Privacy Policy - Man And Van Sydenham

This Privacy Policy explains how Man And Van Sydenham collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Man And Van Sydenham customers in the area, including individuals and businesses who enquire about, book, receive, or pay for our moving, delivery, collection, and related services. We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable privacy laws.

We believe in being transparent about what information we hold, why we need it, and how you can exercise your rights. This policy should be read together with any service terms or booking information you receive from us. By using our services or providing your information to us, you acknowledge that your data may be processed as described below.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the personal data that is necessary for providing our services, managing our operations, and meeting legal obligations. Depending on how you interact with us, this may include the following categories:

Identity details: your name, title, and any business or company name you provide.
Contact details: address, phone number, and email address.
Service details: pickup and delivery addresses, property access details, item descriptions, moving dates, and special instructions.
Billing and payment details: payment method information, invoice data, and transaction records.
Communication records: enquiries, messages, booking notes, complaint information, and feedback.
Technical data: basic information collected through devices or systems used to support service administration, such as IP address or browser information where applicable.
Usage and service history: records of services requested, completed jobs, and previous interactions with us.

We do not intentionally collect more information than is needed for legitimate business and legal purposes. We also do not seek to collect special category data unless it is voluntarily disclosed to us and necessary for a specific service requirement, for example where access or support needs must be considered. If such information is provided, we will handle it with additional care and only where lawful to do so.

2. How We Use Your Data

We process personal data for specific and limited purposes. These include:

responding to enquiries and preparing quotations;
managing bookings and scheduling services;
providing moving, transport, delivery, and related support services;
communicating about service changes, delays, or updates;
issuing invoices, processing payments, and maintaining financial records;
handling customer service matters, complaints, and dispute resolution;
meeting legal, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
protecting against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity;
improving our operations, service quality, and internal recordkeeping.

We only use personal data where there is a lawful reason to do so. Our aim is to keep processing fair, necessary, and proportionate.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must identify a lawful basis for each type of processing. For Man And Van Sydenham, the main lawful bases are:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging quotations, confirming bookings, carrying out services, and handling payment administration.

Legal Obligation

Some information must be processed to comply with legal requirements, such as tax rules, accounting obligations, insurance matters, and recordkeeping duties.

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. Examples include managing customer relationships, preventing fraud, maintaining service records, and improving operational efficiency. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider whether the processing is necessary and whether it is reasonable for you to expect it.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example if you agree to receive certain non-essential communications. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

We do not rely on consent where another lawful basis is more appropriate.

4. Sharing Your Information

We may share personal data with trusted third parties, but only when necessary and only to the extent required for service delivery or legal compliance. These may include:

payment providers to process transactions;
accounting or bookkeeping processors to support financial administration;
IT and data storage providers that help maintain secure systems;
professional advisers such as accountants, auditors, insurers, or legal advisers;
regulatory, tax, or law enforcement bodies where disclosure is required by law;
subcontractors or operational partners assisting in service delivery.

Whenever we engage a third party to process data on our behalf, that party acts as a processor under a contract that requires them to handle data securely, process it only under our instructions, and protect it in line with GDPR standards. We do not sell personal data.

5. Data Retention

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

Quotation and enquiry records: kept for a reasonable period to manage customer follow-up and business administration.
Booking and service records: retained for the duration of the service relationship and for a further period where needed for dispute handling or service history.
Financial and invoice records: retained in line with tax and accounting obligations.
Complaint or claim records: retained as long as necessary to resolve issues and defend legal claims.

When information is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to you. Retention is reviewed regularly to ensure we are not keeping data for longer than necessary.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include restricted access, secure storage, password protection, and staff awareness procedures. While no method of transmission or storage is completely risk-free, we work to maintain a level of security appropriate to the nature of the data and the risks involved.

7. International Transfers

Where data is processed by third-party providers outside the UK, we will only do so where appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, contractual protections, or other lawful transfer mechanisms designed to protect your personal data.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis we rely on:

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 data.
Right to erasure: in some cases, you can ask us to delete your data.
Right to restriction: you can ask us to limit the way we process your data in certain situations.
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: you may request your data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent: if we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your rights have not been respected. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so that we can try to resolve matters promptly and fairly.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidentally provided in the course of arranging or completing a service and is necessary for that purpose. If we become aware that we have collected data that should not be retained, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal duties, or data processing practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their personal data is handled.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

We are committed to using personal data responsibly, lawfully, and fairly. Our approach is based on data minimisation, purpose limitation, and security by design. We collect only what is needed, use it for legitimate service and compliance reasons, and keep it only as long as necessary.

Man And Van Sydenham respects your privacy and aims to ensure that all customers in the area can use our services with confidence that their information is being handled properly. This policy applies to every customer relationship, whether you contact us once or use our services repeatedly.

If you want to understand how your information is used, your rights, or the basis on which we process data, this policy sets out the principles we follow.