Privacy Policy - Man With Van Blackheath

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Blackheath collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with the provision of our removals, transport, and related services. It applies to all Man With Van Blackheath customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and businesses that use our services or communicate with us about a booking, quote, or service enquiry.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and any other applicable privacy laws. We aim to collect only the information we need, use it only for legitimate purposes, and keep it secure.

1. Who We Are

Man With Van Blackheath acts as the data controller for the personal data described in this policy when we determine the purposes and means of processing. This means we decide why and how your information is used in connection with our services, administration, and compliance obligations.

Where we engage third parties to process data on our behalf, they do so as data processors and only under our instructions, unless they are independently responsible for their own processing.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity details such as your name, title, and company name if applicable.
Contact details such as phone number, email address, billing address, and service address.
Booking and service information including requested dates, moving requirements, inventory details, access notes, and special instructions.
Payment information such as transaction records, partial card details, invoice details, and payment status. Full card details are handled by secure payment providers and are not stored by us unless necessary for a specific lawful purpose.
Communication records including emails, call notes, messages, complaints, and correspondence relating to quotes, bookings, and after-service support.
Technical and usage data if you interact with digital systems we use, which may include IP address, device information, and basic analytics data.
Vehicle and access information where relevant for parking, loading, or delivery arrangements.

We do not deliberately collect special category data unless it is necessary and you choose to provide it, for example if you mention health-related access needs. If this occurs, we will only process it where permitted by law and with appropriate safeguards.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We may collect personal data directly from you, from someone acting on your behalf, or from third parties involved in delivering our services. This may happen when you:

Request a quote or make a booking.
Contact us by phone, email, or other communication channels.
Provide information during the performance of a move or delivery.
Submit complaints, feedback, or service reviews.
Make or receive payments.
Interact with our records, documents, or service administration processes.

We may also receive information from subcontractors, landlords, estate agents, property managers, payment providers, and professional advisers where this is necessary to complete a job or comply with legal obligations.

4. Why We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations, manage bookings, and deliver moving and transport services.
To communicate with you about your service, including updates, changes, and confirmations.
To process payments, issue invoices, and maintain financial records.
To arrange logistics, staffing, access requirements, and route planning.
To respond to questions, complaints, and aftercare requests.
To maintain internal records and improve service quality.
To meet legal, tax, accounting, insurance, and regulatory obligations.
To protect our business, staff, customers, and property against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We will never use your personal data in a way that is incompatible with the purposes explained in this policy.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases depending on the context:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations, arranging a move, carrying out transport services, and handling payment administration.

Legal Obligation

We may process data to comply with legal requirements, such as tax law, accounting rules, insurance duties, and record-keeping obligations.

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 service management, fraud prevention, internal administration, customer support, and business improvement.

Consent

Where required by law, we will rely on your consent, for example for certain optional communications or where you voluntarily provide special category data and consent is the appropriate basis. You can withdraw consent at any time where consent is used as the lawful basis.

Vital Interests

In rare situations, we may process data to protect someone’s vital interests, for example where emergency contact information is necessary in an urgent situation.

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary and lawful. These parties may include:

Payment processors for secure handling of transactions.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers for financial administration and compliance.
IT and cloud service providers for data storage, email, and system support.
Scheduling and communications providers that help us manage bookings and service updates.
Professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, and auditors.
Subcontractors or partner service providers involved in delivering a booked move or related service.
Public authorities where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect rights or safety.

When third parties process personal data on our behalf, they are required to act as processors under written agreements, to keep information confidential, and to use it only according to our instructions. We do not sell your personal data.

7. International Transfers

If any personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms. We take reasonable steps to ensure your information remains protected wherever it is processed.

8. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, insurance, and operational requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the context in which it was collected.

Booking and service records are generally retained for a period necessary to manage the customer relationship and resolve any post-service issues.
Financial and invoice records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Communications and complaint records may be kept for a reasonable period to handle disputes and maintain service history.
Technical logs are retained only as long as needed for security, troubleshooting, and system administration.

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

9. Security of Your Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to help protect personal data from unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and restricted data sharing.

While no system can be guaranteed 100% secure, we take data protection seriously and regularly review our practices to help safeguard information.

10. Your Rights

Subject to certain legal conditions and exceptions, you have the following rights under data protection law:

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, where applicable.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with how your data is handled. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any concern promptly and fairly.

11. Marketing Preferences

If we send optional promotional communications, we will do so only where permitted by law. You can opt out of marketing at any time. Operational messages related to your booking, payment, or service delivery are not marketing and may still be sent where necessary.

12. Children’s Data

Our services are generally intended for adults and businesses. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary for a specific service arrangement and handled lawfully. If you believe a child’s information has been provided to us improperly, please notify us so that we can review and address the matter.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, services, or data handling practices. The most current version will apply to your use of our services. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how personal data is handled.

14. Summary of Our Commitment

Man With Van Blackheath is committed to respecting privacy and protecting personal information. We collect only what is needed, use it for clear and lawful purposes, retain it responsibly, and only share it with appropriate processors and trusted parties when necessary. Customers in the Blackheath area can rely on us to handle their data carefully and in accordance with applicable privacy law.