Privacy Policy - Man With A Van Sydenham

Man With A Van Sydenham is committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information when we provide our moving, transport, and related services. It applies to all Man With A Van Sydenham customers in the Sydenham area and anyone who contacts us, requests a quotation, books a service, or otherwise interacts with us in connection with our business.

We process personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable privacy laws. Please read this policy carefully to understand your rights and how we handle your information.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information we need to provide our services, manage our operations, and meet our legal obligations. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identity information such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your telephone number and email address.
Service information such as collection and delivery addresses, moving dates, property access details, inventory information, parking notes, and any special handling requirements.
Payment and billing information such as payment method details, invoice records, and transaction history. We do not keep more payment data than is necessary.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, complaints, feedback, and any information you choose to provide when speaking with us.
Technical information such as basic device or browser data if you visit our digital services, where applicable.
Legal and operational records such as insurance-related information, incident reports, and documentation required for compliance or dispute handling.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and you choose to provide it, or it is required for a particular service arrangement. If such information is shared with us, we will only process it where permitted by law and with appropriate safeguards.

2. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations and respond to enquiries.
To plan, arrange, and deliver moving and transport services.
To communicate with you about bookings, schedules, access requirements, and service updates.
To process payments, issue invoices, and manage accounts.
To maintain records of our services and customer interactions.
To handle complaints, claims, disputes, and insurance matters.
To comply with legal, regulatory, accounting, and tax obligations.
To improve our services, operations, and customer experience.
To protect our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We only use your data for the purpose for which it was collected unless we reasonably need to use it for another compatible purpose. Where required, we will notify you if we need to process your information for a new purpose.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

We rely on the following lawful bases under data protection law:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations at your request, managing bookings, completing moving services, and dealing with payment and service delivery matters.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where we are required to do so by law, such as for tax records, accounting requirements, insurance obligations, or responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This includes running and improving our business, preventing fraud, maintaining secure records, handling service issues, and protecting our legal position. We carefully assess these interests to ensure your privacy is respected.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily provide information for a specific optional purpose. If we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests

In rare circumstances, we may process personal data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in an emergency involving health or safety.

4. Sharing Your Information

We may share personal data with trusted third parties when necessary to deliver our services or meet our obligations. These parties may include:

Payment providers who handle transactions securely.
Accountants and professional advisers who support our financial, tax, or legal obligations.
Insurance providers or claims handlers where needed for incident or damage claims.
IT and data storage providers who support our systems, records, and communications.
Subcontractors or workers involved in carrying out the service you requested.
Public authorities, regulators, or law enforcement where disclosure is required by law.

We require processors and service providers to handle personal data securely, use it only for authorised purposes, and respect confidentiality. We do not sell your personal data.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, tax, and dispute-resolution requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of record and the reason it is held.

In general:

Quotation and enquiry records may be kept for a limited period if no booking follows, to manage follow-up and business records.
Booking, invoice, and payment records may be kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Service notes, complaint records, and incident reports may be retained for a period necessary to handle claims, demonstrate service history, or meet insurance requirements.
Communication records may be retained where needed for customer service, dispute resolution, or business continuity.

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

6. Processors and Data Security

Where we use third-party processors, they act on our instructions and are required to protect your data. These may include cloud storage providers, accounting software suppliers, messaging or email services, and payment processors. We only work with providers that we believe offer appropriate security and data protection standards.

We use reasonable 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 obligations, and regular review of our data handling practices. However, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, so we encourage you to share only the information needed for your service.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These may include:

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 restriction – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing where applicable.
Right to data portability – you can request certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

Important: Some rights may not apply in every situation, and legal exemptions may allow us to continue processing data in certain circumstances, such as where we must retain records to meet legal obligations.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business or household customers arranging removals or transport. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidentally provided in connection with a service and is necessary for safe delivery. If we become aware that we have collected a child’s data without a lawful basis, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

9. International Transfers

Where any service provider stores or processes data outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure that suitable safeguards are in place to protect your personal data in line with applicable law. These safeguards may include contractual protections or transfer mechanisms approved for data protection compliance.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

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

11. Summary of Our Approach

Man With A Van Sydenham handles personal data responsibly and only for clear, lawful purposes. We collect the information needed to provide moving services, communicate effectively, keep accurate records, and meet legal duties. We rely on lawful bases such as contract, legal obligation, legitimate interests, and consent where appropriate. We retain information only for as long as necessary, share it carefully with trusted processors, and respect your rights under data protection law.

This policy applies to all Man With A Van Sydenham customers in the Sydenham area.