Privacy Policy - Man With A Van South Kensington

Man With A Van South Kensington is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of our customers, website visitors, and anyone who contacts us in connection with our moving, delivery, and related services. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This policy applies to all Man With A Van South Kensington customers in the South Kensington area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and businesses that use our services. It also applies where we process personal data on behalf of customers during the provision of our services.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Man With A Van South Kensington acts as the data controller when we determine the purposes and means of processing personal data for service management, administration, billing, and customer communication. In some cases, we may act as a data processor when handling personal data on behalf of a customer, for example where we are instructed to transport documents, goods, or items containing personal information.

2. Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity data such as full name and, where relevant, company name.
Contact data such as address, phone number, and email address.
Service details such as pickup and delivery addresses, moving dates, access information, property type, and item descriptions.
Payment data such as payment status, transaction records, and invoicing information.
Communication data such as emails, messages, phone call notes, and service-related correspondence.
Technical data if you interact with our online systems, including IP address, browser type, and basic usage information.
Special category data only where it is unavoidable and strictly necessary, for example if it is included in documents or items being transported at your request. We do not intentionally collect special category data unless there is a lawful reason and appropriate safeguard in place.

We do not collect more personal data than is reasonably needed for the service requested.

3. How We Collect Your Data

Personal data may be collected directly from you, from someone acting on your behalf, or from third parties involved in arranging the service. This may happen when you request a quote, book a service, make a payment, communicate with us, or provide details about access, inventory, or scheduling. In some cases, we may also receive information from estate agents, landlords, property managers, or business clients where this is necessary to complete the service.

4. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide moving, delivery, transport, and related services;
to prepare quotes, confirm bookings, and manage schedules;
to contact customers about service arrangements, access requirements, or changes;
to issue invoices, process payments, and maintain financial records;
to handle complaints, claims, and customer support;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
to improve our operations, service quality, and customer experience;
to protect our business, staff, customers, and property against fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We will only use your personal data for the purpose for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging quotations, providing the requested service, managing booking details, and processing payments.

Legal Obligation

We process certain information to comply with legal obligations, such as tax recordkeeping, accounting requirements, insurance handling, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include managing operations, preventing fraud, improving service quality, and maintaining internal records. We always assess whether such processing is necessary and proportionate.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example for optional communications or where special category data is processed with your explicit agreement. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

6. Sharing Personal Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us run our business and deliver services. These parties act either as processors or as independent controllers depending on the context.

Examples of processors may include:

payment service providers;
accounting and invoicing systems;
IT, hosting, and data storage providers;
customer communication tools;
insurance and claims support providers;
subcontracted movers or logistics partners where required to complete a service.

We require processors to handle personal data securely, to act only on our instructions, and to use appropriate technical and organisational safeguards. We do not sell personal data.

We may also share data where necessary with professional advisers, regulators, law enforcement, courts, or other public authorities when required by law or to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, tax, insurance, and reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the nature of the service.

In general:

customer booking and service records are kept for a period necessary to manage the contract and any follow-up issues;
financial and transaction records are kept for the period required under tax and accounting law;
communication records are retained for a reasonable period to handle queries, complaints, or disputes;
records relating to claims or legal matters may be kept longer where necessary.

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

8. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we will only do so where appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms required under data protection law.

9. Data Security

We use appropriate security measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful handling of paper and digital records. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take data protection seriously and review our safeguards regularly.

10. 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 restriction - to ask us to limit processing in certain cases.
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 processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal conditions or exemptions. If you exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are generally intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in the context of a household move or related service and is provided by an adult customer or authorised representative. If we become aware that we have collected data inappropriately, we will take steps to delete it where required.

12. Complaints

If you are concerned about how we have handled your personal data, we encourage you to raise the issue so it can be reviewed and addressed. You also have the right to complain to the UK data protection authority if you believe your rights have been infringed. We aim to resolve concerns fairly and promptly.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data protection practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers in the South Kensington area to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their personal data is handled.

14. Summary of Our Commitments

Man With A Van South Kensington will process personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently; collect only what is needed; keep it secure; share it only where necessary with trusted processors or legal authorities; and retain it only for as long as required. We respect the rights of every customer and aim to maintain a high standard of privacy for all services provided in the South Kensington area.