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Big Top Self Storage T&Cs

Please read these terms carefully. They form part of Our Conditions of Agreement.

Contents

  1. 1. Special Importance Conditions
  2. 2. BIGProtect Addendum
  3. 3. Customer Declaration
  4. 4. Privacy Policy
  5. 5. Cookie Policy
1.

Special Importance Conditions

Please note the following key points from Our Conditions of Agreement:

ConditionDescription
GeneralOur Storage Costs are based on the information provided by You and are subject to the storage services being carried out under the enclosed Conditions of Agreement.
6.14You must own or be authorised to store the Goods.
3.2Storage Costs must be paid in advance and on time.
4.1 to 4.5If You do not comply with the Conditions, We will have certain rights which include keeping Your Deposit and the right to seize the Goods in storage and sell or dispose of them.
6.1You must secure the entrance to the Unit after each visit.
6.10.1 & 6.10.2You must check the Unit is suitable for the Goods You intend to store and it is recommended that You periodically inspect during the Storage Period.
6.3You must not store any Excluded Items, including, for example: dangerous, illegal, stolen, perishable, environmentally harmful or explosive goods.
7.7We are not liable for Loss or Damage resulting from events, circumstances or causes beyond Our reasonable control.
7.6We shall not be in breach of this Agreement and exclude all liability to You in certain circumstances ("Excluded Liabilities") including, but not limited to:
  • Mysterious disappearance and/or unexplained shortage of Your Property except as a result of theft by forcible entry to Your Unit;
  • Loss or Damage caused by: moth, insect and vermin unless from a source external to Your Unit; mould, mildew or rust, unless proven to be a result of water ingress from a source external to Your Unit, atmospheric or climatic causes.
  • Any value an item might have acquired simply because it is part of a pair or set, also excluding the value of an undamaged part of a pair or set;
  • Any value which is purely sentimental.
7.2Our standard terms limit Our liability to You to negligence only up to a maximum of £100 and You are required to arrange insurance at Your own expense for Your stated Maximum Replacement Value for the duration of storage.
BIGProtect AddendumAlternatively, You may request for Us to accept an enhanced liability for Your Goods up to Your stated Maximum Replacement Value under BIGProtect, subject to Your agreement to pay additional charges ("BIGProtect Charges" and "Claims Admin Fee"). Review the BIGProtect Addendum for details of the restrictions and limitations.
Maximum Replacement Value DefinitionYou must provide a Maximum Replacement Value on the Customer Declaration whether or not You opt for BIGProtect. We strongly recommend you review this definition before providing Your Maximum Replacement Value.
8We may use and share Your personal and other Data in certain circumstances.
11.2You must give at least 15 days' notice before Your next billing date to terminate this Agreement, either via the cancellation button in Your account or by emailing admin@bigtopselfstorage.com.
Please ensure that You carefully read Our Conditions of Agreement and BIGProtect Addendum. If You have any questions, please contact Us using the details provided.
2.

BIGProtect Addendum

Please take the time to read the detailed terms in the table below. In particular, We draw Your attention to 'Exclusions – what BIGProtect does not provide for' as this includes terms where We limit or exclude Our liability to You in certain circumstances.

Note: "BIGProtect" means an agreement to accept an enhanced liability for Loss or Damage to Your Property as described in this Addendum. BIGProtect is not a contract of insurance. We are not an insurance company, nor are We acting as Your agent. We are under no obligation to arrange an insurance policy in Your name. We assume the risk of liability ourselves, but We may at Our option arrange insurance ourselves which provides cover for Our liability to You in certain circumstances.

BIGProtect may not be available in certain circumstances, and We reserve the right to decline at Our sole discretion where You have indicated that You wish to opt for BIGProtect.

Detailed terms
BIGProtect — What do I receive?
  • In return for payment of the BIGProtect Charges, We agree to accept an enhanced liability for Loss or Damage to Your Property and Condition 7.2 of Our enclosed Conditions of Agreement will not apply.
  • Instead, We accept liability for Loss or Damage (as defined) to Your Property following a breach of Our Duty of Care up to a maximum of (i) the Maximum Replacement Value; or (ii) the actual value of Your Property either affected by Loss or Damage (whichever is less), taking into account any Proportional Reduction, and subject to certain exclusions (see 'Exclusions – what BIGProtect does not provide for').
  • Our liability will commence from the time Your Property is placed by You into Your storage Unit(s) and ceases immediately upon removal of Your Property from Your storage Unit(s).
  • Our liability to You under BIGProtect for Loss or Damage to Your Property is to be assessed as a sum equivalent to the cost of (a) repair or cleaning or (b) the Replacement Value, whichever is the smaller sum, at Our option. We accept no liability for depreciation following repair.
  • If You opt for BIGProtect, You are no longer obligated to arrange insurance for Your Property (per Condition 7.2.2 of Our Conditions of Agreement).
  • If you submit a claim, additional claims processing administration charges apply. We will deduct a £50 charge from any settlement awarded to You to cover Our administration costs ("Claims Admin Fee").
Our Duty of Care under BIGProtectOur liability in relation to the Goods under BIGProtect shall be that of a reasonably careful person under like circumstances. We shall not be liable for any Loss or Damage to the Goods, however caused, while the Goods remain in the Unit or under Our care, custody or control, unless such Loss or Damage resulted from Our failure to exercise such care in relation to the Goods as a reasonably careful person would exercise under like circumstances, and We will not be liable for damages which could not have been avoided by the exercise of such care.
Your ResponsibilityTo opt for BIGProtect, it is Your responsibility to:
  • provide a Maximum Replacement Value on the Customer Declaration;
  • Sign the appropriate box on the Customer Declaration to confirm Your wish to opt for BIGProtect;
  • pay Us the additional charges set out for BIGProtect ("BIGProtect Charges"); and
  • ensure that the Maximum Replacement Value is accurate at all times for the duration of this Agreement.
Our Maximum LiabilityWe will have no liability under any circumstances for Loss or Damage to Your Property over and above the Maximum Replacement Value, or the actual value of Your Property either lost or damaged if this is less than the Maximum Replacement Value.
Proportional ReductionIf the Maximum Replacement Value You provide is less than the actual total Replacement Value of all of Your Property stored in Your Unit at the time of Loss or Damage, then Our liability will be reduced to reflect the proportion that Your Maximum Replacement Value bears to the actual total Replacement Value ("Proportional Reduction").

For example: if the total Replacement Value of Your Property is £10,000, but You have declared a Maximum Replacement Value of £5,000, Our liability will be reduced by 50%. So, if £3,000 worth of Your Property is lost or damaged, Our liability would be £1,500.

General Exclusions and Limitations
  • We exclude and limit certain types of Loss or Damage, as set out in Condition 7 of Our Conditions of Agreement. Please read these exclusions and limitations carefully – they apply whether or not You opt for BIGProtect.
  • There may be circumstances where Excluded Items (Condition 6.3 of Our Conditions of Agreement) are stored in Your Unit(s) without Our knowledge. Where You store Excluded Items in breach of this Agreement, You agree that You will bear the risk of any Loss or Damage to such Excluded Items (Condition 7.9 of Our Conditions of Agreement).
  • We will not be liable for any Loss or Damage to Your Property unless You notify Us in accordance with Condition 10 of Our Conditions of Agreement.
Exclusions – what BIGProtect does not provide forBIGProtect cannot be accepted for:
  • any motorcar, motorbike, boat, caravan, motorhome or any other motorised vehicle or trailer ("Vehicles") stored outside of a Unit;
  • Any food or perishable Goods; or
  • Any delivery and collection Goods.

Our liability is restricted in accordance with Condition 7.2.1 and the requirement for You to insure Your Property in Condition 7.2.2 remains valid whether or not You opt for BIGProtect for other stored Property.

Our liability for Loss or Damage to the following Goods is restricted. Goods worth in excess of the amounts stated below should not be stored without Our express permission in writing:

  • Jewellery, watches, precious stones, precious metals, and stamps of all kinds exceeding £1,000 combined total;
  • Furs, fine art, perfumery, tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, beers, wines, spirits and the like exceeding £15,000 combined total; and
  • Electronic Items exceeding £25,000 combined total. "Electronic Items" is defined as all items of consumer and commercial electrical appliances and instruments, including but not limited to televisions, computers, laptops, computers, tablets, mobile phones, cameras, hi-fi's, stereos and the like. Heavy electrical items such as switchgear, turbines, generators and the like shall not be deemed to be electronics.
Why We restrict Our liabilityIt is not always clear how Loss or Damage was caused, so We must limit or exclude Our liability for Loss or Damage to Your Property in certain circumstances. We also cannot accept liability for Loss or Damage which could not have been reasonably avoided. Please be reminded that BIGProtect is not a contract of insurance and You have the option to arrange Your own insurance separately.
Our AgreementOur standard Conditions of Agreement also apply in full to this Agreement, save that, if You opt for BIGProtect: (a) We agree to accept an enhanced liability as described above (so, the limit in Condition 7.2.1 is replaced by the Maximum Replacement Value (taking into account any Proportional Reduction) and Our Duty of Care in respect of Your Property is as set out above); and (b) the requirement to insure Your Property in Condition 7.2.2 of Our Conditions of Agreement becomes an option instead of a requirement.
Failure to pay BIGProtect Charges

If You fail to pay the BIGProtect Charges in full on the Due Date for payment (Condition 3.2 of Our Conditions of Agreement), You will not benefit from the enhanced liability that We offer under BIGProtect. Our liability to You will, instead, be restricted to Loss or Damage caused by negligence only and limited to £100 in accordance with the terms set out in Condition 7.2.1 of Our Conditions of Agreement and You will be required to insure Your Property in accordance with Condition 7.2.2 of Our Conditions of Agreement.

At Our sole discretion, We may choose to reinstate BIGProtect on payment of any overdue and/or outstanding BIGProtect Charges, unless any Loss or Damage to Your Property has already occurred prior to payment of such charges.

Termination / Cancellation

Your right to cancel BIGProtect

You have the right to cancel BIGProtect at any time by giving Us written notice prior to removal of Your Property from storage. You can provide notice by emailing Us at admin@bigtopselfstorage.com or by using the cancellation button in Your account.

  • If You cancel BIGProtect prior to the storage services commencing, We will refund to You all BIGProtect Charges paid by You.
  • If You cancel BIGProtect after the storage services have started, We will refund to You any BIGProtect Charges that You have paid in advance in respect of the period after cancellation (e.g. from the date that We receive Your notice to cancel).

Our right to cancel BIGProtect

  • Your right to benefit from BIGProtect will terminate automatically if You do not make all payments when due under Condition 3 of Our Conditions of Agreement.
  • We may cancel Your right to benefit from BIGProtect and terminate this Addendum at any time by giving You thirty (30) days' notice in writing.
  • Where We cancel or terminate BIGProtect, We will refund to You all BIGProtect Charges paid by You in advance in respect of the period after cancellation (e.g. from the cancellation date We notify to You).

General

  • Our liability to You after the BIGProtect cancellation date will be the normal level as set out in Condition 7.2.1 of Our Conditions of Agreement and You will be required to insure Your Property in accordance with Condition 7.2.2 of Our Conditions of Agreement.
  • If You decide to terminate the storage agreement after the cancellation date for BIGProtect, You will need to give Us the full amount of notice in accordance with Condition 9.2 of Our Conditions of Agreement.

Where Your Property is Lost or Damaged

Notification ConditionIf You discover Loss or Damage to Your Property, You must fully comply with the requirements set out under Condition 10 of Our Conditions of Agreement.
Additional Claim RequirementsFor Us to fully assess Your claim, the following additional information may be required:
  • Estimates for cleaning, repairs or replacement;
  • As many details as possible about the affected Goods, including photographs of any areas of damage and also any damaged Goods in their entirety;
  • Photographs showing all of Your Property in Your storage Unit, including those which are undamaged (i.e. the entire Unit before the removal of any Goods).
  • For any damaged electrical items, You must also photograph any manufacturer labels showing the make/model of the item.
  • Where You believe that Your Property has been stolen, You must take photographs of the door, walls or padlock to evidence forced access to Your Unit. You must also notify the Police immediately and obtain a Crime Reference Number.
  • Where You believe that Your Property has been damaged by an ingress of water, You must photograph the alleged source of the ingress.
  • Where Your Property can be professionally repaired, You are required to provide estimates before the work is carried out.
  • For any Goods lost/stolen or damaged beyond repair, You must provide proof of ownership (including receipts), where possible, details of any make/model and evidence to show the Replacement Value.
  • We may request for damaged Goods to be cleaned, where possible, including dry cleaning or home laundry before any claim settlement will be considered. Reasonable cleaning costs may be considered as part of the claim settlement.
3.

Customer Declaration

General

By proceeding with this transaction, you confirm and agree to the following General Conditions:

  • You accept the Storage Costs set out and have read, and agree to, the enclosed Conditions of Agreement.
  • You have read and understand the Replacement Value and Maximum Replacement Value definitions.
  • You understand that the Maximum Replacement Value (as stated below) must represent the maximum sum total of the Replacement Value for all Goods in storage at any time throughout the period of storage.
  • You understand You are required to provide a Maximum Declared Value whether or not You opt for BIGProtect.
  • You understand You may not store any Excluded Items (see Condition 6.3).
  • You understand there are certain things You must not do (Condition 6.5) and You have read the requirements for storage of Goods containing batteries (Condition 6.4).
  • You accept that You are advised to inspect the Unit before storing Goods and that it is strongly recommended You periodically inspect Your Goods during the Storage Period (Conditions 6.10.1 and 6.10.2).
  • You understand that if the services begin during the 14-day Cooling-off Period (Condition 11.1), if You cancel the services during the Cooling-off Period, Your rights to a refund of any Storage Costs paid in advance will be lost for the period during which the services have been performed.

BIGProtect

By selecting this option and completing the transaction, you confirm:

  • You have read and understand the BIGProtect Addendum and wish to opt for enhanced liability protection up to the Maximum Replacement Value You have provided below.
  • You understand that the Proportional Reduction shall apply if the Maximum Replacement Value You provide is inadequate. (For example: if the total Replacement Value of Your Property is £10,000, but You have declared a Maximum Replacement Value of £5,000, Our liability will be reduced by 50%. So, if £3,000 worth of Your Property is lost or damaged, Our liability would be £1,500.)
  • You understand that, if You submit a claim under BIGProtect, additional claims processing administration charges apply. We will deduct a £50 charge from any settlement awarded to You to cover Our administration costs.

If you decline BIGProtect, you understand that:

  • If Your Property is affected by Loss or Damage, liability is limited to negligence only up to a maximum of £100 or the actual value of the affected Property (whichever is less) (Condition 7.2).
  • You are required to arrange insurance at Your own expense to cover the stated Maximum Replacement Value of the Property (Condition 7.2.2).
  • You must provide evidence of the insurance You have arranged within 30 days of Your Goods being placed into storage. You understand that if You fail to comply with this condition, You will be automatically enrolled into BIGProtect and the BIGProtect Charges will be added to Your next invoice.
4.

Privacy Policy

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

Big Top Self Storage ("we", "us") is the operator of the website www.bigtopselfstorage.com. 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 United Kingdom and we are responsible as 'controller' of that personal information for the purposes of those laws.

For any queries regarding how we handle your personal information, you can contact us at admin@bigtopselfstorage.com.

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, and a form of photographic ID (such as a passport or driving license) for customer verification and security purposes.

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.

Information collected through our facility systems. To provide a seamless and secure storage experience, we utilize specialized software and security systems that collect data:

  • Facility & Account Management Software: We use cloud-based management systems to handle our inventory of storage units and customer details. These systems process your contact information, unit details, account history, and communications with us.
  • Smart Access Control Systems: Our facility uses smart entry technology. This system collects access logs (times of entry and exit) and may require information from your mobile device (such as Bluetooth connectivity) to grant you secure access to the facility and your unit.
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM): We utilize automated CRM systems to manage customer inquiries and communications efficiently.
  • CCTV & Security Monitoring: We operate in-house CCTV cameras, which are monitored by an external security company. If you visit our storage facility, personal data in the form of video images is collected to ensure the safety of our customers and their belongings.

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.

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 their behalf to the processing of their personal data and receive data protection notices.

Sensitive personal information. We will not usually ask you to provide sensitive personal information (such as health conditions or criminal offences) unless we need to for a specific reason, for example, if we believe you are having difficulty dealing with your account due to illness. 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.

How And When Do We Collect Information From You?

We gather information directly from you face to face if you come to our site, over the telephone, via our website, and through our mobile applications or other technical systems (like our smart entry system). We also collect personal information when you contact us, send us feedback, complete customer surveys, or interact with our automated CRM systems.

We may monitor and record communications with you (such as telephone conversations and emails) for training purposes, quality assurance, or fraud prevention.

Use of cookies. A cookie is a small text file which is placed onto your computer when you use our website. We use cookies on our website to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site and to improve user experience. You can set your browser not to accept cookies. For further information on our use of cookies, please see our Website Cookie Policy.

Reasons We Can Collect And Use Your Personal Information

We rely on different lawful bases for collecting and using personal data:

  • Contracts: To provide our storage services, process your payments, set up your smart entry access, and manage your account.
  • Legal obligations: To comply with anti-money laundering requirements and other legal duties.
  • Legitimate business interests: To follow up on enquiries, conduct research, improve our services, and detect/prevent fraud. Operating our CCTV system and having it monitored externally is a key feature of our legitimate interest in fulfilling our contractual obligation to deliver a secure self-storage environment and prevent crime.

Marketing Communications

We may use your personal information to send you updates (by email, text message, telephone or post) about our services, including exclusive offers, promotions, or new facility announcements.

We will always treat your personal information with the utmost respect and never sell it to other organizations for marketing purposes. You have the right to opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time by contacting us directly at admin@bigtopselfstorage.com or by using the 'unsubscribe' link in our emails.

Who Your Information Might Be Shared With

We may disclose your personal data to:

  • Service Providers: Third parties under contract with us to support our business operations. This specifically includes:
    • Cloud-based facility management and inventory software providers.
    • Smart access control and mobile entry system providers.
    • Customer relationship management (CRM) and automated communication platforms.
    • External security and CCTV monitoring companies.
  • Other Third Parties: Credit reference agents, insurers, law enforcement or government agencies, debt collection agencies, or anyone you have named as an alternate contact.

Transfers Of Your Personal Information Out Of The UK And EEA

To deliver our services to you, it is sometimes necessary for us to share your personal data outside the UK and European Economic Area (EEA). This typically occurs when our service providers (such as our facility management, CRM, or smart access software providers) host data or have support staff based outside the UK/EEA (for example, in the United States or Asia).

Whenever we transfer your personal data out of the UK/EEA, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring appropriate safeguards are implemented in accordance with UK data protection laws, such as using standard contractual clauses approved by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Keeping Your Personal Information Secure

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, 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. We store your personal data on secure servers and payment details are encrypted.

How Long Do We Keep Your Personal Information?

We will usually hold your personal information as a customer on our system for 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.

What Rights Do You Have?

Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have rights to: request a copy of your information; require us to correct mistakes; require erasure of personal information in certain situations; require us to stop contacting you for direct marketing; and restrict our processing of your personal data.

To exercise 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 admin@bigtopselfstorage.com or write to us at Big Top Self Storage, Harvey Road, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1ET or call us on 01268 230 230.

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 Tuesday 7th April 2026 and last updated on Tuesday 7th April 2026. 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 to contact us' above).