Privacy Policy - Man With Van Kensington

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Kensington collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Man With Van Kensington customers in the area, including individuals and businesses who request moving, transportation, packing, loading, unloading, or related services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Man With Van Kensington provides removals and van services to customers in Kensington and the surrounding area. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as a data controller when we determine how and why personal data is processed. This means we are responsible for ensuring your information is processed properly, securely, and only for legitimate purposes.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as address, email address, and phone number.
Service information including collection and delivery addresses, moving dates, property access notes, inventory details, and service preferences.
Billing and payment information such as payment status, transaction references, and invoicing details.
Communication records including messages, call notes, complaints, and feedback.
Technical data such as IP address, browser type, device information, and basic usage logs if you interact with our digital services.
Special category data only where necessary and if you choose to provide it, for example information relating to accessibility requirements or health-related moving needs.

We aim to keep data collection to what is relevant and strictly necessary for providing our services and managing our business.

3. How We Collect Personal Data

We collect information in several ways. You may give us data directly when you request a quote, make a booking, send an enquiry, or communicate with us about a service. We may also receive information from third parties where needed to fulfil a contract, such as payment providers, subcontracted service providers, or business partners acting on your behalf. In some cases, we may collect limited technical data automatically when you use our online systems.

4. Why We Use Your Data

We process personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotes and arrange moving services.
To manage bookings, schedules, and service delivery.
To process payments, invoices, and refunds where applicable.
To communicate with you about your booking or enquiry.
To handle complaints, claims, and customer support matters.
To meet legal, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
To improve our services, operations, safety procedures, and customer experience.
To maintain records and protect against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We will only process your data for purposes that are compatible with the reason it was originally collected.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

We rely on one or more of the following lawful bases under UK GDPR:

Contract - when processing is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as arranging and completing a moving service.
Legal obligation - when we must process data to comply with tax, accounting, insurance, or other legal requirements.
Legitimate interests - when processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include service improvement, record-keeping, customer support, and fraud prevention.
Consent - where we rely on your consent for specific optional processing activities. You may withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
Vital interests - in rare circumstances where processing is necessary to protect someone’s life.

If we process any special category data, we will only do so where permitted by law and where an appropriate condition applies.

6. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. However, we may share it with trusted third parties when necessary to operate our services. These recipients may act as processors or independent controllers depending on the circumstances.

Processors we may use

IT and hosting providers who store or support our systems.
Payment processors who handle transactions securely.
Booking and communication service providers who help manage customer enquiries and scheduling.
Accounting and invoicing providers who support financial administration.
Cloud storage and backup providers who help protect and restore records.
Professional advisers such as insurers, auditors, or legal advisers where needed.

Where processors act on our behalf, they are required to process data only under our instructions and to apply appropriate security measures. We take reasonable steps to ensure any processor is reputable and compliant with data protection law.

7. International Transfers

If any of our processors or service providers store or access data outside the UK, we will take appropriate safeguards to protect your information. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other legally approved transfer mechanisms.

8. Data Retention

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

Booking and service records are typically kept for a period necessary to manage the contract and any follow-up matters.
Financial and tax records may be retained for the period required by law.
Complaint, dispute, or claim records may be kept longer where needed to establish or defend legal rights.
Information collected with consent will be kept until consent is withdrawn, unless another lawful basis applies.

When data is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or archived in line with our retention practices.

9. Security of Personal Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff awareness, and confidentiality obligations. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to maintain a high level of protection.

10. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These include:

Right of access - to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification - to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure - to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction - to request limited processing in certain situations.
Right to data portability - to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to object - to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Rights related to automated decision-making - to not be subject to decisions made solely by automated means where this produces legal or similarly significant effects.

If we rely on consent, you also have the right to withdraw it at any time. Exercising your rights will not usually involve a fee, though requests may be limited where they are unfounded, excessive, or conflict with legal obligations.

11. How to Exercise Your Rights

You may contact us to make a request about your personal data. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to respond within the timeframe required by law, normally one month, although this may be extended where requests are complex or numerous.

12. Complaints

If you are concerned about how your personal data has been handled, you have the right to raise a complaint with the relevant data protection authority. We encourage you to contact us first so we can review and address your concerns. You also have the right to seek legal remedies where appropriate.

13. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults arranging moving and transport services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary for a specific service arrangement and provided lawfully by an adult representative.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so you remain informed about how we use personal data.

By using Man With Van Kensington services, you acknowledge that this Privacy Policy applies to all Man With Van Kensington customers in area.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and processing your information responsibly.