Privacy Policy - Man With A Van Shoreditch

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With A Van Shoreditch collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing removal, moving, transport, and related services. It applies to all Man With A Van Shoreditch customers in the area, including individuals and businesses who request quotes, make bookings, communicate with us, or receive services from us.

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

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the personal data needed to provide and manage our services effectively. The categories of information may include:

Identity details such as your name, title, and any business name you provide.
Contact details such as your phone number, email address, and service address.
Booking and service details including requested dates, moving requirements, property access information, item descriptions, and special handling instructions.
Payment and invoicing information such as billing address, transaction records, and payment status. We do not store more payment data than is necessary for processing and accounting purposes.
Communication records including enquiries, complaints, feedback, and correspondence relating to quotes, bookings, or service issues.
Operational information such as delivery notes, vehicle allocation, route planning data, and completion records.
Technical information where relevant, such as basic device or usage data collected through our systems for security, fraud prevention, or service improvement purposes.

In some situations, you may choose to provide additional information that is not strictly required. Where this happens, we will only use that information for the purpose for which it was provided, unless another lawful basis applies.

2. How We Collect Data

We may collect data directly from you when you:

request a quote;
make a booking;
contact us by phone, email, or other communication channels;
complete forms or provide documents needed for service delivery;
raise a question, complaint, or claim;
make a payment or receive an invoice.

We may also receive information from third parties where necessary for service delivery, for example from a landlord, letting agent, business client, or other authorised representative. In such cases, we expect the third party to have a lawful basis for sharing the information with us.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only when we have a valid lawful basis under the UK GDPR. Depending on the context, the lawful basis may include:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotations, confirming bookings, completing moves, issuing invoices, and managing service-related communications.

Legal Obligation

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

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. Examples include improving our services, managing customer enquiries, maintaining security, preventing misuse, and resolving disputes. When relying on legitimate interests, we take care to assess and balance any potential impact on your privacy.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where optional marketing communications are sent or where you voluntarily provide certain non-essential information. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time.

We do not rely on data processing practices that are unnecessary for the delivery of our services, and we limit the amount of data collected to what is relevant and proportionate.

4. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotes and manage bookings;
to deliver moving and transport services;
to communicate with you about appointments, access, timing, and service updates;
to issue invoices and manage payments;
to handle complaints, claims, and customer support requests;
to maintain business records and meet legal obligations;
to improve our services, operations, and customer experience;
to protect against fraud, misuse, and unauthorised access.

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

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including meeting legal, accounting, and reporting obligations.

Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason it is held. As a general approach:

Customer booking and service records are retained for a period appropriate to service administration and dispute resolution.
Financial and invoicing records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Communication records are kept for as long as needed to respond to enquiries or manage claims and complaints.
Marketing preferences are kept until you withdraw consent or object, where applicable.

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

6. Processors and Third Parties

We may use trusted processors to help us operate our business and deliver services. These processors only process personal data on our instructions and are required to protect it appropriately.

Examples of processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers that store or support our business systems;
payment service providers that handle card or online payments;
accounting and bookkeeping providers that assist with invoicing and financial administration;
communications providers that support email, messaging, or telephone systems;
operational subcontractors where they are required to complete a booked service under our instructions.

We may also disclose data to other third parties where required by law, to protect our rights, to prevent fraud, or to support the completion of our services. Where personal data is shared, we take reasonable steps to ensure it is limited to what is necessary.

We do not sell your personal data.

7. International Transfers

Where any processor or service provider stores or accesses personal data outside the UK, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with data protection law. These safeguards may include standard contractual protections or equivalent approved transfer mechanisms.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. These may include:

Right of access – you can ask for confirmation of whether we process your data and request a copy.
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 circumstances.
Right to restriction – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or to direct marketing.
Right to data portability – you can ask for certain data to be provided in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions. If you exercise a right, we may need to verify your identity before responding.

9. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff awareness, and minimising access to data on a need-to-know basis.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take the protection of your information seriously and regularly review the measures we use.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our operations, legal requirements, or data protection practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it takes effect. We encourage customers to review the policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Man With A Van Shoreditch is committed to handling customer information responsibly, lawfully, and transparently. We collect only the data needed to provide our services, use it for clear and legitimate purposes, retain it only as long as necessary, and share it only with trusted processors or where required by law. Our aim is to respect your privacy while delivering reliable services to all customers in the area.