Privacy Policy - Man With Van Islington

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Islington collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing moving, delivery, and related services. It applies to all Man With Van Islington customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and people who interact with us in connection with a booking or quotation. We are committed to handling personal data 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 Islington acts as the data controller for personal data collected and used in connection with our services. This means we decide why and how your personal data is processed. We take data protection seriously and aim to ensure that all personal information is processed fairly, lawfully, and transparently.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity details: name and any title or business name you provide
Contact details: address, email address, telephone number, and moving locations
Booking details: service requirements, preferred dates, access notes, inventory information, and special instructions
Payment information: billing details and payment records
Communication records: enquiries, correspondence, complaints, and feedback
Service records: job notes, delivery information, and completion confirmations
Technical data: limited information such as IP address, device type, and cookies where applicable

We only collect personal data that is necessary for legitimate business purposes or where required by law. We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you voluntarily provide it and it is relevant to the service, such as accessibility requirements. Where this occurs, we process it with additional care and appropriate safeguards.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and arrange moving services
to manage bookings and schedule services
to communicate with you before, during, and after a job
to process payments, invoices, and refunds where relevant
to maintain business records and service histories
to respond to enquiries, complaints, and requests
to comply with legal and regulatory obligations
to improve our services, operations, and customer experience

We may also use limited data for internal analysis, security, fraud prevention, and service quality checks. When we do this, we ensure the use is proportionate and consistent with this Privacy Policy.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process personal data when 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, confirming bookings, carrying out removals, and handling payment-related administration.

Legal Obligation

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

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This may include managing operations, improving services, preventing misuse, and maintaining accurate business records. We always consider whether the processing is necessary and proportionate.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where optional marketing communications or certain cookies are used. Where consent is the legal basis, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing Your Personal Data

We may share personal data with trusted third parties only when necessary for the operation of our business or where required by law. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the service they provide. Examples include:

Payment providers who process transactions securely
IT and cloud service providers who host systems, emails, or databases
Accountants and professional advisers who support financial and legal compliance
Subcontractors or operational partners who assist in delivering services
Authorities or regulators where disclosure is required by law

We require processors to handle personal data securely, use it only on our instructions, and comply with applicable data protection obligations. We do not sell your personal data.

6. Data Retention

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

Quotation and booking records: retained for a reasonable period to manage service history and disputes
Financial and invoice records: retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws
Customer communications: retained as needed to maintain accurate records and resolve issues
Security and technical logs: kept for a limited time unless needed longer for investigation or legal compliance

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete it, anonymise it, or securely destroy it. We retain data only for the minimum period necessary in line with our legal and business obligations.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality requirements, and data minimisation practices. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take reasonable steps to safeguard your information.

8. International Transfers

If personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place and that the transfer complies with data protection law. This may include the use of approved contractual protections or transfers to countries with an adequate level of protection.

9. Your Rights

Under the UK GDPR, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be limited in some circumstances, but we will always explain our position clearly if a request cannot be fully actioned.

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 processing in certain situations
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing
Right to data portability: you may request transfer of data you provided to us, where applicable
Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We will handle requests within the time limits required by law.

10. Complaints

If you believe your data protection rights have been breached, you have the right to raise a concern with the relevant supervisory authority. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any issue promptly and fairly. We will always aim to deal with privacy concerns in a transparent and cooperative manner.

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 revised version will take effect when published or otherwise communicated. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

12. Summary of Our Approach

Man With Van Islington processes personal data responsibly and only when necessary. We collect information to deliver services efficiently, rely on clear lawful bases, retain data for limited periods, use trusted processors, and respect your rights under data protection law. Our goal is to keep your information secure, relevant, and handled with care for all customers in the area.