Privacy Policy - Man And Van Romford

This Privacy Policy explains how Man And Van Romford collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data. It applies to all Man And Van Romford customers in the area, including individuals who request quotes, make bookings, receive removals or delivery services, or communicate with us in connection with our services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who This Policy Applies To

This policy applies to customers, prospective customers, household clients, business clients, and any other individuals whose personal data is processed by Man And Van Romford in connection with our van, moving, delivery, loading, unloading, and related transport services. It also applies where data is processed through enquiries, service arrangements, payment processing, complaints, and after-service administration.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect the information needed to provide our services effectively and lawfully. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identity information such as your name, and where relevant, the name of a business or organisation.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details including pickup and delivery addresses, property access notes, moving dates, item descriptions, and special handling instructions.
Payment and billing information where required to process transactions or issue invoices.
Communication records including messages, emails, complaint details, and service-related notes.
Operational information such as booking history, service preferences, and records of completed jobs.
Technical information if you interact with digital systems we use, such as basic device or usage data generated for security, troubleshooting, or record-keeping purposes.

We do not seek to collect more personal data than is necessary. Where we need sensitive information or special category data, we will only process it if there is a lawful basis and it is required for a specific reason, such as accessibility arrangements or health and safety considerations.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To schedule, manage, and complete removals, transport, or delivery services.
To communicate about bookings, changes, delays, or service updates.
To handle payments, invoices, refunds, and related accounting records.
To maintain internal records and verify service history.
To manage complaints, disputes, or claims.
To comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements.
To improve our services, operations, and customer experience.
To protect against fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes it was collected for, unless we reasonably determine that it needs to be used for a compatible purpose permitted by data protection law.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, arranging services, confirming details, and completing customer requests.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where it is required to comply with the law, including accounting, tax, fraud prevention, and record-keeping obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. Examples include managing operations, improving services, maintaining security, preventing misuse, and keeping appropriate business records. We always assess whether our interests are balanced against your privacy rights.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where we need permission to process optional data or to use certain types of communications where consent is required. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests

In rare circumstances, we may process data where necessary to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in an emergency involving health or safety.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business. These third parties act as processors when they process personal data on our instructions, and they are required to handle data securely and only for the agreed purpose.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

Payment service providers used to process card or electronic payments.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers used for invoicing, tax, and financial records.
IT and cloud service providers used for secure storage, communication, and system support.
Scheduling or administration tools used to organise jobs and customer records.
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, legal advisers, or auditors where necessary.

We may also disclose data where required by law, to public authorities, or in connection with legal claims, insurance matters, or the prevention of unlawful activity. We do not sell personal data.

6. International Transfers

If any processor or service provider stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms recognised under UK data protection law.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, tax, and insurance requirements. Retention periods can vary depending on the type of information and the nature of the service.

Booking and service records may be kept for a reasonable period after completion to manage queries, disputes, or follow-up matters.
Financial and invoice records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Complaint or claim records may be retained until the matter is fully resolved and any limitation periods have expired.
Enquiry data that does not lead to a booking may be kept only as long as needed for administrative follow-up, then deleted or anonymised.

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

8. How We Protect Your Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff awareness, and limiting access to personal information to those who need it for legitimate business purposes. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take data security seriously and review our safeguards regularly.

9. Your Data Protection Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have several rights regarding your personal data. These rights may be subject to legal limitations and exceptions, but we will always assess requests carefully and respond appropriately. Your rights include:

Right of access – you can ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you can request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – in certain circumstances, you can ask us to delete your personal data.
Right to restriction – you can request that we limit how we use your data in specific situations.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests, and in some cases direct marketing.
Right to data portability – where applicable, you can ask for your data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent – if we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting prior lawful processing.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in accordance with applicable data protection law and within the required timeframes.

10. Automated Decision-Making

We do not use fully automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects about you. If this changes in the future, we will update this policy and provide the relevant information required by law.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and businesses. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with a service arrangement and processed in a lawful, limited manner. Where we learn that children’s data has been collected unintentionally, we will take appropriate steps to remove it where required.

12. Changes to This 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 published. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how personal data is handled.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

We aim to process personal data in a way that is lawful, fair, transparent, and limited to what is necessary. We collect only the information needed to provide our services, keep it secure, share it only with trusted processors or where legally required, and retain it only for as long as needed. Customers in the Romford area can be confident that their privacy is treated with care and respect.

This policy is designed to support compliance with UK GDPR principles, including accountability, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, confidentiality, and data subject rights.

By using Man And Van Romford services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this Privacy Policy, subject always to your legal rights and applicable data protection law.