Privacy Policy - Man And Van Hithergreen

This Privacy Policy explains how Man And Van Hithergreen collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data. It applies to all Man And Van Hithergreen customers in the area, including individuals and businesses who request quotes, book services, communicate with us, or otherwise use our moving, transport, and related services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services, you acknowledge that we may process personal data as described in this policy. We only collect data that is relevant, adequate, and limited to what is necessary for the purposes explained below.

1. Data We Collect

We may collect and process different categories of personal data depending on the service requested and how you interact with us. This may include:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of a business or organisation.
Contact details such as telephone number, email address, and service address.
Booking and service information including move dates, collection and delivery locations, property access details, item lists, special handling requirements, and service preferences.
Payment information such as payment status, billing details, and transaction references. We do not retain card security details unless strictly necessary for payment processing through a secure provider.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, complaint information, and records of any instructions you provide.
Technical information when you interact with our digital systems, which may include basic device or browser details, IP address, and usage logs for security and system administration.
Special circumstances information if you choose to share it and it is necessary to provide the service, such as access restrictions, parking limitations, or vulnerability-related support needs.

We aim to collect only data that is necessary for booking, delivering, managing, and improving our services. We do not intentionally collect unnecessary personal data.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations, confirm bookings, and arrange moving or transport services.
To plan the logistics of your job, including scheduling, route planning, and resource allocation.
To communicate with you about your service request, booking changes, access requirements, or service updates.
To process payments, issue invoices, and manage account or billing matters.
To handle complaints, queries, claims, or disputes.
To maintain service quality, train staff, and improve operational efficiency.
To protect against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.
To comply with legal, regulatory, accounting, and insurance obligations.

Where appropriate, we may also use data to maintain records of services provided, ensure continuity of operations, and demonstrate that we have fulfilled our contractual and legal responsibilities.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, arranging bookings, carrying out removals, and managing payments.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where required to comply with laws and regulations, including tax, accounting, insurance, and record-keeping duties.

Legitimate Interests

We may process certain data where it is reasonably necessary for our legitimate business interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights. This may include service administration, operational planning, customer support, preventing fraud, and maintaining business security.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example if you choose to provide optional information that is not required for the service. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

We do not rely on consent where another lawful basis is more appropriate. This ensures that processing remains proportionate and transparent.

4. Sharing Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties, known as processors or service providers, when this is necessary to deliver our services or support our business operations. These may include:

Payment service providers that process transactions securely.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that support invoicing, tax records, and financial administration.
IT and cloud service providers that host or maintain our systems, storage, and communications tools.
Scheduling or administration tools used to manage bookings and service delivery.
Insurance providers where required for claims handling or risk management.
Professional advisers such as legal or financial advisers where necessary for compliance or dispute resolution.

All processors are required to handle personal data securely, use it only for the purposes we specify, and comply with applicable data protection laws. We do not sell personal data. We do not share personal data for unrelated marketing purposes without a lawful basis.

In some cases, we may disclose data to authorities, regulators, or law enforcement if required by law or if necessary to protect our legal rights, property, staff, customers, or the public.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, insurance, and dispute-resolution requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and the reason it is held.

For example:

Booking and service records may be retained for a reasonable period to support customer administration, complaints, and service history.
Financial and tax records may be retained for the period required by law.
Communication and complaint records may be retained for as long as needed to resolve the matter and defend against claims.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it or anonymise it securely. We apply appropriate retention controls to ensure data is not kept longer than necessary.

6. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality duties, password protection, and restricted system permissions. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take reasonable steps to safeguard the information we hold.

7. Your Rights

Depending on the circumstances, you have rights under data protection law 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 correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – to ask for deletion of data in certain situations.
Right to restriction – to request limited processing in some cases.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing, where relevant.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions or limitations. If we cannot fulfil a request, we will explain why where permitted by law. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and businesses. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary for a specific service request and provided by an adult responsible for the arrangement. If we become aware that we have collected data without appropriate authority, we will take steps to delete or protect it as required.

9. International Transfers

Where service providers or systems involve processing outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place so that your personal data remains protected to the standard required by law. These safeguards may include recognised contractual protections and other lawful transfer mechanisms.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

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

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Man And Van Hithergreen is committed to processing personal data responsibly, securely, and in a way that respects your privacy. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, share it only where necessary with trusted processors, and retain it for no longer than required. We also recognise and respect your rights over your personal data.

By choosing our services, you can expect a privacy approach based on lawfulness, transparency, minimisation, and accountability. This policy applies to all Man And Van Hithergreen customers in area and is designed to ensure your personal data is handled with care at every stage of the service relationship.