Privacy Policy - Man With A Van Docklands

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With A Van Docklands collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing removal, delivery, and related moving services. It applies to all Man With A Van Docklands customers in the Docklands area, including prospective customers, existing customers, and anyone who communicates with us about our services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide our services, manage bookings, and meet our legal and operational obligations. Depending on your interaction with us, this may include:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, business name.
Contact details such as your telephone number, email address, and service address.
Booking information including moving dates, item descriptions, access details, inventory notes, and service preferences.
Payment and billing information necessary to process invoices and record payments.
Communication records such as messages, call notes, complaints, and service feedback.
Technical data such as basic device or browser information if you submit information through digital channels.
Special category data only where strictly necessary and rarely, for example if you voluntarily provide information about accessibility needs, health-related access requirements, or other details needed to safely carry out a move.

We do not intentionally collect more personal data than is needed. Please avoid sharing information that is not relevant to your booking or moving arrangements unless it is necessary for the safe delivery of our services.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and manage enquiries;
to confirm and administer bookings;
to perform moving, loading, transport, and delivery services;
to communicate about scheduling changes, access issues, and service updates;
to issue invoices, record payments, and manage accounts;
to respond to complaints, claims, and customer support requests;
to maintain business records and improve service quality;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations;
to prevent fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity; and
to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims where needed.

We process your data only for clear and legitimate purposes connected to our services. We do not use your personal data for unrelated purposes without a lawful basis.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for each use of personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on the following bases:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes handling bookings, delivering services, issuing invoices, and communicating about your move.

Legal Obligation

We process data when required to comply with legal and regulatory obligations, including accounting, tax, insurance, and record-keeping 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 may include service administration, customer support, business improvement, fraud prevention, and internal record management.

Consent

Where we rely on your consent, such as for optional uses of certain information or where special category data is provided and consent is the most appropriate basis, you may withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing before consent was withdrawn.

Vital Interests or Substantial Public Interest

In rare situations, we may process data to protect someone’s vital interests or where required by law for public interest reasons. This is expected to be exceptional and limited.

4. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and to meet legal or operational requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason for processing.

Booking and service records are generally retained for a reasonable period after completion of the service to handle queries, disputes, and follow-up matters.
Financial and tax records are kept for the periods required by law.
Correspondence and complaint records may be retained for longer where needed to resolve disputes or defend legal claims.
Special category data is retained only for as long as necessary for the specific service purpose and then deleted or anonymised.

When retention is no longer necessary, we will securely delete, anonymise, or otherwise dispose of the data in accordance with our record-management procedures.

5. Sharing Personal Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties when necessary to operate our business and deliver services. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the situation.

Processors

Processors are organisations that handle data on our behalf and under our instructions. They may include:

accounting and invoicing providers;
IT and cloud storage providers;
communication and customer management tools;
payment processing services;
data backup and security services; and
service contractors assisting with fulfilment of bookings.

We require processors to protect personal data, use it only for authorised purposes, and apply appropriate technical and organisational safeguards.

Other Sharing

We may also disclose personal data to:

professional advisers such as accountants or lawyers;
insurers and claims handlers;
regulatory, tax, or law enforcement authorities when required by law; and
parties involved in legal proceedings or dispute resolution where necessary.

We do not sell personal data. If data is transferred outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place.

6. Data Security

We use reasonable and appropriate measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of data handling practices. While no system can be completely secure, we work to reduce risks and respond quickly to any suspected incident.

7. 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 data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit processing in certain situations.
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 applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent.
Right to lodge a complaint – with the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your rights have been infringed.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions. We will assess each request carefully and respond in accordance with applicable law.

8. Automated Decision-Making

We do not normally use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes, we will update this Privacy Policy and explain the logic involved, the significance of the processing, and any consequences for you.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers arranging removals or transport. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidentally provided as part of a household move and only where necessary for service delivery or safety reasons. If we become aware that data has been collected inappropriately, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect legal, operational, or service changes. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how personal data is handled.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Man With A Van Docklands is committed to respecting your privacy and processing personal data responsibly. We collect only what we need, use it for clear purposes, keep it only as long as necessary, share it only with trusted parties where appropriate, and protect your rights under data protection law. This policy applies to all Man With A Van Docklands customers in the Docklands area and supports our ongoing commitment to lawful and transparent data handling.