Privacy Policy - Man With A Van Richmond Upon Thames

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With A Van Richmond Upon Thames collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing services to customers in the Richmond upon Thames area. It applies to all Man With A Van Richmond Upon Thames customers in the area, including individuals and businesses who request quotes, book removals, use packing or transport services, or communicate with us in connection with a move.

We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We aim to ensure that personal data is processed fairly, lawfully, transparently, and only for specified purposes.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide our services, manage customer relationships, and comply with legal obligations. The categories of data we may collect include:

Identity information: name, title, and any business or company name.
Contact information: address, email address, and telephone number.
Booking and service details: moving date, collection and delivery addresses, property access information, inventory details, and service preferences.
Payment information: payment records, billing details, and transaction references. We do not store card security codes.
Communications: messages, notes, complaints, feedback, and any information you provide during enquiries or service delivery.
Technical data: basic website or device information if you interact with digital services, such as IP address, browser type, and usage logs.
Special category data: we do not normally request sensitive personal data. If such information is incidentally shared, it will only be processed where necessary and permitted by law.

We generally collect personal data directly from you when you request a quote, make a booking, confirm arrangements, or contact us about a service. In some cases, we may also receive data from third parties such as landlords, letting agents, business representatives, or payment providers where they are involved in the arrangement of your move.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data only for legitimate business and legal purposes connected with our services. These purposes include:

providing quotes and managing bookings;
planning and carrying out removals and related transport services;
communicating with you about your move, timing, access, or service requirements;
processing payments and maintaining financial records;
responding to enquiries, complaints, and service issues;
maintaining customer records and service history;
improving our operations, service quality, and customer experience;
meeting legal, tax, accounting, insurance, and regulatory obligations;
preventing fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity; and
defending or establishing legal claims where necessary.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was originally collected unless we have a valid lawful basis to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Depending on the context, we rely on one or more of the following legal grounds:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, arranging services, and delivering your move.

Legal obligation

We process data when required to comply with legal obligations, such as record-keeping, tax, accounting, insurance, or responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include managing business operations, improving services, handling customer communications, and protecting against fraud.

Consent

Where required by law, or for specific optional activities, we may rely on your consent. If we use consent as the lawful basis, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to provide our services, operate our business, or meet legal obligations. These third parties act as data processors or independent controllers depending on the circumstances.

Processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers that support data storage, communications, and system operations;
payment service providers that process transactions securely;
accountants and bookkeeping providers who assist with financial administration;
insurance providers and claims handlers where a claim or incident requires review;
subcontracted movers or logistics partners where additional support is needed to complete a service;
professional advisers such as legal or compliance advisers; and
regulatory, tax, or law enforcement bodies where disclosure is required by law.

We require processors to handle personal data securely, use it only for our instructions, and comply with applicable data protection law. We do not sell 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 satisfying legal, accounting, and reporting requirements.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the service involved, but typically:

booking and service records are kept for a reasonable period after completion of the service;
payment and invoicing records are retained for the period required under tax and accounting laws;
customer communications are retained as needed to resolve queries, disputes, or service issues;
claim-related records may be kept longer where necessary for legal or insurance purposes; and
technical logs are kept for limited periods for security and operational monitoring.

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

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limiting access to those who need it for business purposes.

Although we work to protect your information, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We therefore encourage customers to take care when sharing personal data and to notify us if they believe information has been misused.

7. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms recognised under UK data protection law.

8. Your Rights

As a data subject under UK GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and any legal exemptions. They 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 the processing of your data in certain situations;
Right to data portability — to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable;
Right to object — to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent; and
Right to lodge a complaint — with the Information Commissioner’s Office if you are unhappy with how your data is handled.

We will respond to valid requests within the time limits set by law and may ask for information to confirm your identity before acting on a request.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adult customers and business clients. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with a household move and provided by an adult customer. If we become aware that personal data has been collected unlawfully, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or the way we process personal data. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how their information is handled.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Man With A Van Richmond Upon Thames is committed to processing personal data fairly, transparently, and securely. We only collect what we need, use it for clear purposes, retain it for a limited time, and share it only with trusted processors or where required by law. Our approach is designed to respect your privacy while enabling us to deliver reliable moving services throughout the Richmond upon Thames area.