Battersea Man and Van Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Battersea Man and Van collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to our customers and prospective customers. It applies to all individuals using our man and van, removals, transport and related services within our operating area, including enquiries made by telephone, in person or online.

We are committed to complying with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. This Policy is intended to give you clear and transparent information about what we do with your personal data and the rights you have in relation to that data.

1. Data controller

Battersea Man and Van is the data controller in respect of the personal data that we collect and process about you in connection with the provision of our services. As data controller, we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data and are responsible for ensuring that such processing is carried out in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

2. Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all Battersea Man and Van customers and prospective customers within our service area, including people who:

make enquiries about our services, request a quotation, book a job, use our man and van and removals services, or communicate with us for any related purpose. By engaging with us, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

3. Personal data we collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data.

Identification and contact details: name, address, collection and delivery addresses, contact details such as telephone number and other contact preferences.

Service and booking information: details of the services you request or book, dates and times of moves or collections, access information for properties, instructions you give us, and any notes relevant to the safe and efficient delivery of the service.

Payment and billing information: billing address, limited payment details required to process your payment using chosen payment methods and records of payments made. Where we use third-party payment processors, we do not receive or store your full card details.

Communication records: records of correspondence between you and us, including enquiries, complaints, feedback, and any information you provide when contacting us.

Technical and usage data: if you interact with us online, we may collect technical data about your device and usage, such as IP address, browser type, and basic analytics information, to help us understand and improve how our services are used. This data is generally collected in an aggregated or pseudonymised form.

4. How we collect your data

We collect personal data directly from you when you:

request a quote or make a booking, speak to us by telephone or in person, use our services, provide feedback or make a complaint, or interact with our website or online platforms where applicable. We may also receive limited personal data from third parties when they make a booking or enquiry on your behalf, for example an employer, letting agent, landlord, or family member.

5. Lawful bases for processing

We process your personal data only where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the context, we rely on the following lawful bases.

Performance of a contract: to take steps at your request before entering into a contract and to perform our contract with you. This includes processing your data to provide quotes, confirm bookings, carry out removals and transport services, process payments, and manage customer service.

Legitimate interests: to pursue our legitimate business interests, provided that your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This includes maintaining business records, improving our services, managing and developing our relationship with customers, and ensuring the safety and security of our staff and property.

Legal obligation: to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, such as record-keeping obligations for tax or accounting purposes and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Consent: where required by law, for example for certain types of marketing communications. Where we rely on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time by contacting us using the details provided in this Policy.

6. How we use your personal data

We use your personal data only for specified and lawful purposes, including:

to provide and manage our man and van and removals services, including quotations, bookings, route planning, and on-the-day operations, to communicate with you about your enquiry or booking, including confirming details and handling changes or issues, to process payments and maintain accurate accounts and records, to manage our relationship with you, including handling complaints, feedback and customer support, to improve and develop our services, operations, and customer experience, to protect our legal rights, for example in connection with the recovery of debts or the defence of legal claims, and to comply with legal obligations and cooperate with regulators or authorities where required.

7. Data retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, and to meet any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

In general, we retain customer records, including basic contact details, booking information, and invoices, for a minimum period required by tax and accounting laws, after which they are securely deleted or anonymised. Communication records and service-related correspondence are kept for an appropriate period to allow us to respond to queries or disputes and to maintain business records.

When determining the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process it, and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, as well as applicable legal requirements.

8. Data processors and third parties

We may share your personal data with carefully selected third-party service providers who act as data processors on our behalf. These processors are engaged to support the delivery and administration of our services and are only permitted to use your personal data in accordance with our instructions and for the purposes described in this Policy.

Examples of such processors may include payment processing providers, accounting or invoicing systems, customer management or booking platforms, IT and cloud service providers, and professional advisers such as accountants where required.

We take steps to ensure that our processors provide appropriate safeguards for your personal data, including through written agreements that require them to implement suitable technical and organisational security measures and to comply with applicable data protection laws.

We may also disclose personal data where this is required by law or where we believe it is necessary to protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our customers, staff, or others.

9. International data transfers

Where any of our processors or service providers are located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, or store data in such locations, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws. This may include reliance on adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other approved mechanisms.

10. Data security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures include access controls, secure storage, appropriate staff training and limiting access to personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know.

While we strive to protect your personal data, no system can be completely secure. You are responsible for ensuring that any personal data you provide to us is sent securely and that any devices or communication channels you use are appropriately protected.

11. Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, these include:

Right of access: you can request confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

Right to rectification: you can ask us to correct or complete any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.

Right to erasure: in certain circumstances, you can request that we delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected or where you withdraw consent and no other lawful basis applies.

Right to restrict processing: you can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in specific situations, for example while we verify its accuracy or assess an objection you have raised.

Right to object: you can object to our processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis. We will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds which override your interests, rights and freedoms or where processing is required for legal claims.

Right to data portability: where the processing is based on your consent or on a contract and carried out by automated means, you may have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and to transmit it to another controller.

Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent for processing, you may withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

12. Exercising your rights and contacting us

If you wish to exercise any of your rights or have questions about how we handle your personal data, you can contact us using the contact details provided on our website or through the usual communication channels you use with Battersea Man and Van. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request, to protect your privacy and security.

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe that your data protection rights have been infringed, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK data protection supervisory authority. Details of how to do this are available from the Information Commissioner's Office.

13. Updates to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements or for other operational reasons. The most recent version will always be the one published by us and will apply to your use of our services from the date it is made available. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.