Privacy Policy - Man With Van Hounslow

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Hounslow collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our moving, transport, and related services. It applies to all Man With Van Hounslow customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and businesses who engage our services or communicate with us in relation to a booking, quotation, or service inquiry.

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

1. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide and manage our services, respond to enquiries, and meet our legal and operational obligations. The information collected may include:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of your organisation.
Contact details such as telephone number, email address, and service address.
Booking and service details including move dates, collection and delivery addresses, property access information, inventory details, and special handling requirements.
Payment and billing information necessary to process transactions, issue invoices, and manage accounts.
Communication records such as emails, messages, call notes, and complaint correspondence.
Usage and technical data if you interact with any digital systems we use, such as device information, logs, and basic security data.
Proof or verification documents where needed for fraud prevention, legal compliance, or identity confirmation.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have chosen to provide it, or unless we are required to process it for a lawful purpose. Special category data may include information about health, religion, ethnicity, or similar sensitive matters. If such data is provided to us incidentally, we will handle it with enhanced care and only where permitted by law.

2. How We Use Your Data

Your personal data is used for the following purposes:

To provide quotations, schedule jobs, and deliver moving services.
To communicate with you before, during, and after the service.
To manage payments, invoices, refunds, and account records.
To respond to queries, feedback, complaints, and claims.
To improve service quality, planning, efficiency, and customer experience.
To maintain security, prevent fraud, and protect our operations.
To comply with legal, regulatory, insurance, and tax obligations.

We only use data where we have a valid and lawful reason to do so. We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use it for unrelated purposes that are incompatible with the reasons for which it was collected.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the nature of the service and the information involved, we rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotations, confirming bookings, delivering moving services, and managing payment arrangements.

Legal Obligation

We may process data to comply with legal requirements, including tax, accounting, transport, insurance, and record-keeping obligations, as well as lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This can include service improvement, fraud prevention, operational planning, customer support, and internal administration.

Consent

Where required, we rely on your consent. For example, if certain optional information is provided or where specific processing requires your permission, we will make this clear. You may withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties only when necessary for the purposes described in this policy. These third parties may act as processors or independent controllers depending on the service they provide.

Examples of processors and categories of recipients may include:

IT and hosting providers that store or support systems used for communication, record management, or data backup.
Payment service providers that handle card or transfer transactions securely.
Accountancy and bookkeeping providers that assist with financial records and compliance.
Insurance providers and claims handlers where required for risk management or claim resolution.
Professional advisers such as legal or regulatory advisers when necessary.
Subcontractors or operational partners involved in delivering a booked service, subject to appropriate confidentiality and data protection obligations.

Where we use processors, they are required to act only on our instructions, protect your information appropriately, and maintain appropriate technical and organisational safeguards. We do not permit processors to use your personal data for their own unrelated purposes.

We may also disclose data where required by law, to enforce our rights, to protect the safety of individuals, or to respond to lawful requests by courts, regulators, or government bodies.

5. Data Retention

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

Typical retention periods may include:

Quotation and enquiry data: retained for a limited period if no service is booked, to allow follow-up and internal review.
Customer and booking records: retained for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and tax records: retained for the period required by applicable accounting and tax laws.
Complaint, claim, and dispute records: retained for as long as necessary to resolve the matter and meet legal requirements.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you. In some cases, a longer retention period may apply if legal obligations, insurance matters, or legitimate dispute resolution require it.

6. Data Security

We take the security of personal data seriously and implement appropriate safeguards to reduce the risk of loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of our data handling practices.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take reasonable and proportionate steps to protect the information we hold and to address any suspected breach promptly and in line with legal requirements.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to certain legal conditions and exemptions, but we will always assess your request 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 data.
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 certain situations.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – you can request 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.

If you exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to deal with requests within the time limits set by law and will provide information about any reason we cannot fully comply.

8. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms required under data protection law.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data handling practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how your data is used.

10. Summary of Our Commitment

Man With Van Hounslow is committed to respecting your privacy and protecting your personal data. We collect only the information needed to provide moving services and manage our business responsibly, we process data under lawful bases such as contract, legal obligation, legitimate interests, and consent, and we retain information only for as long as necessary. We also require our processors to safeguard data and support your rights under data protection law.

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