Privacy Policy - Man With A Van Ickenham

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With A Van Ickenham collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data in connection with its moving, delivery, and related services. It applies to all Man With A Van Ickenham customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who has enquired about our services. We are committed to handling personal information lawfully, fairly, and transparently in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Man With A Van Ickenham provides removal and transport services for domestic and business customers. In the course of arranging, delivering, and supporting these services, we may need to collect and process personal data. This policy sets out how we do that and explains the rights available to you as a data subject.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect information that is necessary for providing and managing our services. Depending on your interaction with us, this may include:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as collection and delivery addresses, move dates, access details, item descriptions, and special handling requirements.
Payment and billing information such as invoice details, payment records, and transaction references.
Communication records including emails, calls, text messages, quotes, complaints, and feedback.
Technical information such as basic website or device data if you contact us online, including IP address, browser type, and usage patterns where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and you have provided it, or it is otherwise permitted by law. Special category data includes information relating to health, race, religion, political opinions, or similar sensitive matters. If such information is ever shared with us, we will apply heightened protection and process it only where there is a lawful basis to do so.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data only for clear and legitimate purposes. These include:

Providing quotes and arranging moving services.
Planning routes, vehicle requirements, and staffing.
Carrying out collections, deliveries, loading, and unloading.
Managing payments, invoices, and account records.
Responding to enquiries, complaints, and service requests.
Keeping internal business records and improving our operations.
Meeting legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations.
Preventing fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We aim to ensure that all processing is necessary, proportionate, and limited to what is needed for the relevant purpose.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for every use of personal information. Depending on the circumstances, Man With A Van Ickenham may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process your data when it is needed to enter into or perform a contract with you. For example, this includes preparing quotes, confirming bookings, carrying out removals, and processing payments.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where required to comply with laws and regulations, such as accounting, tax, record-keeping, health and safety, and insurance requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This can include service administration, business improvement, responding to disputes, and ensuring the security of our operations.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is needed for specific optional communications or marketing. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing already carried out before withdrawal.

5. How We Share Personal Data

We may share personal information with trusted third parties when necessary to deliver our services or meet legal requirements. Such parties may include:

Payment providers who handle transactions securely.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who support our financial administration.
IT and communications providers who help operate secure systems and storage.
Insurance providers in the event of claims or incidents.
Professional advisers such as accountants, lawyers, or consultants where necessary.
Authorities and regulators when disclosure is required by law or to protect legal rights.

We do not sell your personal data. Any sharing is limited, relevant, and subject to appropriate confidentiality and data protection safeguards.

6. Processors and Data Protection Safeguards

Where we use external service providers to process personal data on our behalf, those providers act as processors. We only use processors who provide sufficient guarantees that they will protect personal data in accordance with UK GDPR. We require them to:

Process data only on our documented instructions.
Keep data confidential.
Use appropriate technical and organisational security measures.
Assist us in responding to data subject requests when appropriate.
Delete or return data when the service ends, unless retention is required by law.

Examples of processing activities may include secure cloud storage, invoicing systems, communication tools, and booking administration. We remain responsible for ensuring that any processor used by Man With A Van Ickenham handles data appropriately.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, tax, contractual, and insurance requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and the reason for holding it.

Customer and booking records are typically kept for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterward.
Financial records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Communication records may be retained for a period needed to manage complaints, disputes, or follow-up queries.
Incident or claims information may be retained for longer where needed for insurance or legal defence.

When personal data is no longer required, we will take steps to delete, anonymise, or securely destroy it. Retention is reviewed periodically to make sure information is not held for longer than necessary.

8. Data Security

We use appropriate organisational and technical measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unlawful access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limited access based on business need. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection that is appropriate to the risk.

9. Your 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 be informed about how your data is used.
The right of access to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
The right to rectification to have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected.
The right to erasure in certain circumstances, sometimes called the right to be forgotten.
The right to restrict processing in certain situations.
The right to data portability where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Rights related to automated decision-making where applicable.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will review your request in accordance with applicable law. In some cases, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We will normally respond within the statutory time limits.

10. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place so that your data remains protected to the required legal standard. This may include using countries with an adequacy decision or approved contractual protections.

11. Marketing Communications

If we send marketing communications, we will do so only where permitted by law. You may opt out at any time. We will respect your preferences and ensure that any marketing is limited and relevant. We will never use marketing in a way that is unfair, intrusive, or inconsistent with your rights.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. 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 aware of how their information is used.

13. Complaints and Further Information

If you have concerns about how your personal data is handled, you may raise the matter with us so that we can review it and address it appropriately. You also have the right to complain to the UK data protection supervisory authority if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

Summary of our commitment: Man With A Van Ickenham processes personal data fairly, securely, and only for lawful purposes. We keep information only as long as necessary, use trusted processors, and respect the rights of every customer in the area.