Privacy Policy - Man With Van Upton

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Upton collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with the services it provides. It applies to all Man With Van Upton customers in the area, including anyone who requests a quote, makes a booking, receives a service, or otherwise communicates with us in relation to our moving and transport 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. This policy is intended to help customers understand what information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and the rights available to individuals.

1. Data We Collect

We collect only the information needed to provide and manage our services effectively. Depending on the nature of your enquiry or booking, this may include:

Identity details: name and, where necessary, business name.
Contact details: address, email address, telephone number, and alternative contact information.
Service details: pickup and delivery addresses, moving dates, property access information, item descriptions, inventory lists, and special handling requirements.
Payment and billing details: records needed to process payments, issue invoices, and maintain financial records. We do not keep payment card data unless this is necessary for secure payment processing through authorised providers.
Communication records: messages, call notes, complaints, feedback, and correspondence relating to quotes, bookings, or service issues.
Technical information: basic website or device information if you contact us online, such as IP address, browser type, and usage data where applicable.
Special category data: we do not normally seek special category data. However, if you voluntarily provide information that reveals health-related needs, accessibility requirements, or other sensitive details relevant to safe service delivery, we will process it only when necessary and with appropriate safeguards.

We aim to keep the data collected relevant and limited to what is required. We do not deliberately collect unnecessary personal information.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotes and respond to enquiries.
To schedule, manage, and deliver moving and transport services.
To verify customer details and service requirements.
To communicate about bookings, updates, delays, and changes.
To issue invoices, take payments, and handle refunds where applicable.
To maintain business records and meet legal, tax, and accounting obligations.
To resolve complaints, disputes, or service queries.
To improve our operations, customer service, and service quality.
To protect against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

Where applicable, we may also use aggregated or anonymised data for internal reporting, service planning, and performance analysis. This information does not identify individual customers.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

We only process personal data where we have a valid lawful basis under UK GDPR. Depending on the context, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes requested by you, arranging bookings, carrying out removals, and managing payment or service administration.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain data where required to comply with legal obligations, including tax law, accounting requirements, insurance obligations, and record-keeping duties.

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 managing operations, preventing fraud, improving services, handling customer enquiries, and protecting our business interests.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where we process optional information or use certain marketing activities that require consent. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests

In rare cases, we may process data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as where urgent action is required to prevent harm during a move.

4. Sharing and Processors

We do not sell personal data. We may share data only where necessary and lawful, and only with organisations that support the delivery of our services or our legal obligations. These parties may act as data processors or independent controllers depending on the service provided.

Examples of processors and recipients may include:

Payment service providers: to process secure payments and refunds.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers: to support invoicing, tax, and financial record management.
IT, email, and data storage providers: to host systems, store records, and manage communications securely.
Customer management or booking systems: to organise enquiries, schedules, and service records.
Insurance providers and claims handlers: where necessary to manage claims, incidents, or risk assessment.
Professional advisers: including lawyers, auditors, and consultants where advice or compliance support is required.
Public authorities: where disclosure is required by law, court order, or regulatory obligation.

Where processors are used, we require them to handle personal data securely, only on our instructions, and in accordance with data protection law. All processors are selected carefully and are expected to apply appropriate technical and organisational safeguards.

5. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. Retention periods depend on the type of information and the purpose for which it was collected.

Quote and enquiry records: usually retained for a limited period after the enquiry ends, unless they lead to a booking or are needed for ongoing correspondence.
Booking and service records: retained for the duration of the service and for a reasonable period afterwards to handle queries, disputes, or claims.
Financial and tax records: retained for the period required by law and accounting rules.
Complaints and incident records: retained as long as needed to investigate, resolve, and defend legal claims if necessary.
Consent-based records: retained until consent is withdrawn or the information is no longer needed.

When personal data is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or destroyed in line with our retention procedures. We review retention needs regularly.

6. Data Security

We use appropriate security measures to protect personal data from accidental loss, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff confidentiality requirements, and restricted sharing of data on a need-to-know basis.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take reasonable steps to safeguard the information we hold and to reduce the risk of misuse. If a personal data breach occurs and is likely to result in a risk to individuals’ rights and freedoms, we will take appropriate action in line with applicable law.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, individuals have a range of rights in relation to their personal data. Subject to legal limits and exemptions, you may have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you.
Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data.
Erase your data in certain circumstances.
Restrict how we use your data in certain cases.
Object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Data portability for information you provided to us, where applicable.
Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to be informed about how your data is used and to challenge certain decisions if they have legal or similarly significant effects. If you believe your rights have been infringed, you may raise a complaint with the relevant data protection authority. We would always welcome the opportunity to address concerns directly first.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers arranging transport or moving services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in a limited context and provided by an adult customer. If we become aware that we have unintentionally collected a child’s personal data, we will take reasonable steps to delete it where appropriate.

9. Changes to This Policy

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

10. Summary of Our Commitment

At Man With Van Upton, we respect your privacy and aim to keep personal data accurate, secure, and used only for clear and lawful purposes. We process information fairly, retain it only for as long as needed, and share it only with trusted processors or where required by law. This policy applies to all Man With Van Upton customers in the area, and it is designed to ensure that your personal data is handled responsibly and in accordance with applicable GDPR requirements.