Privacy Policy - Man With Van Watford

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Watford collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Man With Van Watford customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who contacts us for a moving or removal service. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to individuals who use, enquire about, or receive services from Man With Van Watford in the Watford area and surrounding locations. It covers data we collect when you request a quote, make a booking, communicate with us, pay for services, or otherwise engage with our team. It also applies where we receive your information from someone acting on your behalf, such as a family member, landlord, estate agent, or business representative.

2. What personal data we collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant to providing our services, managing our business, and meeting legal obligations. The information we may collect includes:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as phone number, email address, and address for collection or delivery.
Service details such as booking dates, property access information, inventory notes, and moving requirements.
Payment information such as transaction records and billing details.
Communication records such as emails, messages, and notes of conversations.
Technical data such as limited website or device information if you contact us through digital channels, where applicable.
Special category data only where you choose to provide it and it is necessary for a specific request, for example accessibility needs.

We do not collect more information than we need. Where possible, we keep data collection to the minimum required for an efficient and secure moving service.

3. How we collect personal data

We may collect data directly from you when you:

request a quote or estimate;
make a booking;
give delivery, access, or moving instructions;
communicate with us by phone, email, or message;
submit feedback or a complaint;
make a payment or request an invoice.

We may also receive information from third parties where it is necessary to perform the service, such as building managers, agents, business partners, or other individuals authorised by you.

4. How we use your personal data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and confirm bookings;
to plan, deliver, and manage moving services;
to communicate with you about your service;
to process payments, invoices, and refunds where needed;
to keep business and accounting records;
to respond to enquiries, complaints, or claims;
to improve our operations, service quality, and customer experience;
to comply with legal and regulatory obligations;
to establish, exercise, or defend legal rights.

We will only use your information for the purpose it was collected for, unless we reasonably need to use it for a compatible purpose or where the law allows otherwise.

5. Lawful basis for processing

We process personal data only where we have a lawful basis under the UK GDPR. Depending on the context, our lawful bases may include:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to take steps before entering into a contract, or to perform a contract with you. This includes managing bookings, organising removals, and delivering services you have requested.

Legal obligation

We may process data to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, fraud prevention, and record-keeping requirements.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include service management, customer support, internal administration, and business improvement.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, particularly where you voluntarily provide optional information or agree to certain uses of your data. Where consent is used, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

Vital interests and legal claims

In rare situations, processing may be necessary to protect someone’s vital interests or to handle legal claims. Where applicable, we will ensure that the processing remains proportionate and necessary.

6. Data sharing and processors

We may share personal data only when necessary and only with parties that help us deliver our services or meet legal requirements. These parties may act as processors or, in some cases, as separate controllers.

Examples of processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers that support storage, communication, or scheduling systems;
payment service providers that process card or online payments;
accounting and bookkeeping services that assist with financial records;
customer communication tools used to manage enquiries and bookings;
operational subcontractors engaged to support a move, where necessary and under contract.

All processors are required to handle data securely, follow our instructions, and only use personal data for specified purposes. We do not sell personal data. We will not disclose your information to third parties for their own marketing purposes without a lawful basis.

7. International transfers

If any processor stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, or another valid transfer mechanism. We take reasonable steps to ensure your personal data remains protected wherever it is processed.

8. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and to meet any legal, accounting, or reporting obligations. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and service involved. Typical factors we consider include:

whether the data is needed to complete a booking or resolve a service issue;
whether we need to keep records for tax or legal compliance;
whether there is an active complaint, dispute, or claim;
whether continued retention is justified by legitimate business needs.

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

9. Security of your information

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

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 how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to object - to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing, where applicable.
Right to data portability - to receive certain information in a structured, commonly used format, where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent - where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data has been handled unlawfully. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so we can try to resolve them promptly and fairly.

11. Automated decision-making

We do not generally use automated decision-making or profiling in a way that produces legal or similarly significant effects on individuals. If this changes, we will update this policy and provide appropriate information about the logic involved, the consequences, and your rights.

12. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal duties, or data handling practices. Any revised version will take effect when published or when otherwise communicated to you. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

13. Summary of our commitments

Man With Van Watford is committed to handling personal information responsibly, securely, and only for legitimate purposes. We collect only the data needed to provide moving services, process it on a lawful basis, retain it for no longer than necessary, and use trusted processors under strict controls. Your privacy matters to us, and we aim to be transparent about how your data is used at every stage of the service.