Privacy Policy - Man With Van Soho

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Soho collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Man With Van Soho customers in the area, including anyone who uses our moving, delivery, transport, or related services. We are committed to processing personal information lawfully, fairly, and transparently in accordance 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 Soho is the data controller of the personal information described in this policy. This means we decide how and why your personal data is used when you book or enquire about our services, communicate with us, or otherwise interact with us in connection with our services.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data necessary to provide our services, manage our relationship with you, and meet legal and operational obligations. The categories of information we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name and title;
Contact details such as your phone number, email address, and service address;
Booking information such as service dates, collection and delivery locations, property access details, and moving requirements;
Payment and billing information such as transaction records, invoices, and payment confirmation;
Communication records including emails, messages, notes from calls, complaints, and service requests;
Operational details relating to the items moved, special handling instructions, and service preferences;
Technical information if you interact with us online, such as IP address, device information, and basic usage data, where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category personal data unless it is necessary and you have provided it voluntarily, or unless another lawful condition applies. Please avoid sharing sensitive information unless it is directly relevant to our service.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

make an enquiry;
request a quote;
book a service;
communicate with us by phone, email, text, or other channels;
provide instructions, feedback, or complaints;
make payment or request an invoice.

We may also receive personal data from third parties where necessary for service fulfilment, for example from property managers, business clients, payment providers, or booking intermediaries acting on your behalf.

4. Why We Use Your Data

We use personal data only for legitimate business and legal purposes. These include:

providing quotations and managing bookings;
carrying out moving and transport services;
communicating about service changes, scheduling, or operational issues;
processing payments, issuing invoices, and handling refunds where applicable;
maintaining records for accounting, tax, and insurance purposes;
responding to queries, disputes, and complaints;
improving our services, training staff, and ensuring service quality;
meeting legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations;
protecting against fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process your personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes handling bookings, carrying out moving services, processing payments, and communicating about the service.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where required to comply with legal obligations, such as tax record-keeping, accounting rules, insurance requirements, or lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. This may include managing our business operations, improving services, maintaining records, preventing fraud, and resolving disputes.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain optional communications or non-essential uses of data. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

6. Sharing Your Personal Data

We may share personal data with trusted third parties only where necessary and proportionate. These third parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. Processors may include:

IT and hosting providers who support our systems and data storage;
Payment service providers who process transactions securely;
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who assist with financial records;
Communications providers who help us send emails, texts, or manage customer communications;
Professional advisers such as insurers, lawyers, or auditors where necessary;
Subcontractors or operational partners involved in fulfilling services.

All processors are required to handle personal data securely, only on our instructions, and in compliance with data protection law. We do not sell personal data.

7. International Transfers

Where any service provider processes data outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as approved contractual protections or adequacy arrangements. We take reasonable steps to make sure your personal data remains protected to an appropriate standard.

8. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and for any additional period required by law. Our retention period depends on the type of data and why it is held. For example:

booking and service records are retained for a period necessary to manage service history and resolve disputes;
financial and accounting records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting law;
complaint and correspondence records are retained as long as needed to address the matter and maintain business records;
data collected for marketing or optional communications is retained until you opt out or withdraw consent, where applicable.

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

9. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of our data handling practices. However, no system can be guaranteed completely secure, and we encourage users to take care when sharing information.

10. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights regarding your personal data. Subject to legal limits and verification of your identity, you may have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you;
Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data;
Erase your data in certain circumstances;
Restrict how we process your data in certain situations;
Object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
Data portability for information you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used format, where applicable;
Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent;
Complain to the relevant data protection authority if you believe your rights have been infringed.

Note: Some rights may not apply in all situations, especially where we must retain information to comply with legal obligations or defend legal claims.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business or household customers arranging moving services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental and necessary for providing the service, such as household information included in a booking. If we become aware that we have collected data unlawfully, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or service arrangements. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how personal data is handled.

13. How We Handle Lawful Requests

When you exercise your rights or make a privacy-related request, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to handle requests promptly and in accordance with legal timelines. If a request is complex or repetitive, we may ask for further details to help us respond accurately.

14. Summary of Our Commitment

At Man With Van Soho, we respect your privacy and only process personal data where there is a clear lawful reason to do so. We collect the minimum information needed to provide reliable services, use trusted processors under contract, retain data only as long as necessary, and support your rights under data protection law. This policy is designed to ensure that every customer in the area understands how their information is handled in a fair, transparent, and secure manner.