Privacy Policy - Man With A Van Kingstonuponthames

Man With A Van Kingstonuponthames is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers in the Kingston upon Thames area and the surrounding local service area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data when you use our removal, transport, packing, collection, delivery, and related moving services. It applies to all Man With A Van Kingstonuponthames customers in the area, including individuals, households, and business clients who enquire about, book, or receive our services.

We process personal data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable privacy laws. We only collect and use information where we have a lawful reason to do so, and we aim to keep all personal data accurate, secure, and limited to what is necessary.

1. What Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data needed to provide our services, manage bookings, and meet legal and business obligations. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Booking and service details including move date, collection and delivery addresses, property access notes, item descriptions, and service preferences.
Payment information such as payment status, billing records, and transaction references. We do not intentionally store full card details unless required by a payment provider’s secure process.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, and complaint or feedback information.
Technical data such as website usage data, device information, and cookie-related information where applicable.
Special category data only where you voluntarily provide it and it is necessary for a specific service request, such as accessibility requirements. We do not seek to collect special category data unless needed.

We do not collect more information than is required for the purposes described in this policy. Where possible, we will use anonymised or limited data.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data to operate our business and deliver services effectively. This includes:

Processing enquiries and providing quotes.
Managing bookings and scheduling moves.
Delivering removals, transport, and related services.
Handling invoicing, payments, refunds, and account administration.
Communicating about your booking or service request.
Resolving complaints, disputes, and service issues.
Maintaining records for legal, accounting, and insurance purposes.
Protecting our services from fraud, misuse, or security threats.
Improving our services, customer experience, and operational planning.

We will only use your data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose and the law allows it.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, confirming bookings, completing your move, and managing payment arrangements.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where needed to comply with legal requirements, such as tax, accounting, record-keeping, or responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include improving services, maintaining security, managing operations, preventing fraud, and retaining evidence of communications.

Consent

Where required, we rely on your consent, for example for certain optional marketing communications or where we process special category data that you have chosen to provide for a specific purpose. You may withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Sharing Your Data with Processors and Other Third Parties

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us run our business. These parties act as processors where they process data on our behalf and only under our instructions. They may include:

Payment processors who handle secure payment transactions.
IT and hosting providers who maintain our systems, email services, or data storage.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who support financial record management.
Customer management or booking system providers who store and organise service information.
Insurance providers or claims handlers where necessary to manage incidents or loss claims.
Professional advisers such as lawyers or auditors where required.

We may also disclose data where necessary to comply with the law, enforce our agreements, protect our rights, or prevent fraud and illegal activity.

Where a third party acts as a processor, we require appropriate contractual safeguards, confidentiality obligations, and security measures. Where a third party acts as an independent controller, their own privacy terms may also apply.

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, insurance, and operational requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason it is held.

Booking and service records are typically retained for a period necessary to manage service history, disputes, and customer support.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law.
Communications and complaint records may be retained for as long as needed to resolve issues and demonstrate proper handling.
Marketing preferences are retained until you change your preference or withdraw consent where applicable.

When data is no longer required, we will delete it securely, anonymise it, or destroy it in a safe manner. In some cases, we may retain data for longer if needed for legal claims, regulatory investigations, or other legitimate reasons.

6. Data Security

We take reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and restricted data handling practices.

While no system is completely secure, we regularly review our practices and aim to maintain a level of protection appropriate to the risks involved. If a data breach occurs that is likely to pose a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will respond in accordance with legal requirements.

7. Your Rights Under Data Protection Law

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal data, subject to legal limits and exemptions. These rights include:

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 restriction - to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to object - to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability - to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent - where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to raise concerns about how your personal data is handled. If you believe your data protection rights have been infringed, you may also have the right to complain to the UK data protection authority. We encourage you to raise any concerns with us first so we can address them promptly.

8. Marketing Communications

Where permitted by law, we may send you service updates or relevant business communications. If we send marketing communications, we will do so only where we have the appropriate legal basis. You can opt out of marketing at any time. If you opt out, we will continue to send essential service-related communications where necessary for booking or legal purposes.

9. International Transfers

In some cases, our processors or service providers may store or process data outside the UK. Where this occurs, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in line with applicable legal requirements. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, approved contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are aimed at adults and businesses. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidentally provided in the course of a service request, such as household move details. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without appropriate justification, we will take steps to delete it where required.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

We are committed to processing personal data fairly, lawfully, and transparently. For all Man With A Van Kingstonuponthames customers in the area, we aim to keep information secure, use it only for legitimate service and compliance purposes, and respect your rights. If you share personal data with us, it will be handled with care, used only where necessary, and retained only for as long as required.