Privacy Policy - Man With Van Thornton Heath

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Thornton Heath collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing removal, transport, moving, and related services. It applies to all Man With Van Thornton Heath customers in area, including prospective customers, current customers, and individuals who enquire about our services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Man With Van Thornton Heath is a moving and transport service provider operating in the local area. In this policy, references to we, us, and our mean Man With Van Thornton Heath. References to you and your mean any person whose personal data we process, including customers, business clients, representatives, and website or phone enquirers.

This policy applies whenever we collect or process personal data in connection with our services, quotations, bookings, operations, invoicing, customer support, and related administrative tasks.

2. Information We Collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for our business activities. The types of data we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name, title, and where applicable, company name.
Contact details such as your phone number, email address, and service address.
Booking information such as moving dates, item descriptions, property access details, and service preferences.
Payment and invoicing details such as billing information, payment status, and transaction records.
Communication records such as messages, enquiries, complaints, and notes from calls or written correspondence.
Service-related information such as delivery instructions, parking arrangements, and handling requirements for items.
Technical data if you interact with our digital systems, including device information, IP address, and basic usage data where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have chosen to provide it. If such information is received incidentally, we will process it with appropriate safeguards and only where a lawful basis exists.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use your personal data for specific and legitimate purposes connected to our services. These may include:

providing quotations and responding to enquiries;
managing bookings and delivering moving services;
planning routes, allocating staff, and organising vehicles;
communicating with you about your service request or booking;
issuing invoices, processing payments, and maintaining financial records;
handling complaints, disputes, or insurance-related matters;
meeting legal and regulatory obligations;
maintaining internal records, service quality, and business administration;
preventing fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We will only use your personal data in ways that are compatible with the reasons for which it was collected, unless we have a valid legal reason to use it for another purpose.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. We rely on the following lawful bases where appropriate:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, managing bookings, carrying out a move, and handling payment or invoicing.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data to comply with legal requirements, such as accounting, tax, insurance, or 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 managing customer relationships, improving services, maintaining internal administration, and protecting our business from fraud or misuse.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain marketing communications or where legally required. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests

In rare cases, we may process personal data to protect someone’s life or physical safety, such as during an emergency.

5. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties when necessary for service delivery or business operations. These third parties act either as independent controllers or as processors acting on our behalf. We only share the minimum information needed and require appropriate data protection measures.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

IT and cloud service providers that store or support our records and systems;
payment processors that handle card or electronic payments;
accounting and bookkeeping providers that help with financial administration;
customer management or communication tools used to organise enquiries and bookings;
insurance or claims handlers where a complaint, loss, or damage issue must be addressed;
professional advisers such as legal or tax advisers where necessary;
subcontractors or support staff involved in delivering a booked service.

Where processors are used, they are required to process personal data only under our instructions, keep it secure, and comply with applicable data protection law. We may also disclose information to public authorities, regulators, courts, or law enforcement where required by law or to protect our legal rights.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including for legal, accounting, and reporting obligations. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the reason for processing.

As a general approach:

booking and service records may be retained for a reasonable period after completion of the service;
financial and invoice records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting law;
complaints or claims data may be retained longer where needed to defend or resolve a dispute;
enquiry data that does not lead to a booking may be kept for a shorter period and then deleted or anonymised.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in accordance with our retention practices.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limiting access to personal information to those who need it for business purposes.

Although we take reasonable steps to protect your information, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We encourage you to share only the information necessary for us to provide the service.

8. International Transfers

If any service providers or systems process personal data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as approved contractual protections or equivalent safeguards recognised under data protection law.

9. Your Rights

Subject to legal conditions and exceptions, you have the following rights under data protection law:

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 restrict processing – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations;
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
Right to data portability – to request transfer of certain data in a structured, commonly used format;
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time;
Right to complain – to raise a complaint with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your rights have been infringed.

We aim to respect and respond to data subject requests in a timely manner. In some cases, we may need to verify your identity before responding to protect your information.

10. Marketing Communications

If we send marketing communications, we will do so only where we have the appropriate lawful basis. You may opt out of marketing at any time, and we will respect your preferences where required by law. Non-marketing service messages, such as booking confirmations or essential service updates, may still be sent when necessary for the contract or service arrangement.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with a service request and appropriate consent or legal authority is in place. If we become aware that children’s data has been collected in error, we will take appropriate steps to delete it or secure it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data protection 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 we process personal data.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

We are committed to using personal data responsibly, securely, and only where necessary for our operations. Our approach is guided by the principles of lawfulness, fairness, transparency, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, and confidentiality. By using our services, you can expect that your information will be handled with care and in compliance with applicable data protection law.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Man With Van Thornton Heath customers in area.