Privacy Policy

Man with Van Swiss Cottage Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Man with Van Swiss Cottage collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to our customers. It also describes the rights you have under data protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy applies to all Man with Van Swiss Cottage customers in the Swiss Cottage area and surrounding neighbourhoods who use or enquire about our services.

1. Who we are and scope of this policy

Man with Van Swiss Cottage is a local moving and transport service provider offering man and van services, including removals, deliveries and related logistics. For the purposes of data protection law, Man with Van Swiss Cottage is the data controller of the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means we decide how and why your personal data is processed when you interact with us as a customer or prospective customer in the Swiss Cottage area.

2. Personal data we collect

We only collect data that is necessary for providing and managing our services. The categories of personal data we may collect include:

Identity data: name, title, and in some cases company or business name where you are booking on behalf of a business.

Contact data: billing and collection addresses, delivery addresses, and other locations related to a move or transport job.

Service and booking data: details of the services you request, property access information relevant to the move, preferred time and date, inventory or description of items to be moved, and any special instructions you provide.

Payment-related data: limited payment information such as amount charged, payment method and payment confirmation. We do not store full card details if payments are processed via a secure payment provider.

Communication data: information you provide when you contact us by phone, online forms, or other communication channels, as well as records of our communications with you such as quotes, confirmations and follow-up messages.

Technical and usage data: basic information relating to how you access our site or online contact channels, which may include your IP address, browser type, and basic usage data required for the functioning and security of our services.

3. How we collect your personal data

We collect personal data in the following ways:

Directly from you when you request a quote, make a booking, contact us with an enquiry, provide instructions for a job, or give feedback.

Indirectly through the use of technology when you visit our website or use online forms, where your device may automatically provide us with certain technical data necessary to deliver and protect our services.

From third parties where you have authorised them to share information with us, for example if a partner agency or business books our services on your behalf, or if payment service providers confirm that a payment is complete.

4. Lawful bases for processing

We rely on one or more of the following lawful bases to process your personal data:

Contract: we process data that is necessary to provide a quote, to enter into a contract with you, and to deliver our man and van services. This includes handling bookings, managing logistics, processing payments and communicating with you about your move or transport job.

Legitimate interests: we process certain data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and these are not overridden by your rights. This includes improving our services, managing our relationship with you, dealing with queries and complaints, and keeping basic records for business management and planning.

Legal obligations: we may process and retain some data where it is necessary to comply with applicable laws, including tax, accounting and regulatory requirements.

Consent: where required, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of optional marketing communications. When we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time by contacting us.

5. How we use your personal data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotes and confirm bookings for man and van services in the Swiss Cottage area, including assessing your requirements and offering an appropriate service.

To plan and deliver our services, including arranging collection and delivery, managing schedules, assigning drivers and vehicles, and carrying out the move or transport as requested.

To process payments, manage invoices, handle receipts and deal with any payment-related issues.

To communicate with you before, during and after the service, including sending confirmations, reminders, updates about arrival times, and follow-up messages regarding the service completed.

To respond to enquiries, comments or complaints, and to resolve any disputes related to our services.

To maintain business records, including booking history, financial records, and records of correspondence, for accounting, tax and audit purposes.

To improve the quality and efficiency of our services, including reviewing feedback, analysing common issues and enhancing our processes.

6. Data retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and to meet legal, accounting and reporting requirements. In general:

Core booking and service records, including your contact details, service details and invoices, are retained for a period that aligns with applicable tax and accounting laws, typically up to six years after the end of the financial year in which the service was provided.

Enquiry-only data, where no booking is made, may be retained for a shorter period that allows us to manage follow-up enquiries and internal reporting, after which it is securely deleted or anonymised.

Communication records may be retained as long as reasonably necessary to manage our relationship with you and to handle any potential complaints or legal claims.

After the relevant retention period, we will securely delete or anonymise your personal data so that it can no longer be associated with you.

7. Data sharing and processors

We do not sell your personal data. However, we may share it with trusted third parties when necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. These third parties act as data processors or, in some limited cases, as separate controllers.

Categories of recipients may include:

Payment service providers that process payments securely on our behalf.

IT, hosting and support providers that operate systems used for booking management, communication and secure data storage.

Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers who may access limited data where necessary for providing their services to us.

Regulatory authorities, law enforcement or public bodies where we are legally required to disclose information, or where disclosure is necessary to protect our rights or the rights of others.

Where we use processors to handle personal data on our behalf, we ensure they are bound by contracts that require them to protect your data in line with data protection law and our instructions.

8. International transfers

Our primary operations are based in the United Kingdom. If we use service providers located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal data. These safeguards may include the use of standard contractual clauses or other mechanisms approved under data protection law, to ensure an equivalent level of protection for your data.

9. Data security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access. These measures are designed to provide a level of security appropriate to the risks associated with the processing of your data, taking into account the nature of the data and the type of services we provide. Access to personal data is limited to those employees, contractors and service providers who need to know it for legitimate business purposes.

10. Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights concerning your personal data. These include:

Right of access: you can request confirmation of whether we hold personal data about you and ask for a copy of that data, along with information on how we use it.

Right to rectification: you can ask us to correct or complete personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete.

Right to erasure: in certain circumstances, you can request that we delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected, or where you withdraw consent and there is no other legal basis for processing.

Right to restriction of processing: you can request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we verify its accuracy or consider an objection.

Right to object: you can object to processing that is based on our legitimate interests or to any direct marketing. We will respect your objection unless we have compelling legitimate grounds to continue processing or we need to process your data to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Right to data portability: where processing is based on consent or on a contract and is carried out by automated means, you may have the right to receive the personal data you provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and to request that we transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority if you believe your rights have been infringed. In the United Kingdom, this is typically the Information Commissioner's Office. We encourage you to contact us first so we can address any concerns directly.

11. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements or the services we offer. When we make significant changes, we will take appropriate steps to bring them to your attention. The latest version of the policy will always apply to how we process your personal data.