Privacy Policy - Man With A Van Walthamstow

This Privacy Policy explains how personal data is collected, used, stored, shared, and protected by Man With A Van Walthamstow. It applies to all Man With A Van Walthamstow customers in the area, including anyone who requests a quote, makes a booking, receives moving services, or otherwise interacts with us in connection with our services.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We take privacy seriously and aim to only collect information that is necessary for providing our services and managing our business responsibly.

1. What Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of a business or organisation.
Contact details such as telephone number, email address, and service address.
Service information including booking details, moving requirements, property access information, inventory notes, and preferred dates and times.
Billing and payment data such as invoice details, payment status, and transaction records.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, and any feedback or complaints you provide.
Technical data such as device or browser information if you communicate with us electronically, and basic usage information related to our systems.
Special instructions you provide to help us complete a move safely, including parking, access, or item handling requirements.

We do not seek to collect more information than is necessary. In most cases, we collect personal data directly from you when you request a quote, make a booking, confirm service details, or contact us with an enquiry.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotes and manage bookings.
To deliver moving, transport, and related services.
To communicate with you before, during, and after a service.
To issue invoices, process payments, and maintain financial records.
To respond to questions, complaints, and service issues.
To improve our operations, service quality, and customer experience.
To maintain internal records and meet legal or regulatory obligations.
To prevent fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access to our systems or services.

We only use personal data for purposes that are compatible with the reason it was collected, or where we have a lawful basis to do so under data protection law.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for each use of personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing a quote, arranging a booking, delivering services, issuing an invoice, and managing any follow-up related to the service.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where required to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, insurance, record-keeping, or responding to lawful requests from authorities.

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 managing enquiries, improving services, maintaining security, preventing fraud, and handling business administration.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you have expressly agreed to a specific communication or optional processing activity. 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 only where necessary for business operations, service delivery, or legal compliance. These third parties act as processors when they process personal data on our instructions, or as independent controllers where they determine their own purposes.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

Payment processors that handle card or electronic payments securely.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers used for invoicing, financial reporting, and tax compliance.
IT and cloud service providers used for storing data, maintaining systems, and supporting communications.
Communication tools used for sending emails, messages, or service updates.
Professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, or auditors where needed.

We require processors to handle personal data securely and only in accordance with our instructions and applicable data protection law. We do not sell personal data.

We may also disclose data if required to do so by law, in response to lawful requests from public authorities, or where necessary to protect our rights, customers, staff, or property.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and for any additional period required by law. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the purpose for which it is used.

Booking and service records are retained for as long as needed to manage the service and resolve any follow-up issues.
Financial and accounting records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Correspondence and complaints are retained for a reasonable period to allow us to manage enquiries, disputes, and service quality.
Technical and security records are retained only as long as necessary for operational and security purposes.

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

6. Data Security

We use 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 awareness, and limiting data access to those who need it for legitimate business purposes.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to reduce risk and handle any incidents in line with applicable legal requirements.

7. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect the data. This may include the use of approved contractual protections or ensuring the destination country has adequate data protection standards.

8. Your Rights Under GDPR

You have a number of rights regarding your personal data. Subject to legal limits and exceptions, these may include:

Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restrict processing – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format, where applicable.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

We will respond to valid rights requests within the time limits set by data protection law. In some cases, we may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

9. Automated Decision-Making

We do not normally use fully automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes, we will update this Privacy Policy and provide the required information.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are directed to adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is necessary as part of a booking or service arrangement made by an adult customer. If we become aware that we have collected data inappropriately, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any updated 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 information is used.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Man With A Van Walthamstow is committed to protecting personal data, using it only when we have a lawful basis, keeping it secure, and respecting your rights. We collect only what is needed to provide reliable moving services, manage customer relationships, and meet our legal obligations. By doing so, we aim to handle information in a transparent and responsible manner for every customer in the area.

This policy is intended to provide clear information about our data practices and to support compliance with applicable data protection laws.