Privacy Policy - Man With Van Totteridge

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Totteridge collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing removal and moving services. It applies to all Man With Van Totteridge customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and business clients who use our services. We are committed to handling personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who we are

Man With Van Totteridge is a removal and transport service provider operating in and around Totteridge. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller for the personal data we collect and use in connection with our services. This means we decide why and how your personal data is processed.

2. Personal data we collect

We only collect data that is relevant and necessary for delivering our services, managing bookings, communicating with customers, and meeting legal or operational requirements. Depending on the nature of the service, we may collect the following categories of personal data:

Identity data such as your name and title.
Contact data such as your address, phone number, and email address.
Booking and service data such as moving dates, collection and delivery addresses, property access details, inventory notes, and service preferences.
Payment data such as billing details, transaction records, and payment confirmation information. We do not store card details unless this is necessary for secure payment processing by an authorised provider.
Communication data such as emails, messages, call notes, and any feedback or complaints you provide.
Technical and usage data where relevant, such as basic device or browser information collected through our digital systems for security and service improvement.
Special category data only where strictly necessary and only if you voluntarily provide it, for example when relating to access needs or vulnerability concerns that affect service delivery. We handle this with enhanced care and only where a lawful basis applies.

We do not intentionally collect more data than is required. We do not use your personal information for unrelated marketing purposes without an appropriate legal basis and, where required, your consent.

3. How we collect personal data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you request a quotation, make a booking, complete forms, communicate with us, or give instructions during the provision of a moving service. We may also receive information from third parties where necessary for service performance, such as from landlords, estate agents, property managers, or payment processors acting on your behalf.

In some cases, personal data may be collected indirectly through operational systems, including booking management tools, invoicing systems, or secure communication platforms. Any such collection is limited to what is needed for legitimate business and service purposes.

4. Why we use your personal data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations and manage bookings.
To plan, organise, and carry out moving and transport services.
To communicate with you about your service request, schedule changes, or access arrangements.
To issue invoices, process payments, and maintain financial records.
To respond to complaints, disputes, or service queries.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
To improve our services, internal procedures, safety, and customer experience.
To protect against fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We only process personal data for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes. If we need to use your data for a new purpose that is not compatible with the original reason it was collected, we will only do so where the law permits.

5. Lawful basis for processing

We must have a lawful basis under data protection law to process your personal data. Depending on the context, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes handling bookings, delivering services, managing schedules, and issuing invoices.

Legal obligation

We process personal data where required to meet legal obligations, such as accounting, tax compliance, record keeping, or responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include maintaining service records, improving operations, preventing fraud, and protecting business assets. We carefully balance our interests against your rights before relying on this basis.

Consent

Where consent is required by law, we will ask for it clearly and separately. You can withdraw consent at any time, although this will not affect processing that has already taken place lawfully.

Vital interests and special circumstances

In rare cases, we may process personal data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in an emergency affecting health or safety. If special category data is involved, we will only process it where an additional condition under UK GDPR is met.

6. Sharing personal data and processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties only when necessary and only to the extent required for service delivery, legal compliance, or business administration. These third parties may act as processors or independent controllers depending on their role.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

Payment processing providers who handle secure payment transactions.
IT and cloud storage providers used to manage records, communication, and secure data storage.
Accounting and invoicing systems that help maintain accurate financial records.
Customer relationship or booking management systems used to schedule services and manage communication.
Professional advisers such as accountants, auditors, insurers, or legal advisers where necessary.

Any processor we use is required to handle personal data securely, only on our instructions, and in compliance with data protection law. We do not sell your personal data. If we are required by law or court order to disclose information, we may do so in compliance with those legal obligations.

7. Retention of personal data

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

In general:

Booking and service records are retained for a period necessary to manage the customer relationship and resolve any service issues.
Financial and invoicing records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Complaint and dispute records are kept for as long as needed to address the matter and protect our legal position.
Data collected for consent-based purposes is retained until consent is withdrawn or the purpose ends, unless a longer period is required by law.

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

8. Data security

We take reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff confidentiality obligations, and limited access on a need-to-know basis.

Although no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take data protection seriously and review our safeguards regularly to reduce risk. We require any processors handling your data on our behalf to maintain appropriate security standards.

9. Your rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the legal basis for processing:

Right of access – you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – you can request deletion of your data in certain situations.
Right to restriction – you can ask us to limit processing in certain cases.
Right to data portability – you can request transfer of certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing where relevant.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely 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 will respond within the time limits required by law unless an extension is permitted due to complexity or volume.

10. Children’s data

Our services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental to providing a service requested by an adult customer. If we become aware that we have collected such data without a lawful basis, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

11. International transfers

If any personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it in accordance with applicable data protection law. This may include using approved contractual clauses or transferring data only to countries recognised as providing adequate protection.

12. Changes to this Privacy Policy

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

13. How we apply this policy

This Privacy Policy applies to every customer of Man With Van Totteridge in the area, whether the booking is made directly, through a third party, or through another service arrangement. By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy and that we will handle it in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

We are committed to keeping your information safe, using it responsibly, and respecting your rights at every stage of the service.