Privacy Policy - Man And Van Pentonville

This Privacy Policy explains how Man And Van Pentonville collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing moving, removal, delivery, packing, loading, unloading, and related services. It applies to all Man And Van Pentonville customers in the area, including individuals, households, tenants, landlords, businesses, and organisations that arrange or receive our services. We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and all other applicable privacy laws.

We aim to be clear and transparent about how we process information. This policy describes what data we collect, why we collect it, the lawful bases we rely on, how long we keep it, which service providers may process it on our behalf, and what rights you have over your personal data.

1. Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity data: name, title, and any preferred identifiers you provide.
Contact data: address, email address, telephone number, and other communication details.
Service details: moving date, property access details, inventory lists, special handling requirements, and instructions relating to your move.
Billing and payment data: billing address, payment status, and transaction records. We do not store more payment data than is necessary to process and verify payments.
Correspondence data: messages, complaints, feedback, estimates, quotations, and notes from phone calls or written communication.
Technical data: limited device and usage information if you interact with our digital systems, such as IP address, browser type, and basic log data.
Special instructions: information you voluntarily provide about access needs, item fragility, or other service-related requirements.

We normally collect personal data directly from you, your representative, or a third party who arranges services on your behalf. In some cases, we may also receive data from landlords, letting agents, business partners, or payment providers where this is necessary to complete the service.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data to provide a safe, efficient, and reliable removals service. Typical uses include:

processing enquiries and quotations;
planning and delivering removals and related services;
confirming bookings and managing schedules;
communicating about the service, including arrival times, access arrangements, and updates;
preparing invoices and handling payments;
responding to complaints, claims, and requests;
maintaining records for accounting, tax, and legal compliance;
improving service quality, training, and internal administration;
protecting against fraud, misuse, and security incidents.

We only use personal data for purposes that are compatible with the original reason for collection, unless we have a lawful basis to do otherwise. We do not sell personal data, and we do not use it for unrelated purposes without proper justification.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the context, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing bookings, carrying out removals, communicating service details, and issuing invoices.

Legal obligation

We may process and retain certain data to comply with legal requirements, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, and regulatory obligations.

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. This may include managing customer relationships, protecting our business, preventing fraud, and improving our services. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we balance our interests against the impact on your privacy.

Consent

In limited situations, we may ask for your consent, for example where you voluntarily provide optional information or choose to receive certain non-essential communications. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business and provide services. These parties act as processors when they process personal data on our instructions. They are required to protect data and use it only for agreed purposes.

Examples of processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers: for secure data storage, email, file management, and system administration.
Payment processors: for handling card or electronic payments.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers: for financial administration and tax compliance.
Customer support tools: for managing communication and service records.
Vehicle tracking or route planning providers: where used to improve operational efficiency and service delivery.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law, court order, lawful request from a public authority, or to protect our rights, customers, staff, or property. If a business transfer, merger, or restructuring occurs, relevant personal data may be transferred subject to applicable data protection safeguards.

Where processors are engaged, we use appropriate contractual terms to ensure they process data securely, lawfully, and only on our documented instructions. We remain responsible for ensuring those suppliers meet data protection requirements.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of record and the reason for holding it.

Service and booking records: retained for a period necessary to manage the contract, resolve disputes, and maintain service history.
Financial and tax records: retained for the period required by law.
Correspondence and complaint records: retained for a reasonable time to support customer care and legal defence.
General administrative data: retained only while relevant to our business operations.

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention procedures. We do not keep personal data indefinitely unless there is a valid legal or operational reason to do so.

6. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, encryption where appropriate, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of our internal processes.

Although we take reasonable steps to safeguard data, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If we become aware of a personal data breach that is likely to result in risk to your rights and freedoms, we will act in line with applicable law.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several 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 your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction: to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability: to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to object: to object to processing based on legitimate interests or to direct marketing.
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 exceptions. For example, we may need to retain certain records to comply with statutory obligations or to defend legal claims. We will respond to requests in accordance with applicable law and within the required timeframes.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. This is to protect your privacy and prevent unauthorised access to personal data.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are generally intended for adults arranging removals or related services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally included in service records, such as family household moves, and only when necessary for the service requested.

9. Third-Party Links and External Services

In some cases, you may interact with third-party services through our business operations, such as payment platforms or communication tools. Those third parties are responsible for their own privacy practices. We encourage you to review their policies where relevant.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, services, or business practices. When we make changes, we will revise the policy so that it remains accurate and current. We encourage customers to review it periodically.

11. How We Apply This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all customers of Man And Van Pentonville in the area, whether the service is booked directly by you or arranged by someone else on your behalf. It covers enquiries, quotations, bookings, removals, and all related customer interactions connected with our services.

By using our services, you acknowledge that we may process your personal data as described in this policy and as permitted by law. Your privacy is important to us, and we aim to handle your data fairly, lawfully, and with care.