Privacy Policy - Man With Van Whitechapel

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Whitechapel collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing moving, transport, and related services. It applies to all Man With Van Whitechapel customers in the area, including individual customers, households, landlords, tenants, and businesses that use our services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in line with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Man With Van Whitechapel acts as the data controller for personal data collected and processed in connection with our services. This means we decide why and how your personal data is used. We may also use certain third-party service providers who process personal data on our behalf. These providers act as data processors and are only permitted to use your data under our instructions.

2. What Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the data necessary to arrange, manage, and deliver our services safely and efficiently. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identity data such as your name and, where relevant, business name.
Contact data such as your phone number and email address.
Address data including pickup and delivery locations, billing address, and access details.
Service information such as moving dates, item descriptions, property access instructions, parking requirements, and inventory details.
Payment data such as payment confirmation and transaction records. We do not necessarily store full payment card details if these are processed by a payment provider.
Communication data such as emails, call notes, booking requests, complaints, and feedback.
Technical data where relevant, such as basic website or device information if you contact us through digital channels.

We may also receive information from you indirectly, for example from a person booking on your behalf, a property manager, a business client, or another person involved in the move.

3. How We Use Your Data

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

processing enquiries and bookings;
providing quotations and confirming service details;
planning routes, loading, delivery, and completion of the move;
communicating with you about your booking or service changes;
issuing invoices, managing payments, and maintaining financial records;
handling complaints, claims, and customer support requests;
maintaining business records and operational reporting;
meeting legal, tax, accounting, insurance, and regulatory obligations;
protecting our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud, misuse, or liability.

We do not use your personal data for unrelated purposes unless we have a lawful basis to do so and you would reasonably expect such use.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Performance of a Contract

We process your personal data when it is necessary to provide the services you have requested, such as arranging a move, delivering goods, and managing associated communications and payments.

Legal Obligation

We may process your data where necessary to comply with legal duties, including tax records, accounting rules, insurance obligations, and lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include service improvement, record keeping, fraud prevention, internal administration, and customer relationship management. We assess such processing carefully to ensure it is proportionate and respectful of your privacy.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you choose to receive certain types of optional communication. If we ask for consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing Your Personal Data

We do not sell your personal data. However, we may share it when necessary and appropriate for service delivery or compliance. Recipients may include:

Processors that support our operations, such as administrative support providers, accounting services, IT and data storage providers, payment processors, and communication tools;
insurance providers and claims handlers when relevant to a service issue or incident;
professional advisers such as accountants, auditors, or legal advisers;
public authorities, regulators, courts, or law enforcement where required by law;
other third parties involved in your move, such as landlords, building managers, or delivery partners, where this is necessary to perform the service.

When we engage processors, they are contractually required to protect your data, use it only on our instructions, and implement suitable technical and organisational security measures.

6. International Transfers

Where any processor stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections. We take reasonable steps to ensure your personal data remains protected to the required standard.

7. Data Retention

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, but our general approach is as follows:

Booking and service records are retained for a reasonable period to manage queries, disputes, and operational records.
Financial and invoicing data is retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Complaint and claims information may be retained longer where needed to resolve issues or defend legal claims.
Marketing-related records are retained only while consent or legitimate interest remains applicable.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

8. Data Security

We take appropriate security measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful selection of processors. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection suitable to the nature of the data and the risks involved.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, 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 your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restrict processing - to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object - to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability - to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent - where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

Please note that these rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal limitations. We may need to retain certain information where required by law or for legitimate business purposes.

10. Automated Decision-Making

We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. If this position changes, we will update this policy and explain your rights in relation to such processing.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is supplied by an adult customer as part of a household move or other service arrangement. Where such information is provided, it is processed only as necessary for the service requested.

12. Complaints and Changes to This Policy

If you believe your data has been handled improperly, you have the right to raise a concern with the relevant data protection authority. You may also contact us to discuss any issue about how your personal data is used. We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services, or our processing practices. Any updates will take effect when published in the revised version.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Man With Van Whitechapel is committed to processing personal data responsibly, transparently, and only where there is a valid legal reason to do so. We collect the minimum data necessary to provide moving services, keep it only for as long as needed, and share it only with trusted processors or other parties where required for service delivery or legal compliance. Your privacy matters to us, and we aim to handle all customer information with care and respect.