Privacy Policy - Man With Van Cowley

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Cowley collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing moving, delivery, collection, and related transport services. It applies to all Man With Van Cowley customers in the area, including private individuals, landlords, tenants, small businesses, and anyone who requests a service from us. We are committed to handling personal data fairly, lawfully, and transparently in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Man With Van Cowley acts as the data controller for personal data collected in connection with our services. This means we decide why and how your personal data is used. We are responsible for ensuring that your information is processed securely and only for legitimate purposes.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary to provide our services, manage bookings, and meet legal obligations. The types of data we may collect include:

Identity information such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and phone number.
Service information such as pickup and delivery addresses, moving dates, inventory details, access notes, and special handling requirements.
Payment and billing information such as transaction records and invoice details.
Communication records such as emails, phone notes, messages, and complaints.
Technical information if you interact with our digital systems, such as device data or basic usage logs.
Special category data only where strictly necessary and where you choose to share it, for example health-related access needs that affect the moving service.

We do not intentionally collect more data than needed, and we do not seek sensitive information unless it is relevant to the service or required by law.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data to deliver a reliable and efficient service. The main purposes include:

Processing enquiries and quotations.
Managing bookings and providing moving or delivery services.
Communicating about schedules, access, service changes, and payment.
Producing invoices, receipts, and accounting records.
Handling complaints, claims, and customer support requests.
Maintaining records for internal administration, safety, and quality assurance.
Complying with legal and regulatory obligations.
Preventing fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access.

We may also use limited personal data to improve our services, monitor performance, and ensure that our operations remain efficient. Any such use is carried out in a way that respects your privacy and is proportionate to the service provided.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations, arranging your move, contacting you about the service, and managing payment.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where required to meet legal duties, such as tax, accounting, record-keeping, or compliance with regulatory requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include service administration, customer support, fraud prevention, and maintaining business records. We always consider whether the processing is necessary and whether your interests require extra protection.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily provide optional information or agree to a specific additional use of your data. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests

In rare cases, we may process data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in an emergency involving health or safety during a service.

5. How We Share Personal Data

We may share personal data only where necessary and only with parties who help us deliver our services or meet legal obligations. These may include:

Subcontractors and processors who assist with transport, administration, bookkeeping, or IT support.
Payment providers who process transactions securely.
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers.
Public authorities where disclosure is required by law or to protect rights, safety, or property.

We require processors and service providers to handle personal data securely, use it only for specified purposes, and comply with applicable data protection law. We do not sell personal data.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, insurance, or reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the nature of the service.

In general:

Booking and service records are retained for the period needed to manage the contract and deal with any follow-up issues.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law.
Complaint or claim records may be kept longer where needed to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
Inactive or unnecessary data is securely deleted or anonymised when no longer needed.

We review retention periodically to ensure data is not kept longer than required.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include restricted access, secure storage, staff awareness, and controlled sharing of information. While no system is completely risk-free, we take reasonable steps to safeguard your information.

8. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we ensure that suitable safeguards are in place to protect it in accordance with applicable law. This may include approved contractual protections or transfers to countries deemed to provide adequate protection.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may include:

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 circumstances.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data 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.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent.

Some rights may not apply in all cases, for example where we must keep data to comply with legal obligations. We will always respond to requests in line with applicable law.

10. How to Exercise Your Rights

If you wish to exercise any of your rights, please provide enough information for us to identify you and understand your request. We may need to verify your identity before taking action. We will respond within the legal timeframe and explain any limitations if we cannot fully comply.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is provided by a parent, guardian, or authorised adult in connection with a service. If we become aware that data has been collected inappropriately, we will take appropriate steps to delete or protect it.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or how we handle data. Any updates will take effect when published in the revised version. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

13. Summary of Our Commitments

We aim to process personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently. We collect only what is needed, use it for clear purposes, retain it for a limited period, and share it only where necessary with trusted processors or where required by law. We respect the privacy rights of all customers and make every reasonable effort to protect personal information throughout the service lifecycle.

By using the services of Man With Van Cowley, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy.