Privacy Policy - Man With A Van East Ham

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With A Van East Ham collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing removal, transport, delivery, and related services. It applies to all Man With A Van East Ham customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and businesses that use our services.

We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy is intended to help you understand what data we process, why we process it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and what rights you have.

1. Information We Collect

We only collect information that is relevant and necessary for arranging, carrying out, and managing our services. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as phone number, email address, and service address.
Booking and service information including dates, collection and delivery locations, access notes, item lists, and service preferences.
Payment information such as billing details, payment confirmation, and invoice records. We do not store full card details where payment processing is handled by a third-party provider.
Communication records including emails, messages, phone notes, quotes, complaints, and service updates.
Property and access details where needed for carrying out a move safely and efficiently, such as parking restrictions, stairs, lift access, and loading arrangements.
Technical data if you contact us online, such as basic device or browser information collected through standard website or system logs.

We generally collect personal data directly from you when you request a quote, make a booking, ask a question, or communicate with us. In some cases, we may receive information from third parties, such as landlords, letting agents, storage providers, or business representatives acting on your behalf.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for specific and limited purposes connected to our services. These include:

providing quotes and confirming bookings;
planning and delivering removals, deliveries, and van services;
contacting you about scheduling, access, delays, or service changes;
issuing invoices, processing payments, and keeping financial records;
handling queries, complaints, insurance matters, or disputes;
meeting legal, accounting, and tax obligations;
protecting against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity;
improving our service quality, internal operations, and customer experience.

We will not use your information for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected unless we have a lawful basis to do so and, where required, your consent.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. Depending on the situation, Man With A Van East Ham may rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, managing bookings, completing services, and handling related communication.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain information where required by law, such as for tax, accounting, insurance, or compliance purposes.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data when it is reasonably necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing operations, preventing fraud, maintaining records, and improving services.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you have asked us to send optional marketing communications or where consent is needed for certain data uses. You can withdraw consent at any time.

4. Retention of Personal Data

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

Booking and service records are typically retained for a reasonable period after completion of the job to deal with queries, complaints, or follow-up issues.
Financial and invoicing records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Communication records may be retained for as long as needed to manage customer relationships and resolve disputes.
Insurance or claim-related records may be retained longer where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

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

5. Processors and Data Sharing

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors or separate controllers, only where necessary for operating our business and providing services. These third parties are required to handle data securely and in line with applicable data protection law.

Examples of processors or recipients may include:

Payment processors who handle secure payment transactions;
Booking, administration, or IT service providers who support scheduling, record keeping, or communication systems;
Accountants and tax advisers who assist with financial compliance;
Insurance providers or claims handlers where a claim or incident requires investigation;
Professional advisers such as lawyers, where needed for legal advice or dispute resolution;
Subcontractors or crew members engaged to help deliver your booking, where relevant to the service.

We do not sell your personal data. If data must be shared with another party for legal reasons or to protect our rights, we will do so only where permitted by law.

6. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, limited staff access, and confidentiality obligations. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection appropriate to the risks involved.

7. International Transfers

Where 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 reliance on adequacy decisions, where applicable.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These may 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 information;
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 situations;
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
Right to data portability – to receive certain information 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;
Right to complain – to raise concerns with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your rights have been infringed.

These rights are subject to legal conditions and exceptions. We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are generally intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in the context of a household move or service arrangement and provided by an adult with authority to do so. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without appropriate authority, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

10. 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 handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their information is handled.

11. Scope of This Policy

This policy applies to all Man With A Van East Ham customers in the area and covers personal data processed in connection with our moving, transport, delivery, and related services. By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy, subject always to applicable law and your data protection rights.

In summary: we collect only the data needed to provide our services, process it on lawful grounds, keep it only as long as necessary, share it only with appropriate processors or legal recipients, and respect your rights under data protection law.