Privacy Policy - Man With Van Swiss Cottage

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Swiss Cottage collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing moving, delivery, loading, unloading, and related services. It applies to all Man With Van Swiss Cottage customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and business clients who use our services within Swiss Cottage and the surrounding local area.

We are committed to handling personal information 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 also explains your rights and the choices available to you.

1. Data We Collect

We collect only the data necessary to arrange and deliver our services, manage bookings, communicate with customers, and meet legal and contractual obligations. The types of information we may collect include:

Identity information such as your name, title, and, where relevant, company or business name.
Contact details such as phone number, email address, billing address, collection address, and delivery address.
Booking and service information including move dates, service type, access details, item descriptions, special handling requirements, and customer instructions.
Payment and transaction information such as payment status, invoices, and related accounting records. We do not retain more payment information than is necessary for administration and legal compliance.
Communications including emails, text messages, call notes, and any feedback, complaints, or claims you submit.
Technical and usage data if you interact with our digital systems, such as device information, approximate location, or basic analytics used to improve service performance and security.
Evidence and records where needed for insurance, damage assessment, or dispute resolution, such as photographs of items, packaging, or property condition.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you provide it voluntarily and it is strictly necessary for the service or a legal claim. Special category data may include information about health, disability, religion, or similar sensitive matters. If such data is shared with us, we will handle it with extra care and only where a valid lawful basis exists.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations, confirm bookings, and deliver moving and transport services.
To plan routes, allocate vehicles and staff, and manage access or timing arrangements.
To communicate with you about your booking, schedule changes, service updates, or issues affecting the move.
To process payments, issue invoices, and maintain business and tax records.
To respond to complaints, queries, claims, and requests for support.
To improve our services, monitor performance, and maintain safety and security.
To comply with legal duties, insurance requirements, and regulatory obligations.

Where appropriate, we may also use data to protect against fraud, theft, misuse, or unlawful activity. Any such use will be limited to what is necessary and proportionate.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

We only process personal data when we have a valid lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing a quote at your request, arranging collection and delivery, and completing the service you booked.

Legal Obligation

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

Legitimate Interests

We may use personal data for legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing operations, preventing fraud, defending legal claims, improving services, and maintaining secure business records. When we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the impact on your privacy and apply safeguards where needed.

Consent

Where the law requires consent, or where we choose to rely on it, we will ask for it clearly. You may withdraw consent at any time, but this will not affect any processing already carried out lawfully before withdrawal.

Vital Interests and Public Task

These bases are used only in exceptional circumstances, for example where processing is necessary to protect someone’s life or where required by law. They are not typically used in ordinary service operations.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell personal data. We may share limited information only where necessary for service delivery, administration, legal compliance, or legitimate business operations. Any third party acting on our behalf is treated as a processor and may only process data according to our instructions.

Examples of processors and service partners may include:

Payment service providers that handle payment processing or card transactions.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that assist with financial records and tax compliance.
IT and cloud storage providers that host emails, files, and internal systems.
Communication providers that support email, messaging, or customer notification tools.
Insurance providers, loss adjusters, or legal advisers where needed to manage claims or disputes.
Subcontracted staff or drivers engaged to carry out services on our behalf, where disclosure is necessary for the move or delivery.

We may also disclose data to public authorities, regulators, courts, or law enforcement if required by law or necessary to protect our rights, property, staff, customers, or the public.

Where processors act on our behalf, they are required to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data. We aim to use providers that offer adequate privacy and security safeguards.

5. International Transfers

If personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections. We will only transfer data where it is necessary and where a lawful safeguard is available.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including any legal, accounting, insurance, or reporting obligations. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the reason for holding it.

Booking and service records are typically retained for the period needed to manage the service and address aftercare or complaints.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law.
Claims, dispute, and insurance records may be kept for longer where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
Communications are retained for a reasonable time to support customer service and business administration.

When data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

7. Your Rights Under GDPR

Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, you have the following rights regarding 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 situations.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
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.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will assess your request and respond within the time limits set by law. In some cases, we may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data has been handled unlawfully or if you are unhappy with how we have responded to a privacy concern.

8. Data Security

We take appropriate security measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limiting data access to people who need it for their role.

While we take security seriously, no system is completely risk-free. If a personal data incident occurs that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will take appropriate action in line with applicable law.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect data from children except where it is necessary in connection with a household move or where provided by an adult customer for service administration. If we become aware that we have collected data improperly, we will take steps to delete it where appropriate.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service arrangements. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review the policy periodically to stay informed about how personal data is handled.

11. Scope of This Policy

This policy applies to all customers of Man With Van Swiss Cottage in the area, including anyone who enquires about, books, or receives our moving and van services. By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy and in accordance with applicable data protection laws.