Privacy Policy - Man And Van Cowley

This Privacy Policy explains how Man And Van Cowley collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our services. It applies to all Man And Van Cowley customers in area, including individuals who request quotes, book services, receive deliveries, or otherwise interact with us. We are committed to processing personal data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

We respect your privacy and aim to be transparent about what data we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and the rights you have over your information. By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide our services, manage our business, and meet legal obligations. Depending on the nature of your interaction with us, we may collect the following categories of personal data:

Identity information such as your name, title, and any company name you provide.
Contact details such as email address, telephone number, billing address, and service address.
Booking information including move dates, item lists, access details, service preferences, and special instructions.
Payment information such as payment status, invoice records, and transaction references. We do not store full card details unless explicitly required by a secure payment provider.
Communication records including emails, phone notes, enquiry forms, and messages relating to your booking or complaint.
Usage and technical data such as IP address, browser type, and device information if you submit data online.
Operational data such as photographs of items or premises where needed to assess the service, protect property, or resolve disputes.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to share it with us, and only where it is relevant to service delivery or legal compliance. If such data is provided, we will process it carefully and only where a lawful basis applies.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations and respond to service enquiries.
To plan, deliver, and manage moving or transport services.
To communicate with you about your booking, timing, access, or service requirements.
To issue invoices, process payments, and maintain financial records.
To handle complaints, claims, and customer support requests.
To improve our services, operations, and customer experience.
To meet tax, accounting, insurance, and legal obligations.
To protect our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud, misuse, or other risks.

We will not use your personal data for unrelated purposes without informing you and ensuring a valid lawful basis is in place.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis before processing your personal data. We rely on the following lawful bases depending on the activity involved:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, confirming bookings, arranging service details, delivering removals or transport, and managing payment arrangements.

Legal Obligation

We process certain information to comply with legal requirements, such as tax law, accounting rules, insurance obligations, and record-keeping duties.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include business administration, service improvement, fraud prevention, dispute handling, and maintaining accurate records.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you choose to receive optional marketing or where you provide data that is not otherwise necessary for service provision. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time.

4. Data Retention

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

Booking and service records are generally retained for a reasonable period after the service ends in case of disputes, claims, or customer follow-up.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law.
Communication records are kept while they remain relevant to our business relationship or complaint handling.
Marketing records are kept until you opt out or we no longer have a lawful basis to retain them.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or otherwise dispose of it in a safe manner.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third-party service providers who act as data processors on our behalf. These processors only process data under our instructions and must protect it appropriately. Typical categories of processors may include:

Payment service providers to process transactions securely.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers to manage invoices, tax records, and financial administration.
IT, hosting, and cloud storage providers to store and secure business information.
Communication and email providers to manage customer correspondence.
Operational partners or subcontractors where necessary to complete a booking or deliver a service.
Insurance or legal advisers where required to handle claims, disputes, or compliance issues.

We do not sell your personal data. If data is shared with processors, we take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate contracts, safeguards, and confidentiality measures are in place.

We may also disclose information where required by law, court order, regulatory request, or to prevent fraud, protect safety, or defend our legal rights.

6. International Transfers

Where a processor or service provider stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms recognized under GDPR.

7. Security of Your Data

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff confidentiality obligations, and limited access to personal records.

Although no system can be guaranteed 100% secure, we work to keep your information protected and only accessible to those who need it for legitimate business purposes.

8. Your GDPR Rights

As a data subject, you have a number of rights under GDPR. These rights may be subject to legal limits and exemptions, but we will always consider your request carefully and respond where required by law.

Right of access

You can ask whether we hold personal data about you and request a copy of that data.

Right to rectification

You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.

Right to erasure

You can ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances, such as where it is no longer needed or where consent is withdrawn.

Right to restrict processing

You can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations, for example while accuracy or lawfulness is being reviewed.

Right to data portability

Where applicable, you can request that we provide your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.

Right to object

You can object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing. Where you object to marketing, we will stop using your data for that purpose.

Right to withdraw consent

If we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in accordance with GDPR time limits and may ask for proof of identity where necessary.

9. Automated Decision-Making

We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes in the future, we will update this policy and explain the safeguards involved.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated to you. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how personal data is used.

11. Complaints

If you are concerned about how we handle your personal data, you should first contact us through the usual service channels so we can try to resolve the issue. 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.

In summary: we collect only the information needed to deliver our services, use it under lawful GDPR bases, retain it only as long as necessary, share it with trusted processors under contract, and respect your data rights at all times.