Privacy Policy - Man With Van Covent Garden

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Covent Garden collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with the services we provide. It applies to all Man With Van Covent Garden customers in area, including individuals and businesses that request quotes, make bookings, receive removals or delivery services, or otherwise interact with us in relation to our moving and van services.

We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable privacy laws. We aim to be transparent about what information we collect, why we collect it, and the rights you have in relation to your personal data.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data, depending on how you use our services:

Identity data: name, title, and any identification details needed to verify your booking or manage access to services.
Contact data: phone number, email address, billing address, and service address.
Booking and service data: move dates, collection and delivery locations, inventory details, property access information, and service instructions.
Payment data: payment confirmation, transaction details, and invoice information. We do not knowingly store full card details where payment processing is handled by a third-party provider.
Communication data: records of enquiries, emails, messages, and notes from telephone calls.
Technical data: IP address, device type, browser type, and basic usage information if you interact with our online systems.
Special instructions: any information you voluntarily provide that is relevant to carrying out the service safely and efficiently.

We only collect data that is relevant and necessary for arranging, delivering, and administering our services, or where required to meet legal and regulatory obligations.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotes and respond to enquiries;
to manage bookings, pickups, deliveries, and removals;
to communicate with customers before, during, and after a service;
to process payments, issue invoices, and maintain financial records;
to plan routes, allocate staff, and coordinate vehicles;
to improve service quality, customer experience, and operational efficiency;
to maintain records, resolve disputes, and handle complaints;
to comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory requirements;
to protect against fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We will only use your personal data in ways that are fair, lawful, and limited to the purposes described in this policy or otherwise clearly explained to you at the time of collection.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only where we have a lawful basis under the UK GDPR. The lawful bases we rely on may include:

Contract

Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes providing quotes, booking services, carrying out the move, and managing payments.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, such as accounting requirements, tax law, insurance duties, and record-keeping obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include business administration, service improvement, fraud prevention, and maintaining secure records.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you agree to receive certain optional communications or where we need permission to process information not otherwise covered by another lawful basis. You may withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing.

4. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties that help us operate our business and deliver our services. These parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We only share the minimum amount of data necessary for the relevant purpose.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

Payment processors that handle card or electronic payments securely;
IT and cloud service providers that support data storage, scheduling, and communications;
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that assist with invoicing and statutory records;
Customer support tools used to manage enquiries and service requests;
Insurance providers, legal advisers, or professional advisers where necessary for claims, compliance, or dispute handling;
Subcontracted service partners involved in delivering a move or related service.

Where we use processors, we require them to protect personal data, act only on our instructions, and comply with applicable data protection law. We do not sell personal data.

5. International Transfers

If any processor or service provider stores or accesses personal data outside the United Kingdom, we will take appropriate safeguards to ensure the information remains protected in line with data protection law. These safeguards may include standard contractual protections or transfers to countries with adequate legal protections.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, reporting, and insurance requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the reason we hold it.

As a general approach:

booking and service records are kept for a period needed to manage the contract, handle queries, and support service history;
financial and tax-related records are retained for the period required by law;
communication records are kept as long as needed to resolve queries, complaints, or operational issues;
data no longer required is securely deleted, anonymised, or archived where appropriate.

We review retention periodically to ensure that personal data is not kept longer than necessary.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limiting data access to individuals who need it to perform their duties.

Although we take reasonable steps to safeguard information, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. We therefore encourage customers to share only the information needed for the service.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

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

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to exemptions or limitations under applicable law. We will respond to requests in accordance with legal requirements.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults or authorised representatives arranging transport, removals, or delivery services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental and necessary to perform a lawful service request made by an adult customer. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child inappropriately, we will take steps to delete it where required.

10. Complaints and Further Information

If you are concerned about how your personal data is handled, you should contact us through the appropriate customer service channel so we can review the issue and respond. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

We encourage you to raise any privacy concerns with us first so that we can address them promptly and fairly.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or the services we provide. Any updates will take effect when published or otherwise communicated to you. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.

Last reviewed: This policy is intended to apply to all customers using Man With Van Covent Garden services in the area and should be read as part of our ongoing commitment to responsible data protection.