Privacy Policy - Man With Van Richmonduponthames

This Privacy Policy explains how personal data is collected, used, stored, shared, and protected by Man With Van Richmonduponthames. It applies to all Man With Van Richmonduponthames customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, students, and businesses that use our moving, packing, loading, unloading, and related services.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy applies to information collected when you request a quote, make a booking, communicate with us, receive a service, or otherwise interact with us.

1. Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data needed to provide our services effectively, manage our business, and meet our legal obligations. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

Identity information such as your name and, where relevant, the name of a business or organisation.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as pickup and delivery addresses, access details, move dates, property type, and inventory or item descriptions.
Payment-related information such as billing details and payment status. We do not intentionally retain full card details where a secure payment provider processes them.
Communication records such as emails, messages, booking notes, and service instructions.
Operational information such as route planning, job assignments, estimates, and service history.
Technical information if you interact with digital systems we use, such as device identifiers, time stamps, and log data.

We may also receive personal data from third parties when necessary to deliver a service, for example from letting agents, property managers, landlords, business clients, or payment processors. Where this happens, we use the information only for the purpose for which it was provided.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data to manage customer relationships and complete the services you request. Typical uses include:

preparing quotations and confirming bookings;
planning routes, vehicle allocation, and staffing;
communicating with you about timings, access, delays, or service changes;
handling billing, invoicing, and payment administration;
responding to queries, complaints, or claims;
meeting legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations;
maintaining internal records and service quality;
protecting against fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We only use your personal data for purposes that are compatible with the original reason it was collected unless we have a lawful basis to use it differently.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. We rely on the following bases where appropriate:

Performance of a Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract or to perform a contract with you. This includes quoting, scheduling, moving items, and managing the service you have booked.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where necessary to comply with legal requirements, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, and regulatory obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data based on our legitimate interests where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include improving our services, managing customer communications, preventing fraud, protecting our business, and maintaining operational records. When we rely on legitimate interests, we assess whether the processing is necessary and proportionate.

Consent

In some situations, we may ask for your consent, for example for optional communications or certain forms of marketing if applicable. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

4. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to run our business and provide services. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the context.

Examples of processors may include:

IT and cloud storage providers;
booking and scheduling software providers;
payment processing services;
accounting and invoicing systems;
email and communications platforms;
data backup and security providers;
professional advisers, such as accountants or insurers, where necessary.

We require processors to handle personal data securely, only on our instructions, and only for the purposes agreed. We do not sell your personal data. We may also disclose information to public authorities, courts, insurers, or law enforcement where required by law or necessary to protect our rights, customers, staff, or property.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as needed for the purpose it was collected, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason for holding it.

Quotation and booking records may be retained for a reasonable period to manage the customer relationship and resolve queries.
Financial and tax records are typically retained for the period required by law.
Service records and communications may be kept for customer support, dispute resolution, and business administration.
Insurance-related records may be retained for as long as needed to handle claims or potential claims.

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention practices. We do not keep personal data indefinitely.

6. Security of Your Information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful management of third-party systems.

While we do our best to protect your information, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. If a data incident occurs, we will respond in accordance with applicable law and take steps to reduce any risk to you.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the legal basis for processing and the circumstances of your request:

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 information.
Right to erasure ??? you can ask us to delete your data in certain situations.
Right to restriction ??? you can request that we limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to data portability ??? you can ask for certain information to be provided in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to object ??? you can object to processing based on legitimate interests and to certain direct marketing uses.
Right to withdraw consent ??? where processing relies on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner???s Office if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed. Before doing so, we encourage you to raise any concerns through the appropriate channels so we can address them promptly.

8. International Transfers

If any service provider stores or processes data outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure an appropriate level of protection. This may include using approved safeguards and reviewing the provider???s data protection arrangements.

9. Children???s Data

Our services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with a household move or related service and provided by an adult customer or lawful guardian. Where children???s data is involved, we will process it only as needed to deliver the service and protect their interests.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service arrangements. Any revised version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their personal data is handled.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Man With Van Richmonduponthames is committed to treating personal data responsibly and transparently. We collect only the information needed to deliver our services, use it for clear and lawful purposes, keep it no longer than necessary, and protect it with suitable safeguards. We also respect your data protection rights and aim to handle all requests fairly and efficiently.

In short: your privacy matters to us, and we process personal data in a way that supports safe, reliable, and lawful service delivery for every customer in the Richmonduponthames area.