Privacy Policy - Man And Van Charlton

This Privacy Policy explains how Man And Van Charlton collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Man And Van Charlton customers in the area, including individuals and businesses who request quotes, book removals or transport services, communicate with us, or otherwise use our services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, transparent, and secure 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 Charlton is a service provider that handles transport, moving, delivery, and related logistics tasks. 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.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data, depending on the service requested and how you interact with us:

Identity data: name, title, and any business name you provide.
Contact data: address, email address, phone number, and preferred contact method.
Service details: move dates, pickup and delivery locations, access details, inventory information, and special handling instructions.
Payment and billing data: payment status, invoice details, and transaction records. We do not store card details unless explicitly required by a secure payment provider.
Communication data: messages, notes, complaints, feedback, and records of calls or correspondence where permitted.
Technical data: limited information such as IP address, device information, and cookie-related data if you interact with our digital services.
Other relevant data: any information you choose to provide that is necessary for the completion of our services, such as fragile item details or access concerns.

We do not intentionally collect special category personal data unless you voluntarily provide it and it is necessary for a specific request. If such data is received, it is handled with extra care and only where a lawful basis exists.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotes and manage service bookings.
To plan, perform, and complete moving or transport services.
To communicate about bookings, updates, delays, or service changes.
To issue invoices, process payments, and manage accounting records.
To respond to enquiries, complaints, and support requests.
To improve our services, customer experience, and operational efficiency.
To comply with legal, regulatory, tax, and insurance obligations.
To protect our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud, misuse, or liability.

We only collect and use data that is relevant, adequate, and limited to what is necessary for these purposes. Where possible, we rely on data minimisation and purpose limitation principles.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, confirming bookings, completing moving services, and managing payment arrangements.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data when required to meet legal obligations, such as accounting, tax, insurance, fraud prevention, or other lawful record-keeping requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing operations, improving services, preventing misuse, handling internal administration, and maintaining security.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is legally required or where you choose to receive certain optional communications. When consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us deliver our services. These third parties act as processors when they process data on our instructions and under contract. We ensure they are bound by appropriate confidentiality and data protection obligations.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

IT and cloud storage providers: for secure storage, email, scheduling, and system support.
Payment service providers: for secure transaction processing.
Accounting and invoicing providers: for financial administration.
Customer communication tools: for handling messages, booking confirmations, and service updates.
Insurance or legal advisers: where required to manage claims, disputes, or compliance matters.

We may also disclose personal data where necessary to law enforcement, regulators, courts, or other authorities, but only when required by law or where it is otherwise lawful to do so.

We do not sell personal data.

6. International Data Transfers

If any of our service providers store or access data outside the UK, we take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent protective measures. We aim to ensure that your data remains protected to a standard consistent with UK GDPR requirements.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, tax, insurance, and dispute-resolution requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the nature of the service provided.

Booking and service records: retained for a period necessary to manage the contract and related follow-up.
Financial records: retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Complaint or claim records: retained until the matter is resolved and any relevant limitation periods expire.
Correspondence: retained for a reasonable period for service management and record-keeping.

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in accordance with our retention practices. We do not retain data indefinitely.

8. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and restricted data sharing. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we regularly review our safeguards and aim to keep data protected at an appropriate level.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

Right of access: to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure: to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restrict processing: to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object: to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data has been mishandled. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any concerns promptly and fairly.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental to a booking and provided by an adult customer. If we become aware that data has been collected inappropriately, we will take suitable steps to delete or secure it as required.

11. Automated Decision-Making

We do not use fully automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects about you. If this changes in the future, we will update this policy and explain your relevant rights.

12. 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 updated version will apply from the time it is published. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Man And Van Charlton is committed to protecting the privacy of every customer in the area. We collect only the information needed to provide reliable services, use it under a valid lawful basis, keep it for no longer than necessary, and share it only with trusted processors or when required by law. We aim to handle all personal data with care, transparency, and respect, while upholding your rights under UK data protection law.