Privacy Policy - Man With Van Lewisham

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Lewisham collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Man With Van Lewisham customers in the Lewisham area and to anyone who interacts with our services, whether by phone, email, online enquiry, quotation request, booking, or service delivery. We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Man With Van Lewisham provides removals, man and van transport, delivery, and related moving services in and around Lewisham. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as a data controller when we determine how and why personal data is processed. This means we are responsible for ensuring that your personal information is used fairly, lawfully, and transparently.

2. Information We Collect

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

Identity information such as your name and title.
Contact information such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Booking and service details such as the date of move, pickup and delivery addresses, item descriptions, access conditions, and service preferences.
Payment and billing information such as invoice details, payment status, and limited transaction records.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, and enquiry history.
Service-related notes such as special handling instructions, parking information, or other moving requirements.
Technical information if you use any digital enquiry method, including basic device or browser data generated by standard website tools.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it for a clear reason, such as explaining access needs or vulnerabilities relevant to the service. In such cases, we will handle it with extra care and only for the purpose for which it was provided.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations and respond to enquiries.
To manage bookings and arrange services.
To communicate with you about your move or delivery.
To complete services safely and efficiently.
To issue invoices, record payments, and maintain accounting records.
To resolve disputes, complaints, or service issues.
To comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations.
To improve our service quality, internal processes, and customer support.

We only process data that is relevant and limited to what is necessary for each purpose. We will not use your data for unrelated purposes without a valid legal basis.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotations, confirming bookings, carrying out moving services, and managing payments.

Legal obligation

We may process and retain certain information to comply with legal requirements, including tax, accounting, insurance, and record-keeping duties.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include improving customer service, preventing fraud, managing operations, and keeping basic service records.

Consent

Where required, we will rely on your consent. If we ask for consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before it was withdrawn.

Vital interests

In rare situations, we may process information to protect someone’s vital interests, for example where there is an emergency relating to health or safety during a service.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data only when necessary and only with trusted third parties who help us provide our services. These third parties act as processors when they process data on our instructions. We require them to keep your data secure and to use it only for the agreed purpose.

Typical processors and service providers may include:

Payment processors who handle card or electronic payments.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who assist with invoices, tax records, and financial administration.
IT and cloud storage providers who support email, file storage, scheduling, and secure data handling.
Customer communication tools used to manage enquiries, reminders, or service updates.
Insurance or legal advisers where needed to manage claims, disputes, or compliance matters.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law, court order, or to protect our rights, property, staff, customers, or the public. We do not sell personal data.

6. International Transfers

If any processor stores or accesses data outside the United Kingdom, we will take steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. This may include using approved contractual protections or transferring data only to countries with adequate data protection standards. We will always aim to keep your data protected to a standard consistent with UK law.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, and operational requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the reason it is held.

Quotation and enquiry records may be kept for a reasonable period to manage follow-up questions or repeat bookings.
Booking and service records may be retained to evidence the work completed and to handle any disputes.
Financial and tax records are kept for the period required by law.
Complaint or claim records may be retained longer where necessary to defend or pursue legal claims.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you. We review retention periodically to make sure data is not held for longer than necessary.

8. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include restricted access, secure storage, password protection, staff awareness, and controlled sharing with processors. While no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, we work to reduce risks and safeguard the information entrusted to us.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of 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 request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit processing in certain situations.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to raise a concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data has not been handled properly. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any issue promptly and fairly.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults arranging removals, transport, or related services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidentally provided by an adult customer and is necessary for the service. If we become aware that we have collected child-related data without a valid reason, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

11. Automated Decision-Making

We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. Any quotations or service arrangements are reviewed by a person and are based on the information you provide, operational availability, and service requirements.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect legal, operational, or service changes. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or communicated. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Man With Van Lewisham is committed to using personal data responsibly, securely, and lawfully. We collect only what we need, use it for clear purposes, share it only where necessary, and keep it only as long as required. Our approach is based on fairness, transparency, and respect for your rights. This policy applies to all Man With Van Lewisham customers in the area and helps ensure that your personal information is handled with care throughout every stage of our service.