate in or receive a service from us, such as requesting a quote online or entering a live chat. Our website also uses cookies (see “Use of cookies” section below) and collects IP addresses (which means a number that can uniquely identify a specific computer or other device on the internet). We also collect personal information when you contact us, send us feedback, post material to our website, complete customer surveys, participate in competitions. We may monitor and record communications with you (such as telephone conversations and emails). We may do this for a number of reasons, such as to check the quality of our customer service, for training purposes, to prevent fraud or to make sure we are complying with legal requirements. If you visit our storage facility, some personal data may be collected from monitoring devices and systems such as closed circuit TV (CCTV) and door entry systems at the site. 

Use of cookies 

A cookie is a small text file which is placed onto your computer (or other electronic device such as a mobile telephone or tablet) when you use our website. We use cookies and other similar tracking technologies on our website. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way which does not identify you individually. We use analysis software to look at IP addresses and cookies to improve your experience as a user of our website. We do not use this information to develop a personal profile of you. If we do collect personally identifiable information, we will be up front about this. We will make it clear when we collect personal information and will explain what we intend to do with it. You can set your browser not to accept cookies and the websites below tell you how to remove cookies from your browser. However, some of our website features may not function as a result. For further information on our use of cookies, please see our Website cookie policy. 

For further information on cookies generally visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org. 

REASONS WE CAN COLLECT AND USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION 

We rely on a different lawful basis for collecting and using personal data in different situations.

Contracts 

Where you make enquiries about storing with us before you become a customer, we need to collect personal information about you so that we can take steps to enter into a contract with you. Once you have become a customer, we need to collect and use personal information to provide services to you and to claim our right to be paid in return for our services under our standard terms of business/contract with you. This includes collecting and using your personal information to: 

• enable us to follow up on enquiries made by you in relation to storing with us in accordance with industry guidelines and to give you our quote; 

• do a credit check—see 'Credit checking' section below; 

• prepare a storage agreement with you and arrange insurance cover if required; 

• manage any accounts you hold with us; 

• contact you for reasons related to the service you have signed up for or to provide information you have requested; 

• deal with payment for our services; 

• notify you of any changes to our website or to our services that may affect you; and 

• resolve disputes or collect overdue payments. 

If you apply for a job with us, we will collect and use personal information to process your application and check references. If you take a job with us, we will collect and use your personal information to enter into an employment contract with you and to administer the employment relationship, including making payments to you, accounting for tax, ensuring safe working practices, monitoring and managing staff access to systems and facilities, monitoring absences and performance and conducting assessments. Legal obligations We collect and use personal information from our customers and staff to comply with our legal obligations. For example, we will take copies of documents that identify you so that we can comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements. 

Legitimate business interests 

Our priority is to make sure we give a high quality and secure service to customers and to follow up effectively on enquiries even though we accept that not all enquiries will lead to a business relationship or contract. We collect personal information to: 

• follow up on enquiries in accordance with industry guidelines and provide quotes for storage/details of offers; 

• conduct research and analyse website visitor behaviour patterns; • customise our website and its content to your particular preferences; 

• improve our services; 

• detect and prevent fraud; 

• prevent offensive, inappropriate or objectionable content being sent to or posted on our websites or to stop any other form of disruptive behaviour. 

It is a key feature of our storage service that we operate CCTV within the storage facility. We collect and process CCTV images 

• so we can fulfil our contractual obligation to deliver a secure self storage environment; 

• to establish whether you are doing something that breaches your contract with us; and 

• to assist in the establishment or defence of any crime or other investigation. 

We will also communicate with you information about other services we can offer you and update you about our activities and promotions which may be of interest to you. If you would like to stop receiving these email newsletters, you can also click on the “unsubscribe” button at the bottom of the email newsletter. It may take a few days for this to take place. See 'What rights do you have?’ below for further information. If you ask us to stop contacting you in this way, you can also ask us to start again at any time. 

If we propose to use your information for any other uses we will ensure that we notify you first. If we need your consent to use your information for these other purposes, we will give you the opportunity to opt in or to refuse. If you opt in, you will be able to opt out at any time. 

Credit checking 

We may do a credit check on you so that we can make credit decisions about you and people or businesses associated with you. These checks may also be used to help prevent and detect fraud and money laundering. 

Our search will be recorded on the files of the credit reference agency. We may also disclose information about how you conduct your account to credit reference agencies and your information may be linked to records relating to other people living at the same address or who are financially linked to you. 

Other credit businesses may use your information to make credit decisions about you and the people with whom you are financially associated, trace debtors, and prevent and detect fraud and money laundering. 

If you provide false or inaccurate information to us and we suspect fraud, we will record this. 

When will we contact any other person about you? 

If you provide us with details of any other person we can contact to discuss your account, we may contact that person and discuss and share the details of your account with that person and deal with that person in relation to your account as if that person was you. We may particularly want to do this if we are unable to get in touch with you for any reason. If you change your mind, you can email or write to us and have this person taken off your account as an alternate contact person (see ‘How can you contact us?’ below). 

If you provide us the details of a person who we can contact for a job reference, we may contact that person in connection with your job application. 

Who your information might be shared with 

We may disclose your personal data to: 

• service providers under contract with us to support our business operations, such as fraud prevention, debt collection, payroll, technology services] 

• credit reference agents—see 'Credit checking' above; 

• our insurers and insurance brokers if you take out insurance cover through us; 

• trade associations of which we are a member; 

• law enforcement or government agencies in connection with any investigation to help prevent or detect unlawful activity; 

• any person or agency if we need to share that information to comply with the law or to enforce any agreement we may have with you or to protect the health and safety of any person; 

• any person who you have named as a person we can contact to discuss your account; 

• any person who is your agent or representative, such as the holder of a power of attorney, a legal guardian or person administering a will; 

• any person who we are negotiating with as a potential buyer of our business or property or if we are proposing to merge our business with another business; 

• credit card associations if specifically required;

If we pass data on to insurers, they may enter your data onto a register of claims which is shared with other insurers to prevent fraudulent claims. If we use an outside party to process your information, we will require them to comply with our instructions in connection with the services they provide for us and not for their own business purposes. 

KEEPING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION SECURE 

We have appropriate security measure in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those people processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality. 

We are certified to ISO 27001. This family of standards helps us manage your information and keep it safe and secure. 

We will use technical measures to safeguard your personal data, for example: 

• access to your customer account is controlled by a password and user name that are unique to you; 

• we store your personal data on secure servers; and 

• payment details are encrypted on the secure server 

We have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable supervisory body of a suspected data breach where we are legally required to do so. While we will use all reasonable efforts to keep your personal data safe, you acknowledge that the use of the internet is not entirely secure and for this reason we cannot guarantee the security or integrity of any personal data that is transferred from you or to you via the internet. If you have any particular concerns about your information, please contact us (see ‘How to contact us’ below). 

Our website contains links to websites and applications owned and operated by other people and businesses. These third party sites have their own privacy policies and use their own cookies and we recommend that you review them before you provide them with personal information. They will tell you how your personal information is collected and used whilst you are visiting these other websites. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the content of these sites or the use of your information collected by any of these other sites and you use these other sites at your own risk. If you want detailed information from Get Safe Online on how to protect your information and your computers and devices against fraud, identity theft, viruses and many other online problems, please visit www.getsafeonline.org. Get Safe Online is supported by HM Government and leading businesses. 

TRANSFERS OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION OUT OF THE EEA 

We will not transfer your personal data outside of the United Kingdom OR European Economic Area or to any organisation (or subordinate bodies) governed by public international law or which is set up under any agreement between two or more countries. 

HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION? 

We will usually hold your personal information as a customer or employee on our system for the period we are required to retain this information by applicable UK law, currently 6 years from the end of our contract or 6 months after any unsuccessful job application, unless you have told us you want us to delete the information earlier (see section “What rights do you have” below). 

WHAT RIGHTS DO YOU HAVE? 

Under the General Data Protection Regulation you have a number of important rights. 

These include the following rights: 

• request a copy of your information which we hold (subject access request); 

• require us to correct any mistakes in your information which we hold; 

• require the erasure of personal information concerning you in certain situations • require us to stop contacting you for direct marketing purposes; 

• object in certain other situations to our continued processing of your personal information; 

• restrict our processing of your personal information in certain circumstances; 

• object to decisions being taken by automated means which produce legal effects concerning you or which affect you significantly; and 

• receive the personal information concerning you which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and have the right to transmit those data to a third party in certain situations. 

Further information on each of these rights is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please: 

• email, call or write to us (see ‘How to contact us’ below) 

• let us have proof of your identity and address (a copy of your driving licence or passport and a recent utility or credit card bill), and 

• let us know the information to which your request relates, including any account or reference numbers, if you have them. 

We will not charge any fee for any of these services in most cases. 

HOW TO CONTACT US 

We hope that we can resolve any query or concern you raise about the way we use your personal information 

Please contact us if you have any questions about this privacy policy or the information we hold about you. If you wish to contact us, please send an email to team@northstarstorage.co.uk or write to us at North Star Storage Ltd, Myregormie Place, off Merchant Place, Mitchelston Industrial Estate, Kirkcaldy, Fife, KY1 3NA or call us on 0330 128 9088. 

The General data Protection Regulation also gives you the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The supervisory authority in the UK is the Information Commissioner who may be contacted at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ or telephone 0303 123 1113. 

CHANGES TO THE PRIVACY POLICY 

This Privacy Notice was published on 20 January 2021 and last updated on 20 January 2021. We may change this Privacy Notice from time to time. You should check this policy occasionally to ensure you are aware of the most recent version. 

DO YOU NEED EXTRA HELP? 

If you would like this policy in another format (for example: audio, large print, braille) please contact us (see ‘How can you contact us?’ above).