Privacy Policy - Man And A Van Westminster

Man And A Van Westminster is committed to protecting the privacy of all customers in Westminster and the surrounding area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data when we provide moving, delivery, and related services. It applies to all Man And A Van Westminster customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, businesses, and anyone else who uses our services or communicates with us about a booking, quotation, or service request.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, Man And A Van Westminster acts as the data controller for the personal information we process in connection with our services. This means we decide how and why your personal data is used.

We are responsible for ensuring that your data is handled lawfully, fairly, and transparently, and that it is only collected for specific, legitimate purposes.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the data that is necessary to provide our services, manage our business operations, and meet our legal obligations. The categories of personal data we may collect include:

Identity data such as your name and title.
Contact data such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Booking and service data such as moving date, pickup and delivery locations, access details, item descriptions, and special handling instructions.
Payment and transaction data such as billing information and payment records.
Communication data such as enquiries, complaints, service feedback, and correspondence.
Technical data if you contact us through digital systems, which may include basic device or usage information where needed for security and service improvement.
Legal and compliance data where necessary for insurance, tax, contractual, or regulatory purposes.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you provide it voluntarily, for example where it is relevant to service access needs. In such cases, we apply additional safeguards.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations, confirm bookings, and carry out moving or transport services.
To communicate with you about your booking, schedule, and service requirements.
To process payments, issue invoices, and manage accounts.
To handle complaints, disputes, and customer support requests.
To comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations.
To maintain internal records, improve our services, and ensure quality control.
To protect against fraud, misuse, or unauthorised activity.

We only use your data where there is a lawful basis to do so and where the use is compatible with the purpose for which the data was originally collected.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing quotes, confirming services, delivering items, and handling payment.

Legal Obligation

We may process data to comply with legal obligations, including accounting, taxation, record-keeping, insurance, and lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. Examples include business administration, service improvement, fraud prevention, and responding to customer queries. We always consider whether the processing is proportionate and necessary.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, particularly where data processing is not necessary for the contract or another legal basis. If we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. How We Share Personal Data

We may share personal data with trusted third parties when necessary to operate our business and provide services. These may include:

Payment processors for handling transactions securely.
Accountants and tax advisers for financial and compliance purposes.
Insurance providers where claims, incidents, or cover-related matters need to be assessed.
IT and system support providers that help us store, protect, and manage our data.
Subcontractors or service partners assisting with a booking or delivery, where needed for service completion.
Regulators, law enforcement, or public authorities where disclosure is required by law.

We do not sell personal data. Any processor or third party acting on our behalf is required to handle your data securely, use it only for agreed purposes, and comply with applicable data protection requirements.

6. Processors

A processor is a third party that processes personal data on our instructions. We choose processors carefully and only work with those that provide suitable guarantees of confidentiality, security, and compliance.

Examples of processor activities may include secure data storage, payment handling, email or communication services, scheduling tools, and digital support. We ensure that processor contracts include appropriate safeguards such as data protection clauses, confidentiality obligations, and requirements to assist us in responding to data subject rights requests.

Man And A Van Westminster remains responsible for ensuring that any processor acts lawfully and only processes data in line with our instructions.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected, including service delivery, customer support, accounting, legal compliance, and the resolution of disputes.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the reason for holding it. In general:

Booking and service records may be kept for a reasonable period after completion of the service.
Financial and invoicing records may be retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Complaint and communication records may be kept long enough to resolve issues and support quality assurance.
Data no longer needed is securely deleted, anonymised, or archived in accordance with our retention procedures.

Where we are required by law to keep data longer, we will do so only for the relevant legal period.

8. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures are designed to reflect the nature of the data and the risks involved.

Although no system is completely secure, we take reasonable steps to keep data safe and to limit access to those who need it for legitimate business purposes. Access controls, secure storage, and confidentiality expectations are part of our privacy practices.

9. Your Rights

As a data subject under UK GDPR, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. These may include:

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 ask us to limit how we use your data in specific situations.
Right to data portability – to receive data you provided to us in a portable format, where applicable.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing, where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – if processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to raise concerns with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your rights have not been respected. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any issue promptly and fairly.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data directly from children, and we do not target children as customers. If we become aware that we have collected such data without appropriate authority, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

11. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that suitable safeguards are in place to protect it. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, contractual protections, or other lawful transfer mechanisms recognised by data protection law.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services, or our data handling practices. The most current version will apply to all customers in the Westminster area and any related service interactions. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so you remain informed about how your data is used.

13. Summary of Our Commitments

Man And A Van Westminster will:

collect only the personal data needed for our services;
use it fairly and lawfully;
store it securely;
share it only where necessary and with appropriate safeguards;
retain it only as long as needed;
respect your rights under data protection law.

This Privacy Policy is intended to provide clear and transparent information about how we handle personal data for customers in Westminster and the surrounding area.