Privacy Policy - Man And Van Bow

This Privacy Policy explains how Man And Van Bow collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with the services we provide. It applies to all Man And Van Bow customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and individuals who contact us to request information or a quotation. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Man And Van Bow provides man and van, removals, transport, delivery, and related moving services. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller when we determine the purposes and means of processing personal data. This means we are responsible for deciding why and how your personal information is used and for ensuring that your rights are respected.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for operating our services, meeting legal obligations, and improving our customer experience. The categories of data we may collect include:

Identity information such as your name and title.
Contact details such as phone number, email address, and service address.
Booking and service information such as move dates, item descriptions, collection and delivery locations, and special instructions.
Payment-related information such as transaction records and billing details, where required for invoicing and accounting.
Communications such as emails, messages, call notes, and customer service correspondence.
Technical data if you interact with us electronically, including basic device or usage information where available through standard systems.
Access and security information where needed to manage property access, parking arrangements, or delivery logistics.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is provided by you and is strictly necessary for a particular service or legal reason. Special category data may include information relating to health, religion, ethnicity, or similar sensitive details. If such information is ever provided, we will handle it with additional care and only where lawful to do so.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for legitimate business purposes connected to delivering our services. These purposes include:

Processing enquiries and providing quotations.
Managing bookings and scheduling services.
Carrying out removals, transport, and delivery services.
Communicating about service updates, changes, or issues.
Handling billing, payments, refunds, and record-keeping.
Responding to complaints, claims, or customer support requests.
Meeting legal, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
Preventing fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.
Maintaining internal records and improving service quality.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with those described in this Policy unless we have a lawful basis to do so and, where required, we inform you in advance.

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:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing a quotation, confirming a booking, completing a move, and managing associated administration.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where needed to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, insurance, record-keeping, or other applicable regulatory requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is in our legitimate interests and your rights do not override those interests. This may include service administration, fraud prevention, business improvement, and handling routine customer communications. When relying on legitimate interests, we consider the impact on your privacy and ensure the processing is proportionate.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, especially for optional activities not necessary for providing our core services. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time, and this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to deliver our services, operate our business, or comply with the law. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the circumstances.

Examples of processors may include:

Accounting and bookkeeping providers who help manage financial records.
Payment service providers who process transactions securely.
IT and cloud storage providers who support email, data storage, scheduling, or administrative systems.
Customer communication tools used to manage enquiries and service updates.
Insurance providers where a claim or incident requires review.

We require processors to act only on our instructions, to keep data secure, and to process it in accordance with data protection law. We do not sell your personal data. If data is shared with third parties acting as independent controllers, such as legal or regulatory authorities, they will be responsible for their own compliance.

6. International Transfers

Where any processor or system stores or accesses personal data outside the UK, we take appropriate measures to protect that data. These may include using approved safeguards such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal mechanisms. Our goal is to ensure that your information remains protected to a standard consistent with UK data protection 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 reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of record and the reason for holding it.

Enquiry records may be kept for a limited period to manage follow-up communications and service history.
Booking and job records may be retained for the duration needed to complete the service and resolve any related issues.
Financial and tax records are generally kept for the period required by law.
Claims, disputes, and incident records may be kept for longer where necessary to defend or pursue legal rights.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention practices.

8. How We Protect Your Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include restricted access, secure storage, staff awareness, and controlled sharing with authorised processors only. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take data security seriously and regularly review our safeguards.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. These rights may be subject to conditions and exemptions, but we will always consider and respond to requests appropriately.

Right of Access

You may request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and ask for a copy of that data.

Right to Rectification

You may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

Right to Erasure

You may request deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances, for example where it is no longer needed for the purpose collected.

Right to Restrict Processing

You may ask us to limit the way we use your data in specific situations, such as where accuracy is contested.

Right to Data Portability

Where applicable, you may request that certain data be provided to you or transferred to another controller in a structured, commonly used format.

Right to Object

You may object to processing based on legitimate interests or to processing for direct marketing, where applicable.

Right to Withdraw Consent

If processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. This helps protect your privacy and prevent unauthorised access to your information.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults or individuals acting on behalf of households or businesses. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary for a service arrangement and provided by an adult with authority to do so.

11. Automated Decision-Making

We do not carry out decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes in the future, we will update this Policy and provide relevant information where required by law.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, services, or operational practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published. We encourage customers to review the Policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

13. Complaints

If you have concerns about how your personal data is handled, please raise them with us so we can review the matter and address it appropriately. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

Summary of our commitment: Man And Van Bow processes personal data lawfully, securely, and only as needed to provide reliable moving and transport services, while respecting the rights of all customers in the area.