Privacy Policy - Man With Van Towerhill

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Towerhill collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Man With Van Towerhill customers in the area, including individuals who enquire about, book, or use our removal and transport 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.

1. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to customers, prospective customers, suppliers, and other individuals whose personal data we process in connection with our services. It covers data collected when you request a quote, make a booking, communicate with us, or receive services from us. It also applies where we collect information from third parties acting on your behalf, such as family members, property managers, or business representatives.

2. Information we collect

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

Identity information: name, title, and any business or household affiliation.
Contact details: address, email address, telephone number, and moving location details.
Booking and service information: details of the move, date, items to be transported, access requirements, and service preferences.
Payment and transaction information: records of payments, invoices, and billing details. We do not store payment card details unless this is required through a secure third-party payment provider.
Communication records: emails, phone call notes, messages, and correspondence relating to enquiries or service issues.
Technical and usage data: limited information such as device or browser data if you interact with digital services, where applicable.
Special category data: we do not usually seek to collect this. If such information is voluntarily provided and is necessary for a specific request, it will be handled with additional care and only where a lawful condition applies.

We do not intentionally collect more information than is required. If you provide information about other people, you should ensure that you have the right to do so and that they are aware of this Privacy Policy where appropriate.

3. How we use personal data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotes and respond to enquiries;
to arrange, manage, and complete removals or related services;
to communicate about bookings, schedules, changes, or service updates;
to issue invoices, process payments, and maintain financial records;
to handle complaints, claims, and customer support matters;
to improve our services, operations, and customer experience;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
to protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud, misuse, or security risks.

We only use personal data for the purposes described above or for closely related purposes that would reasonably be expected.

4. Lawful basis for processing

We process personal data only where we have a valid lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the context, our lawful bases may include:

Contract: where processing is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract or to perform a contract with you, such as arranging a move or managing a booking.
Legal obligation: where we must process data to comply with legal requirements, including tax, accounting, and record-keeping duties.
Legitimate interests: where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as improving services, responding to customer queries, preventing fraud, or protecting our operations, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
Consent: where we rely on your consent, for example for certain optional communications or where required for specific processing activities. You may withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing already carried out lawfully.

Where we process special category data, we will do so only when an additional condition under data protection law applies and the processing is necessary and proportionate.

5. Retention of personal data

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

In general:

quotation and enquiry records may be kept for a reasonable period to manage follow-up and business administration;
booking, service, and communication records may be retained for the duration of the customer relationship and a subsequent period for dispute resolution;
financial and tax records are retained in line with statutory obligations;
complaints, claims, and incident records may be held for longer where necessary to defend legal claims or comply with insurance requirements.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it securely, anonymise it, or otherwise dispose of it appropriately. Retention is reviewed regularly to ensure data is not kept for longer than necessary.

6. Processors and third parties

We may share personal data with trusted processors and third parties who help us deliver our services or operate our business. These may include:

administrative and bookkeeping service providers;
IT and cloud storage providers;
communication and messaging providers;
payment processing services;
insurance providers;
professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers;
subcontractors or operational partners where required to complete a service.

Where a processor acts on our behalf, they are required to process personal data only under our instructions, to use appropriate security measures, and to comply with data protection law. We do not sell personal data. We do not permit third parties to use your information for their own unrelated purposes without a lawful basis.

If personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as an adequacy decision or standard contractual clauses, to protect your information.

7. Data security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of our processes. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take reasonable steps to safeguard the information we hold.

8. Your rights under GDPR

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to conditions or limitations under the law, but we will always consider requests carefully. Your rights 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: in certain circumstances, you can ask us to delete your personal data.
Right to restriction: you can request that we limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability: where applicable, you can ask for your data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in accordance with applicable data protection law. We may need to verify your identity before responding to certain requests.

9. Automated decision-making

We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes in the future, we will update this policy and provide appropriate safeguards and information.

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 household booking or similar service arrangement. Where children’s data is involved, it will be handled with appropriate care and only for a necessary and lawful purpose.

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 published or otherwise communicated. We encourage you to review it periodically so you remain informed about how your data is used.

In summary: Man With Van Towerhill processes personal data carefully, lawfully, and only as needed to provide services, manage business operations, and meet legal requirements. We respect your privacy, use processors responsibly, and support your GDPR rights.