Privacy Policy - Man And Van Barking

This Privacy Policy explains how Man And Van Barking collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. It applies to all Man And Van Barking customers in the area, including anyone who requests a quote, books a service, communicates with us, or receives moving, delivery, removal, or related transport services from us.

We are committed to handling personal information fairly, lawfully, and transparently. We only collect the information we need to provide our services, manage our business, and meet our legal obligations.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following types of personal data:

Identity information such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information including collection and delivery addresses, access details, item descriptions, dates, times, and booking preferences.
Payment and billing information such as transaction records, invoicing details, and payment status.
Communication records including emails, call notes, messages, and complaint or feedback records.
Website or device data if you interact with digital systems, including technical data, browser type, and cookies where applicable.
Special category data only where necessary and only if you voluntarily provide it, for example in limited circumstances where an access need or vulnerability affects service delivery.

We do not intentionally collect more information than is required for the purpose. If you provide personal data about another person, you should ensure that you have their permission to do so and that they understand how their information will be used.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations, confirm bookings, and manage customer accounts or records.
To deliver moving, transport, loading, unloading, collection, and related services.
To communicate with you about service arrangements, changes, delays, or issues.
To process payments, issue invoices, and maintain accurate financial records.
To respond to enquiries, complaints, and feedback.
To improve our services, manage operations, and maintain internal records.
To comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations.
To prevent fraud, protect our business, and ensure the security of our staff, customers, and property.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following lawful bases where appropriate:

Contract

Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes providing quotes, arranging bookings, completing services, and handling payment-related matters.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where it is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, such as tax, accounting, record-keeping, insurance, or regulatory requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided that those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include business administration, service improvement, fraud prevention, customer support, and operational management. We always consider the impact of this processing and limit it to what is relevant and proportionate.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily agree to a non-essential use of your data. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

4. Sharing Your Information

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

Payment providers for processing transactions and preventing payment fraud.
Accountants and tax advisers for financial and compliance purposes.
IT and cloud service providers who store or support our systems.
Communication and administrative service providers who help manage records and messages.
Insurance providers, legal advisers, and regulatory bodies where disclosure is necessary for claims, disputes, or compliance.
Subcontractors or staff members directly involved in providing a service to you.

We require processors to handle your data securely and only in accordance with our instructions. Where data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, insurance, and reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason for processing.

Customer booking and service records are generally kept for a reasonable period after completion of the service in case of queries, disputes, or follow-up issues.
Financial and invoicing records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Complaint and correspondence records are retained for as long as necessary to manage the matter and protect legal interests.
Technical and operational data may be kept for shorter periods unless needed for security, analysis, or legal purposes.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you. We do not keep personal data indefinitely.

6. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, confidentiality obligations, and regular review of our processes.

While we take reasonable steps to protect personal data, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. If a personal data breach occurs and is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will take appropriate action in line with our legal obligations.

7. Your Rights

You have a number of rights under data protection law in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and any legal exemptions. They include:

Right of access – you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – in certain circumstances, you can ask us to delete your data.
Right to restriction – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability – you can ask for certain information to be provided in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in accordance with applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

8. Automated Decision-Making

We do not use personal data for decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects on you. If this changes, we will update this policy and ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.

9. Complaints and Further Information

If you have concerns about how your personal data is handled, you have the right to raise a complaint with the relevant data protection authority. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue promptly and fairly.

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our data processing practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is made available.

10. Summary of Our Commitment

We respect your privacy and aim to keep your personal data safe, accurate, and used only where there is a valid reason to do so. Our approach is based on lawfulness, fairness, transparency, and data minimisation. We only retain information for as long as necessary, we use processors carefully, and we give you clear rights over how your data is handled.

This policy is intended for customers of Man And Van Barking in the local area and should be read alongside any service terms or notices provided at the time of booking.