Privacy Policy - Man With A Van Ealing

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With A Van Ealing collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Man With A Van Ealing customers in the area, including individuals and businesses who enquire about, book, receive, or pay for our moving, delivery, transport, loading, and related services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Man With A Van Ealing is the data controller in relation to the personal data we collect and use for our own business operations. This means we decide why and how your personal data is processed when you interact with us as a customer, prospective customer, supplier, or website user. We only process personal data where we have a valid legal basis and only for clear, specific purposes.

2. Personal Data We Collect

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

• Identity data such as your name and, where relevant, your business name.
• Contact data such as your address, email address, and phone number.
• Booking and service data such as pick-up and delivery details, service dates, item descriptions, access information, and special instructions.
• Payment and transaction data such as payment status, invoice details, and billing records.
• Communication data such as messages, call notes, enquiry details, complaints, and feedback.
• Technical data such as IP address, browser type, device information, and basic usage data if you interact with our digital systems.
• Special category data only where you voluntarily provide it and where it is necessary, for example information relating to health or accessibility needs so we can safely carry out a move or lifting service.

We do not intentionally collect more data than we need. If you provide additional information, we will only use it where there is a lawful basis for doing so.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

• to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
• to book, manage, and deliver our moving and transport services;
• to communicate with you about your booking, schedule, or service changes;
• to process payments, send invoices, and maintain accounting records;
• to handle complaints, disputes, insurance matters, or claims;
• to comply with legal and regulatory obligations;
• to improve our services, operations, and customer experience;
• to keep appropriate business records and support legitimate business administration.

We do not sell your personal data. We also do not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was originally collected, unless we have a valid legal basis to do so.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis before processing personal data. We rely on the following bases, depending on the context:

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing bookings, providing moving services, confirming service details, and handling payments.

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. This may include managing customer relationships, improving services, preventing fraud, maintaining records, and protecting our business.

Legal Obligation

We may process certain data to comply with legal duties, including tax, accounting, insurance, and record-keeping obligations.

Consent

Where required, we rely on your consent. For example, if you voluntarily provide special category data for accessibility or health-related support, we will only use it with your explicit consent or another valid basis under law.

Vital Interests

In rare situations, we may process data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in an emergency affecting health or safety during a service.

5. Sharing Personal Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to operate our services. These third parties act as processors when they process data on our behalf and under our instructions. We take reasonable steps to ensure that any processor provides appropriate data protection safeguards.

Processors and service providers may include:

• Payment service providers used to process card or electronic payments;
• Accounting and bookkeeping providers used to manage invoices and records;
• IT, cloud storage, and communications providers used to store data and support business systems;
• Scheduling, CRM, or administration platforms used to manage bookings and customer communication;
• Insurance or claims-related services where needed to handle incidents;
• Professional advisers such as accountants, solicitors, or auditors where necessary.

We may also share data with law enforcement, regulators, courts, or other public authorities where required by law or where it is necessary to protect our legal rights.

Any processor we use is only allowed to process your data for the specific services we instruct them to provide.

6. International Transfers

If any of our processors store or access data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place before any transfer occurs. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms approved under applicable data protection law.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data and the nature of the relationship.

• Enquiry data may be retained for a limited period to follow up on your request and manage future queries.
• Booking and service records may be retained for the duration of the service and for a reasonable period after completion.
• Financial and tax records are generally retained for the period required by law.
• Complaint, dispute, and claim records may be retained longer where necessary to defend legal claims or manage insurance matters.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so it can no longer identify you.

8. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and restricted data access. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to conditions and exemptions under the law.

• 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 ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to restrict processing – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
• Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
• Right to data portability – you can ask for certain data to be transferred to you or another controller in a structured format.
• Right to withdraw consent – where we rely 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 will respond within the time limits required by law.

10. 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 connection with a customer booking, for example where household information is relevant to a move. In such cases, we will process the data only where appropriate and lawful.

11. Changes to This Privacy 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 made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

12. How We Apply This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all customers of Man With A Van Ealing in the area, including those who enquire, book, pay for, or receive our services. By engaging our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in line with this policy and with applicable data protection law.

In summary: we only collect the personal data we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, keep it for no longer than necessary, and protect your rights under the law. Our aim is to handle your information responsibly, transparently, and securely at all times.