Privacy Policy - Man And A Van Waterloo

This Privacy Policy explains how Man And A Van Waterloo collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing removal, delivery, and transport services. It applies to all Man And A Van Waterloo customers in the area, including individuals, households, and business clients who use our services in connection with Waterloo and the surrounding local area.

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) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy is designed to help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and what rights you have over your data.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the data necessary to arrange, manage, and complete our services, respond to enquiries, and meet legal or contractual obligations. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identity data such as your name or the name of your business.
Contact data such as telephone number, email address, and service address.
Service details including pickup and delivery locations, moving dates, property access information, inventory details, and service preferences.
Payment and billing data such as invoicing details, payment status, and limited transaction records.
Communication data including messages, booking notes, complaint details, and any information you choose to provide when contacting us.
Technical data where applicable, such as basic device or browser information if you interact with our digital services.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it and it is strictly necessary for the service. We ask that you do not share sensitive personal data unless required for a specific legitimate purpose, such as access arrangements or safety considerations.

2. How We Use Your Data

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

Managing enquiries, quotes, bookings, and scheduling.
Providing moving, transport, and related support services.
Confirming service details and communicating updates.
Issuing invoices, handling payments, and maintaining financial records.
Resolving disputes, complaints, or claims.
Maintaining internal records and service quality.
Meeting legal, accounting, and regulatory requirements.
Preventing fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access.

We may also use your information to improve our operations, train staff, and monitor service performance. Any such use is carried out in a way that respects your privacy and remains proportionate to the services provided.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a valid lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process your personal data when it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, or to perform a contract with you. This includes handling bookings, preparing quotes, and delivering the services you have requested.

Legal obligation

We may process personal data where we must comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, recordkeeping, and regulatory requirements.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, provided your rights and interests do not override those interests. This may include maintaining business records, improving services, preventing fraud, and managing operational efficiency.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily provide optional information not needed for the contract. You may withdraw consent at any time, where consent is the basis for processing, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us deliver our services or meet legal obligations. These parties act either as independent controllers or as processors acting on our instructions. We take reasonable steps to ensure they protect personal data appropriately.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

Payment service providers who process card or electronic payments securely.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who assist with tax and financial administration.
IT and cloud service providers who store or support business systems.
Scheduling or communications tools used to manage bookings and customer correspondence.
Professional advisers such as insurers, lawyers, or accountants where needed for advice or compliance.

We may also disclose personal data to public authorities, regulators, law enforcement, or courts where required by law or necessary to protect our rights, customers, staff, or property.

We do not sell your personal data. Any sharing is limited to what is necessary, proportionate, and supported by appropriate safeguards.

5. International Transfers

Where any processor or service provider stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure your data remains protected. This may include using approved contractual safeguards or relying on adequacy decisions where available. We aim to ensure any transfer complies with applicable data protection law.

6. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the nature of the service.

Booking and service records are typically retained for a period necessary to manage the customer relationship and handle any follow-up issues.
Invoice and payment records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Complaints, claims, and dispute records may be retained longer where needed to defend or establish legal rights.
General correspondence is retained only for as long as needed to respond to the matter raised.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it where appropriate. In some cases, we may keep records longer if required by law or if necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims.

7. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include restricted access, secure storage, and staff awareness controls. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to maintain safeguards that are appropriate to the risks involved.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the legal basis for processing and the circumstances of your request. 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 some cases, you can ask us to delete your data.
Right to restriction – you can request that we limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability – where applicable, you can request that we provide certain data in a portable format.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, you may make a request using the relevant channels provided by the business. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We will respond within the time limits required by law, usually within one month, unless the request is complex or numerous.

9. Cookies and Similar Technologies

If we use any website or digital booking tools, they may use cookies or similar technologies to support basic functionality, improve performance, or understand how services are used. Where required, we will provide appropriate notice and obtain consent for non-essential cookies. You can adjust browser settings to manage cookies, although some features may not work properly if disabled.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in the context of a service and provided by an adult with authority to do so. If we become aware that personal data has been collected inappropriately, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data handling practices. When we do so, the 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 your data is protected.

12. How We Comply with GDPR Principles

We aim to process personal data in line with the core GDPR principles of lawfulness, fairness, transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, and confidentiality. This means we collect only what we need, use it only for defined purposes, keep it only as long as necessary, and protect it with appropriate security measures.

Man And A Van Waterloo recognises that customer trust is essential. We therefore treat personal information with care and use it only in ways that support the services requested, legal compliance, and the responsible operation of our business.