Privacy Policy - Man With Van Downe

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Downe collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Man With Van Downe customers in the area, including anyone who requests, books, receives, or enquires about our moving and transport services. We are committed to handling personal information in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services, you acknowledge that we may process personal data as described in this policy. We aim to keep our practices transparent, proportionate, and limited to what is necessary for the delivery of our services and compliance with legal obligations.

1. Data We Collect

We only collect personal information that is relevant to providing our services, managing our business, and meeting legal requirements. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of data:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, business name.
Contact information such as telephone number, email address, and service address.
Service details including moving date, property access information, inventory notes, and special handling requests.
Billing and payment information such as transaction records and invoice details.
Communications including messages, enquiries, complaints, and feedback.
Operational data such as route information, job notes, and internal service records.
Technical data if you interact with us electronically, including basic device or browser information where needed for security and service administration.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and lawful to do so. If such information is ever provided to us, we will treat it with enhanced care and only process it where a lawful basis exists.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data to deliver our services efficiently and lawfully. Typical purposes include:

Processing quotations, bookings, and customer requests.
Planning and carrying out moving, transport, loading, and related services.
Communicating with customers about timings, access, service changes, and completion details.
Managing invoices, payments, and accounting records.
Handling complaints, customer support, and after-service follow-up.
Meeting tax, insurance, legal, and regulatory obligations.
Protecting our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud, misuse, or security risks.
Improving service quality, operational planning, and record keeping.

We will not use personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected unless we have a lawful basis to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Man With Van Downe relies on the following bases depending on the context:

a. Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, providing moving services, issuing invoices, and communicating about the service.

b. Legal Obligation

We may process data to comply with laws and regulations, including accounting, tax, fraud prevention, and record-keeping requirements.

c. Legitimate Interests

We may process data for our legitimate business interests where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include service improvement, internal administration, security, customer support, and business planning. We always consider whether our interests are appropriate and proportionate.

d. Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is needed for optional communications or specific processing activities. When consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

We do not rely on consent where another lawful basis is more appropriate.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties that help us operate our business. These organisations act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We only share data where necessary and we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.

Payment providers for processing transactions securely.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers for financial record management.
IT and cloud service providers that host systems, store records, or support communications.
Insurance providers where claims or risk management require information sharing.
Professional advisers such as legal or tax advisers when needed for compliance or dispute resolution.
Public authorities where disclosure is required by law, court order, or regulatory request.

Where a processor handles data on our behalf, they are required to act only on our instructions, keep data secure, and use it only for the agreed purpose. We do not sell personal data.

5. International Transfers

In some cases, data may be stored or processed outside the United Kingdom. If this occurs, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent protective measures approved under data protection law.

6. Data Retention

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

Booking and service records are usually kept for a reasonable period after completion to manage queries, disputes, and service history.
Invoice and payment records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Complaint or correspondence records may be retained to evidence how issues were handled.
Security or incident records may be retained longer where necessary to protect our legitimate interests or meet legal obligations.

When personal data is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise disposed of in a safe manner.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or disclosure. These measures are designed to reflect the nature of the data and the risks involved. Access to personal data is restricted to people who need it for their role, and they are subject to confidentiality obligations.

While we take reasonable steps to protect your information, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. If a personal data breach occurs and there is a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will respond in line with our legal obligations.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to legal limits or exceptions, but we will always review requests carefully and respond appropriately.

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 request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in specific situations.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – you can request that certain data be provided in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to respond within the time limits set by law.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with a lawful service request and appropriate safeguards are in place.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service delivery. Any updates will apply from the date they are published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

11. Our Commitment

At Man With Van Downe, we believe privacy is an important part of trustworthy service. We collect only what is needed, use it fairly and lawfully, and keep it only for as long as necessary. All Man With Van Downe customers in the area are covered by this policy, and we expect our staff and service partners to uphold the same standards of care.

This policy is intended to provide clear information about how personal data is managed in connection with our moving services.