Privacy Policy - Man And Van Whitechapel

This Privacy Policy explains how Man And Van Whitechapel collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Man And Van Whitechapel customers in area, including anyone who enquires about, books, receives, or pays for our moving and van services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy. We only collect information that is necessary for providing our services, managing customer relationships, meeting legal obligations, and improving the quality and safety of our operations.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity details such as your name, title, and, where relevant, the name of your business or organisation.
Contact details such as your phone number, email address, and service address.
Booking and service information including moving dates, collection and delivery addresses, item descriptions, access details, and special handling requirements.
Payment and billing information such as payment status, invoice details, and transaction records. We do not intentionally retain full card details where payment is processed through secure third-party providers.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, complaint details, and any feedback you provide.
Technical and usage data if you interact with our digital systems, such as IP address, device information, browser type, and basic log data used for security and performance monitoring.
Optional sensitive information only where necessary and only if you choose to share it, such as access or mobility requirements, health-related considerations affecting a move, or other information required to ensure safe service delivery. We treat such data with extra care and only process it where allowed by law.

We usually collect personal data directly from you when you request a quote, make a booking, communicate with us, or complete a payment. In some cases, we may also receive data from third parties such as payment providers, estate agents, landlords, letting agents, or business clients acting on your behalf.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data only where there is a valid reason to do so. Our purposes include:

providing quotations and managing bookings;
delivering moving, van, loading, unloading, and related services;
communicating with you about your service requirements, scheduling, and updates;
issuing invoices, processing payments, and handling refunds where applicable;
responding to questions, complaints, and customer service requests;
keeping accurate business and accounting records;
protecting against fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access;
meeting legal and regulatory obligations;
improving service quality, planning operations, and maintaining service standards.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected unless we have a lawful basis to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. Depending on the situation, we may rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process your personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotations, taking bookings, arranging service delivery, and handling payment.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information to comply with legal requirements, including accounting, tax, insurance, fraud prevention, and record-keeping 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 service administration, customer support, internal record keeping, security, business development, and improving our services. We always consider whether the processing is proportionate and respectful of your privacy.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example if you voluntarily provide optional sensitive information or agree to certain communications. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Sharing Your Personal Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf. These processors are only permitted to use your data according to our instructions and must keep it secure. They may include:

Payment processing providers that handle secure transactions;
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that support invoicing and financial records;
IT, cloud storage, and software providers that help us operate booking, email, and record-keeping systems;
Customer communication providers that assist with messages, scheduling, and service updates;
Professional advisers such as insurers, lawyers, or accountants, where necessary;
Public authorities or regulators when we are required to do so by law.

We may also share data with subcontractors or operational partners involved in service delivery, such as drivers or moving assistants, but only to the extent needed to carry out the work you have requested. We do not sell your personal data.

Where processors process data on our behalf, we take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate contracts, confidentiality obligations, and security measures are in place.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and to meet legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and the context in which it is used.

Booking and service records are generally kept for as long as needed to manage the service and handle any follow-up issues.
Financial and invoicing records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Communication and complaint records may be kept for a reasonable period to support customer service, dispute handling, and business protection.
Technical logs are usually kept for shorter periods unless needed for security or troubleshooting.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with applicable legal and operational needs. We do not keep data longer than necessary.

6. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, limited staff access, and staff awareness practices.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take privacy and data protection seriously and continuously review our security practices to reduce risks.

7. International Transfers

Where any processors or service providers store or access data outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place so your personal data remains protected to a standard consistent with UK GDPR requirements.

8. Your Rights

You have a number of rights under data protection law in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and legal basis for processing:

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 object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to certain forms of direct marketing if applicable.
Right to data portability – to request your data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to deal with requests within the time limits required by law.

9. Complaints

If you believe your personal data has not been handled correctly, you have the right to raise a concern with the relevant data protection authority. We encourage you to contact us first so we can review and resolve the matter promptly and fairly. We take all complaints seriously and will investigate in a transparent manner.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or how we process personal data. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how their information is handled.

Man And Van Whitechapel is committed to protecting your privacy and using your data responsibly. This policy is intended to ensure that our customers understand how their information is collected, used, retained, and protected while using our services in Whitechapel and the surrounding area.