Data Retention Policy
The schedule for how long we keep different categories of data, and the automated process used to purge it.
1. Purpose
We retain personal data only as long as needed for the purpose it was collected, to comply with our legal obligations, and to defend against legal claims. After the retention period, data is automatically deleted by an unattended sweep job.
2. Default retention schedule
| Data | Retention | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Uploaded media (photos / videos) | 30 days from upload | Hard-deleted from storage |
| Inactive quote requests | 90 days with no activity | Archived (hidden from operations) |
| Archived leads | +180 days after archive | Marked for deletion (grace window) |
| Soft-deleted leads | +30 days after marking | Hard-deleted from database |
| Consent records | 6 years (regulatory) | Retained for audit |
| Audit log | 12 months | Rotated and purged |
| Cookie consent log | 12 months from last decision | Rotated and purged |
| Accounting records | 6 years (HMRC) | Retained, then deleted |
3. Automated deletion
A scheduled retention job runs daily. It is unattended, idempotent and writes every deletion to an internal audit log. The job:
- Deletes uploaded media files older than 30 days.
- Archives leads with no activity in the last 90 days.
- Soft-deletes leads that have been archived for more than 180 days, starting a 30-day grace window during which an authorised admin could restore them on request.
- Hard-deletes records whose grace window has expired, including any remaining media references.
4. Requesting earlier deletion
You may ask us to delete your personal data before the retention period expires. Email info@dimondmovers.uk with the subject "Erasure request". We will action verified requests within 30 days, except where we are legally required to retain certain information (e.g. invoices for HMRC).