Privacy Policy - Man With Van Southkensington

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Southkensington collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data relating to its customers in the South Kensington area. It applies to all Man With Van Southkensington customers in the area, including individuals who request quotes, book moving services, communicate with us, or otherwise engage with our business.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy should help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and the rights available to you.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data when you use our services:

Identity information such as your name, title, and any business or household contact details you provide.
Contact information including email address, telephone number, and correspondence details.
Service information such as pickup and delivery addresses, property access details, moving dates, inventory notes, and service preferences.
Billing and payment information such as invoicing details, payment status, and transaction records. We do not knowingly retain full card details where payment is processed through secure payment systems.
Communication records including enquiries, complaints, feedback, and notes from calls, emails, or messages.
Operational data such as route planning details, scheduling information, and service history.
Technical data where relevant, such as basic website or device usage information, if you interact with our digital services.

We generally collect this information directly from you. In some cases, we may also receive data from third parties, such as estate agents, landlords, business partners, insurers, or payment providers, where it is necessary for service delivery or administration.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data only where we have a valid legal basis under data protection law. Typical purposes include:

Providing quotes and responding to enquiries.
Planning, scheduling, and delivering moving and transport services.
Managing bookings, changes, cancellations, and customer support.
Issuing invoices, processing payments, and keeping financial records.
Communicating important service updates and operational information.
Maintaining business records and internal administration.
Improving service quality, training staff, and handling complaints.
Meeting legal, regulatory, insurance, and tax obligations.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons for which it was collected unless we are legally permitted to do so or have obtained your consent where required.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we rely on the following lawful bases when processing personal data:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, confirming bookings, carrying out removals, and managing payment and service arrangements.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information to comply with legal duties, including tax, accounting, insurance, record-keeping, and fraud prevention requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include improving operations, handling customer queries, securing our services, or managing internal administration. Where required, we balance our interests against your privacy rights.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where you agree to receive optional marketing communications. If we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who process information on our behalf or with independent organisations where necessary for service delivery or legal compliance. These may include:

Payment processors that handle secure payment transactions.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that support invoicing, financial administration, and tax compliance.
IT and cloud service providers that host systems, store data securely, or support communications.
Customer management or scheduling tools used to organise bookings and service records.
Insurance providers, legal advisers, or regulators where disclosure is necessary to protect rights, manage claims, or comply with legal duties.
Subcontracted service providers who assist with delivery of moving services under our instructions and confidentiality requirements.

Where a third party acts as a data processor, it will only process personal data according to our instructions and must implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures. We do not sell your personal data.

5. International Transfers

Where any processor or service provider is located outside the United Kingdom, we will take appropriate steps to ensure your personal data remains protected. This may include the use of approved contractual safeguards or relying on adequacy regulations where available.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for legal, accounting, and reporting obligations. Retention periods may vary depending on the nature of the information and the reason for processing.

As a general approach:

Customer and booking records are retained for the period needed to manage services and resolve disputes.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law.
Enquiry and communication records may be retained for a reasonable period to support customer service and business administration.
Consent-based marketing data is kept until you withdraw consent or it is no longer needed.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

7. Your Rights

As a data subject under UK GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and legal basis for processing.

Right of access ??? you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification ??? you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure ??? you can request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction ??? you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object ??? you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or to direct marketing.
Right to data portability ??? you may request certain data in a structured, commonly used format where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
Right to withdraw consent ??? where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we may ask for information to verify your identity before responding. We will respond within the time limits required by law, normally within one month, unless the request is complex or multiple requests have been made.

8. Security of Your Data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and restricted sharing on a need-to-know basis. However, no system can be guaranteed completely secure, and we cannot promise absolute protection.

9. Children???s Data

Our services are directed toward adults arranging moving and transport services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where such information is provided incidentally by a customer and is necessary for the provision of services. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child without appropriate justification, we will take steps to remove it.

10. Cookies and Similar Technologies

If we use any digital tools that involve cookies or similar technologies, they may be used for essential website functionality, performance monitoring, or improving user experience. Where required, we will provide appropriate notice and obtain consent before using non-essential cookies. You may control cookies through your browser settings.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, service operations, or data processing practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed.

12. Contact and Complaints

If you have concerns about how your personal data is handled, you may raise them with us so that we can investigate and respond appropriately. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner???s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

This Privacy Policy is intended to provide a clear and fair explanation of our data practices for customers using Man With Van Southkensington services in the area. By engaging our services, you acknowledge that personal data may be processed as described in this policy, subject always to your legal rights and applicable law.