Privacy Policy - Man With Van Elephantandcastle

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Elephantandcastle collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing moving, delivery, transportation, and related services. It applies to all Man With Van Elephantandcastle customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and business clients who engage our services. 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.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Man With Van Elephantandcastle acts as the data controller for personal data collected in connection with our services. This means we determine why and how your personal data is processed. In some cases, we may also work with third parties who process data on our behalf, such as payment providers, booking systems, or IT support companies. These third parties are referred to as data processors or, where applicable, independent controllers.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for us to provide and manage our services, comply with legal obligations, and improve service quality. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of data:

Identity data such as your name, title, and any company or business name.
Contact data such as telephone number, email address, and service address.
Booking and service data such as move dates, property access details, inventory information, service preferences, and special handling instructions.
Payment data such as billing details, payment status, and transaction records. We do not store full card details unless necessary and permitted by our payment provider arrangements.
Communication data such as enquiries, feedback, complaints, and correspondence by phone, email, or message.
Technical data where applicable, such as basic website usage data, device information, and cookies if you interact with our online services.
Operational data such as delivery notes, job completion records, claims, and incident reports.

We generally do not seek to collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you choose to provide it. If such information is shared with us, for example to support access needs or scheduling requirements, we will process it only where permitted by law and with appropriate safeguards.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

Request a quote or make a booking.
Communicate with us about a service.
Provide details about items, access, or delivery requirements.
Make a payment or receive an invoice.
Submit a complaint, claim, or feedback.

We may also receive data from third parties where necessary to carry out a service, such as from landlords, estate agents, employers, business partners, or payment providers. In limited situations, we may collect information from publicly available sources or from service partners acting on your behalf.

4. Why We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotes, arrange bookings, and deliver moving or transport services.
To communicate with you before, during, and after a job.
To manage billing, invoicing, deposits, and payments.
To coordinate logistics, route planning, and job allocation.
To handle complaints, claims, refunds, and customer support.
To maintain internal records and service history.
To comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations.
To improve our services, manage quality, and protect against fraud or misuse.

We will only process your personal data for a specific purpose and will not use it in a way that is incompatible with that purpose unless permitted or required by law.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. We rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract: Processing is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as arranging a move, delivering goods, or managing a booking.
Legal obligation: Processing is necessary to comply with legal requirements, such as accounting, tax, or record-keeping duties.
Legitimate interests: Processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as maintaining service records, preventing fraud, improving operations, and responding to enquiries, provided these interests do not override your rights and freedoms.
Consent: In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily agree to receive certain communications or share optional information. You may withdraw consent at any time where it is the basis for processing.

Where we process special category data, we will only do so where a specific lawful condition applies and where additional safeguards are in place.

6. Data Retention

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

Booking and service records are generally retained for a period necessary to manage customer relationships and resolve disputes.
Financial and invoice records are retained in line with tax and accounting obligations.
Complaint, claim, and incident records may be retained longer where required to defend legal claims or meet insurance requirements.
Communication records may be retained for service quality and continuity purposes.

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

7. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to operate our business and provide services. These may include:

Data processors who handle information on our behalf, such as booking platforms, email providers, cloud storage services, IT support providers, payment processors, and accounting software providers.
Professional advisers such as insurers, lawyers, auditors, and accountants.
Operational partners where required to complete a service, such as subcontracted drivers or logistics partners.
Public authorities where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect rights, safety, or property.

All processors are selected carefully and are required to protect personal data through appropriate contractual and technical safeguards. They may only process data in accordance with our instructions and must not use it for their own unrelated purposes.

8. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that suitable safeguards are in place to protect it. This may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms recognised under data protection law.

9. Security of Your Data

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality duties, data minimisation, and regular review of our procedures. While no system can be guaranteed fully secure, we are committed to maintaining a level of security appropriate to the risk.

10. 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 data.
Right to erasure: to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restrict processing: to ask us to limit the use of 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, and to direct marketing 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 legal limits. If you wish to exercise a right, we may need to verify your identity before responding.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary for a booking or service and provided by an adult acting on their behalf. If we become aware that data has been collected inappropriately, we will take steps to delete it where required.

12. Cookies and Online Tracking

If we use a website or digital booking tools, limited cookies or similar technologies may be used to support functionality, performance, and basic analytics. Where required by law, we will provide appropriate notice and obtain consent for non-essential cookies. You can adjust your browser settings to manage cookie preferences.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or processing practices. Any updates will take effect once published in the revised version. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we protect your personal data.

14. Summary of Our Commitment

Man With Van Elephantandcastle is committed to processing personal data responsibly and transparently. We collect only the information needed to deliver services, rely on clear lawful bases, retain data only for as long as necessary, use trusted processors with appropriate safeguards, and respect your rights under applicable data protection law. This policy applies to all customers in the Elephantandcastle area who use our services.