Privacy Policy - Man With Van Merton

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Merton collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our removal and transport services. It applies to all Man With Van Merton customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and businesses who use our services or communicate with us about a booking, quote, enquiry, or complaint.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. We take privacy seriously and only process personal data where we have a valid legal reason to do so.

1. What Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your phone number, email address, and service address.
Booking information such as moving date, property access details, inventory notes, and service preferences.
Payment and billing data such as transaction records, invoice details, and payment status.
Communication records such as emails, messages, call notes, and complaint history.
Service-related information such as items to be moved, property condition, and special handling requirements.
Technical information if you interact with our digital systems, including basic device or log data used for security and troubleshooting.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary for a specific service requirement or legal reason, and only where appropriate safeguards are in place. If such information is ever provided to us, we will handle it carefully and limit its use to the purpose for which it was provided.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotes.
To arrange, confirm, and deliver moving services.
To plan routes, allocate staff, and manage logistics.
To process payments, issue invoices, and manage accounts.
To communicate updates, delays, or service changes.
To handle complaints, claims, and customer support requests.
To maintain internal records and improve our services.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations.
To prevent fraud, misuse, and security incidents.

We only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible reason and that reason is permitted by data protection law.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. The main lawful bases we rely on are:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes providing quotes, scheduling services, moving goods, and issuing invoices.

Legal Obligation

We process certain information to meet legal requirements, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided that your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. These interests may include improving our services, managing customer relationships, preventing fraud, securing our systems, and maintaining accurate operational records.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is appropriate for a specific optional purpose. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for our business operations, service delivery, or compliance obligations. These third parties may act as processors or independent controllers depending on the context.

Our processors may include:

Payment service providers that process card or electronic payments.
Accounting and invoicing providers that help us manage financial records.
IT and cloud service providers that host data, provide email services, or support secure storage.
Customer communication tools that help us manage service-related messages.
Vehicle, logistics, or scheduling systems used to coordinate bookings and routes.

Where we use processors, we ensure they are bound by appropriate data processing terms and only process your personal data on our instructions and for specified purposes. We do not sell personal data.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law, court order, regulatory request, insurance claim, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of our business, staff, customers, or others.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason it is held.

Booking and service records are kept for a reasonable period after completion of the service to manage disputes, claims, and customer support.
Financial records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Complaint and correspondence records are kept as long as needed to resolve issues and demonstrate compliance.
Technical or security logs are kept for a limited period to maintain system integrity and investigate incidents.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete it, anonymise it, or otherwise ensure it is no longer identifiable.

6. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures are designed to reflect the nature of the information we hold and the risks associated with processing it.

While we work hard to protect personal data, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If a data incident occurs that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will take appropriate steps in line with our legal obligations.

7. Your Rights Under GDPR

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to applicable legal conditions and exemptions, these may include:

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 data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit the way we use your data.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing, where applicable.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format and, where feasible, have it transferred to another controller.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to raise concerns with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your personal data has been processed unlawfully or unfairly.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is necessary in the context of a household move and handled by an adult customer or authorised representative. Where children’s data is incidentally involved, we apply suitable safeguards and only process it to the extent necessary for the service.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers to review it periodically so they remain informed about how their data is processed.

10. Summary of Key Principles

Man With Van Merton is committed to lawful, transparent, and secure data processing. We collect only relevant information, use it for defined purposes, and keep it only for as long as necessary. We share data only with trusted processors or where legally required, and we respect your rights under GDPR.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Man With Van Merton customers in the area.