Man With a Van Merton Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With a Van Merton collects, uses, stores and protects your personal data when you use our services. It applies to all Man With a Van Merton customers and prospective customers within our service area, including those who contact us to request quotes, make bookings or enquire about our services.

We are committed to processing your personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand how and why we use your information and the rights you have in relation to your personal data.

1. Personal data we collect

We collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with us and which services you use. This may include:

Identification and contact details: name, title, address, collection and delivery addresses, contact preferences and similar details you provide to us.

Communication details: information contained in enquiries, messages, feedback, reviews and other communications you send to us, including the date and time of contact and our responses.

Service and booking information: details about your requested or booked services, such as the type of service, dates and times, collection and delivery locations, access details, property type, inventory or item descriptions, special instructions and other logistical information.

Payment-related information: records of payments made to us and payment methods used. We do not store full payment card details; where card payments are taken, these are handled by secure payment processors.

Technical and usage information: limited technical data that may be generated when you visit our website or communicate with us online, such as the date and time of visits, pages viewed and basic device or browser information, where this is necessary to operate and secure our services.

Any other information you choose to provide: additional details you share with us voluntarily when making an enquiry, requesting a quote or using our services.

2. How we collect your personal data

We collect personal data in a variety of ways, including:

Directly from you when you contact us by phone, online forms, messaging services or in person to request information, a quotation or to book a service.

During the provision of our services, for example when we attend your property, carry out removals or deliveries, or communicate with you about your booking.

From third parties where this is necessary to provide our services and is permitted by law, such as introducers, partners or platforms through which you have requested our services.

Automatically through basic website analytics and security tools that help us operate, protect and improve our website and services.

3. Purposes and lawful bases for processing

We process your personal data only when we have a lawful basis to do so under the UK GDPR. The purposes for which we use your personal data, and the corresponding lawful bases, include:

To provide quotes, accept bookings and deliver our services to you: we process your identification, contact and service information to prepare quotations, confirm bookings, plan logistics and complete moves or deliveries. Our lawful basis is the performance of a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.

To manage our relationship with you: we use your contact and communication details to respond to enquiries, handle changes to bookings, manage complaints, request feedback and send service-related updates. Our lawful basis is the performance of a contract and our legitimate interests in operating and improving our business.

To process payments and maintain financial records: we process payment-related information to take payments, process refunds and maintain accounting and tax records. Our lawful bases are the performance of a contract and compliance with legal obligations.

To improve and develop our services: we may use aggregated or anonymised information from feedback, reviews and usage data to improve our services, customer experience and operations. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interests in developing and growing our business.

To ensure security, prevent fraud and protect our rights: we may process limited technical, transactional and identification information to safeguard our systems, detect misuse or fraudulent activity, and protect or defend our legal rights. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interests and, where relevant, compliance with legal obligations.

To send you limited marketing about our services: if you have given your consent or where the law otherwise permits, we may send you information about similar services that may be of interest. You can opt out of marketing communications at any time. Our lawful basis is your consent or our legitimate interests, as appropriate.

4. Data retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying any legal, accounting or reporting requirements.

In general:

Basic booking and service records are kept for a period aligned with legal limitation periods and tax requirements, typically up to six years after the end of our relationship with you.

Communication records such as enquiries and complaints are retained for as long as necessary to resolve the matter and to maintain an accurate history of our dealings with you, usually up to three years unless a longer period is required by law or to establish or defend legal claims.

Marketing preferences are retained until you withdraw your consent or object to receiving marketing, after which we will retain only minimal information to ensure we respect your preferences.

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

5. Data sharing and processors

Man With a Van Merton does not sell your personal data. We may share your information with trusted third parties where necessary for the operation of our business and the provision of our services, including:

Service providers and contractors: for example, subcontracted drivers, porters or logistics partners who assist with providing removal or delivery services. They receive only the information required to perform their duties and must handle it securely and confidentially.

IT and payment processors: providers of booking systems, customer relationship management tools, payment processing services, data storage, website hosting, email, analytics and related technical services. These parties act as data processors and process your personal data on our instructions.

Professional advisers and authorities: where necessary, we may share information with our accountants, insurers, legal advisers or regulatory and law enforcement authorities, where we are required or permitted to do so by law.

Where we use third-party processors, we take steps to ensure that they provide sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data and that they process it only in accordance with our instructions and applicable law.

6. International data transfers

Where we or our service providers transfer your personal data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information. These may include the use of countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data, or the use of approved standard contractual clauses or equivalent protections.

7. How we protect your data

We take reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access. These measures include restricting access to personal data to personnel and contractors who need it for their work, using secure systems and following policies designed to safeguard information. While we strive to protect your data, no transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

8. Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, these include the right to:

Access your personal data and receive a copy of the information we hold about you.

Rectify inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

Erase your personal data in certain circumstances, for example where it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or where you withdraw consent on which the processing is based.

Restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances, such as when you contest its accuracy or object to its processing.

Object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including profiling, and to object at any time to processing for direct marketing purposes.

Data portability, which allows you to receive personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and to transmit it to another controller where the processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.

Where processing is based on your consent, withdraw that consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We will respond to your request in accordance with applicable legal time limits.

9. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, you can contact us to raise your concerns and we will do our best to resolve them. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority in the United Kingdom.

10. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements or the services we provide. Any changes will be posted in the latest version of this Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically to stay informed about how we process and protect your personal data.