Privacy Policy - Hounslow Man And Van

This Privacy Policy explains how Hounslow Man And Van collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing moving, transport, delivery, and related services. It applies to all Hounslow Man And Van customers in the area, including individual customers, households, landlords, tenants, and business clients who engage our services. We are committed to handling personal data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Hounslow Man And Van is a service provider that manages removals, van transport, loading and unloading, and associated logistics. In the course of delivering these services, we act as a data controller for the personal data we collect directly from customers and through service arrangements. This means we determine why and how your personal data is used.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for the provision, administration, and improvement of our services. Depending on your interaction with us, we may collect the following categories of information:

Identity data such as your name, title, and any business or household contact name.
Contact data including phone number, email address, and service address.
Booking and service data such as moving date, pickup and delivery locations, property access details, inventory notes, parking instructions, and special handling requirements.
Payment and transaction data including payment status, billing records, and limited financial details necessary to process or confirm payments.
Communications data such as messages, calls, service requests, complaints, and feedback.
Technical data where applicable, including device or browser information when you interact with our digital systems.
Special category data only where absolutely necessary and only if you voluntarily disclose it, for example if a moving instruction reveals health-related access needs. We do not intentionally collect special category data unless required for service delivery and permitted by law.

We do not collect more information than is reasonably needed to manage your service safely and effectively.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We process personal data for clear and limited purposes, including:

Providing quotations and managing bookings.
Planning and carrying out removals and transport services.
Contacting customers about service changes, delays, access requirements, or confirmations.
Processing payments and maintaining financial records.
Handling customer service queries, complaints, and post-service follow-up.
Maintaining safety, operational quality, and fraud prevention.
Meeting legal, tax, and accounting obligations.
Improving our operations, training, and service standards.

We do not sell personal data. We also do not use your personal data for unrelated marketing purposes unless we are legally permitted to do so and you have been provided with a valid choice where required.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. Hounslow Man And Van relies on the following lawful bases:

a) Contract

We process your personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes, arranging transport, completing the move, and managing related service communications.

b) Legal Obligation

We may process personal data to comply with legal obligations such as tax compliance, bookkeeping, insurance requirements, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

c) Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include service improvement, business administration, record keeping, fraud prevention, and ensuring the safe operation of our services.

d) Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where we need to process optional information that is not necessary for the service. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data only when necessary and only with trusted third parties acting on our behalf or where required by law. These parties may include:

Payment processors used to handle card or electronic payments.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who assist with financial record management and tax compliance.
IT and hosting providers who support our systems, data storage, email, and communication tools.
Customer management or scheduling tools that help us organise bookings and service delivery.
Professional advisers such as insurers, lawyers, or auditors, where necessary.
Public authorities where disclosure is legally required or necessary to protect rights, safety, or property.

These service providers act as processors when they process data on our instructions. We require them to protect personal data, use it only for authorised purposes, and apply appropriate security measures. We do not permit processors to use your personal data for their own independent purposes.

6. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as an adequacy decision or approved contractual protections. These safeguards are used to ensure your data remains protected to a standard required by applicable law.

7. Data Retention

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

Booking and service records are retained for a period needed to manage the contract and resolve disputes.
Financial and invoice records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Communications and complaints may be retained for a reasonable time to support quality control and customer service.
Where data is no longer needed, it is securely deleted or anonymised.

We regularly review our records to ensure data is not kept longer than necessary.

8. Security of Your Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, restricted permissions, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful supplier selection.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to reduce risk and respond promptly to any suspected data incident.

9. Your Rights Under GDPR

You have important rights regarding your personal data. Subject to legal limits and verification of identity, these rights may include:

Right of access to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure in certain circumstances, sometimes called the right to be forgotten.
Right to restriction to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
Right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your rights have been infringed.

If you make a request, we may need to verify your identity before acting on it. This helps us protect your personal data from unauthorised disclosure.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not intentionally collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally provided in the context of a household move. If we become aware that we have collected such data without a lawful basis, we will take appropriate steps to delete or minimise it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect legal, operational, or service changes. The latest version will apply to all relevant customer interactions and service arrangements. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their personal data is handled.

12. Summary of Key Commitments

We collect only the data needed to deliver moving and transport services.
We use personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently.
We share data only with trusted processors or where required by law.
We keep data only for as long as necessary and then delete or anonymise it.
We respect your rights and handle requests in accordance with GDPR.

Hounslow Man And Van is committed to safeguarding customer privacy and using personal data responsibly for all customers in the area.