Privacy Policy - Man With Van Blackfriars

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Blackfriars collects, uses, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our moving, removal, and related services. It applies to all Man With Van Blackfriars customers in the area, including individuals, households, and business clients who use our services or make enquiries about them. We are committed to processing personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Man With Van Blackfriars acts as the data controller in relation to the personal data we determine the purposes and means of processing. This means we decide why and how your personal information is used when you request a quotation, book a move, communicate with us, or receive our services.

We take privacy seriously and only process personal data where we have a valid legal reason to do so. We also expect any third parties who process data on our behalf to meet appropriate security and confidentiality standards.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information needed to provide moving and removal services, manage bookings, respond to enquiries, and meet legal and operational obligations. The categories of personal data we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name, and where relevant, the name of your business or organisation.
Contact details such as your email address, telephone number, and service address.
Booking and service information including move date, property access details, inventory notes, special handling instructions, and preferences relating to your removal.
Payment and transaction data such as payment status, billing records, and limited payment details necessary to process or reconcile charges.
Communications including messages, call notes, complaints, and feedback.
Technical and usage data where relevant to our systems, such as device identifiers, log data, and service interaction records.
Special category data only where you voluntarily provide it and where it is necessary for a specific purpose, for example if you share mobility, access, or health-related requirements that affect moving arrangements. We only process this type of data when permitted by law and with appropriate safeguards.

We generally collect personal data directly from you. In some cases, we may also receive data from third parties involved in the service, such as landlords, estate agents, tenants, suppliers, or business representatives, where this is necessary for arranging or delivering the move.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and assess service requirements;
to manage bookings and schedule moving services;
to carry out the removal or related service you have requested;
to communicate with you before, during, and after the service;
to process payments, refunds, and billing matters;
to handle complaints, claims, and disputes;
to improve service quality, training, and operational planning;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations;
to protect against fraud, misuse, or unauthorised activity.

We do not sell personal data. Any sharing of data is limited to what is necessary for delivery of services, legal compliance, or the operation of our business.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the context, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract or to perform a contract with you. This includes handling enquiries, providing quotations, confirming bookings, and delivering moving services.

Legal Obligation

We may process data to comply with legal duties, such as maintaining accounting records, meeting tax requirements, or responding to lawful requests from authorities.

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 can include service administration, internal reporting, quality control, fraud prevention, and business improvement.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you choose to provide optional information that is not necessary for the contract or where additional processing requires permission. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests and Special Category Data

If we process special category data or other sensitive information, we do so only where permitted by law and where a specific condition for processing applies. This may be necessary to support safe moving arrangements or to protect someone’s vital interests in exceptional circumstances.

5. Sharing Personal Data and Processors

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

Examples of processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers that host our systems or store records;
booking, scheduling, and customer management platforms;
payment processing providers;
accounting and invoicing software providers;
communication and messaging service providers;
professional advisers who support compliance, insurance, or legal matters.

Where we use processors, we enter into appropriate data processing agreements that require them to act only on our instructions, keep data secure, and assist us in meeting our data protection obligations. We do not allow processors to use your personal data for their own unrelated purposes.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law, by a court order, to prevent fraud, to protect our rights, or in connection with a business reorganisation, provided appropriate safeguards are in place.

6. Data Retention

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

As a general approach:

quotation and enquiry records may be kept for a limited period to manage follow-up and service administration;
booking, invoice, and transaction records may be retained for statutory accounting and tax purposes;
correspondence and complaint records may be retained for the time needed to resolve issues and defend legal claims;
supporting operational records may be archived or securely deleted when no longer needed.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention procedures and legal obligations.

7. Data Security

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

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to ensure that our controls are proportionate to the risks involved in handling customer information.

8. Your Rights Under Data Protection Law

Depending on the circumstances and legal basis for processing, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

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 data in certain circumstances;
Right to restriction – to request limited use of 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 where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means;
Right to withdraw consent – where processing relies on consent;
Right to lodge a complaint – with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

Some rights may be limited where compliance would conflict with legal obligations or where an exemption applies. We will always assess requests carefully and respond in line with applicable law.

9. Automated Decision-Making

We do not use personal data for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects without human involvement. If this changes in the future, we will update this policy and provide any required information.

10. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services, or the way we process personal data. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

11. Scope of This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all individuals and organisations who use or enquire about Man With Van Blackfriars services in the Blackfriars area. By engaging with our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy, subject always to your legal rights and our obligations under applicable data protection law.

Last updated: This policy is maintained to reflect current privacy practices and regulatory requirements.