Privacy Policy - Man With Van Fortisgreen

This Privacy Policy explains how Man With Van Fortisgreen collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing moving, transport, and related services. It applies to all Man With Van Fortisgreen customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and business clients who use our services or communicate with us in connection with a booking, quotation, or service enquiry.

1. Who We Are

Man With Van Fortisgreen is a local removals and transport service provider. In the context of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, we act as a data controller for personal data we collect and determine the purposes and means of processing. This means we are responsible for ensuring your data is handled lawfully, fairly, and transparently.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data that is necessary for providing our services, managing our business operations, and meeting legal obligations. The types of data we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of the company or organisation you represent.
Contact details such as your phone number, email address, and service address.
Service information including details of the items to be moved, access instructions, preferred dates, special handling requirements, and notes about the property.
Billing and payment information such as payment status, invoice records, and transaction references.
Communication records including messages, booking notes, complaints, claims, and correspondence relating to service delivery.
Technical data that may be collected through our systems, such as basic device or browser information, if applicable to online forms or digital communications.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it and it is strictly necessary for the service. Special category data includes information about health, religion, race, political opinions, or similar sensitive matters. If such information is shared with us, we will only process it where there is a valid lawful basis and appropriate safeguards.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations and confirm bookings.
To plan, carry out, and complete removal or transport services.
To communicate with you about scheduling, access, delays, or service changes.
To process payments, issue invoices, and manage refunds or outstanding balances.
To keep records of work completed and to handle queries, complaints, or claims.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements.
To improve service quality, training, operational planning, and customer experience.
To protect our rights, prevent fraud, and maintain the security of our business and customers.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes set out in this policy or for compatible purposes that you would reasonably expect in the context of our services.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data under one or more lawful bases set out in the UK GDPR. Depending on the circumstances, these may include:

Contract

Most of our processing is necessary for the performance of a contract or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes responding to enquiries, providing quotes, confirming bookings, and delivering the service you have requested.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where necessary to comply with legal duties, such as accounting, tax, insurance, or record-keeping obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided these interests do not override your rights and freedoms. These interests may include managing our operations, protecting against fraud, improving services, maintaining business records, and handling disputes. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the impact on your privacy and only process the minimum data needed.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on consent, for example if you voluntarily agree to receive certain communications that are not necessary for the service. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing Your Personal Data

We do not sell your personal data. We may share it only when necessary and lawful, and only with appropriate safeguards. This may include sharing data with:

Payment providers to process transactions.
Accountants or tax advisers to support financial and statutory obligations.
Insurance providers where a claim or incident requires assessment.
IT and system support providers who help maintain secure storage, communication, or booking systems.
Professional advisers such as legal advisers where necessary to protect or defend our rights.
Regulatory, law enforcement, or public authorities where disclosure is required by law.

Where we use service providers that process personal data on our behalf, they act as processors. They are only permitted to handle data according to our instructions and must maintain appropriate technical and organisational security measures.

6. Data Processors and Third Parties

Processors may include companies that provide booking systems, cloud storage, email services, payment processing, website hosting, or customer support tools. These providers may only process data to deliver their contracted service to us. We take reasonable steps to ensure all processors provide sufficient guarantees of confidentiality, security, and data protection compliance.

If personal data is shared with an external party acting as an independent controller, that party will be responsible for its own privacy practices. We encourage you to review the privacy notices of those organisations where relevant.

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, or reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason for processing.

Booking and service records are generally retained for a period needed to manage the customer relationship, resolve disputes, and maintain business records.
Financial records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Complaint or claim records may be kept longer if needed to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
Communication records are retained only as long as necessary for service administration and quality assurance.

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in a manner consistent with legal and operational requirements.

8. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, limited staff access, and careful management of third-party systems. Although no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to reduce risk and respond appropriately to any suspected data incident.

9. International Transfers

If any of our processors store or access data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections, so that your personal data remains protected to the required standard.

10. 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 restriction – to ask us to limit processing in certain cases.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions. For example, we may need to retain certain records to comply with legal obligations or to defend a claim.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are aimed at adults and businesses. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is provided by an adult customer in connection with a household move or similar service and only where necessary for service delivery. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without a proper basis, we will take steps to delete it where appropriate.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our processing practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available and will supersede earlier versions. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we handle personal data.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

We are committed to handling personal data with fairness, transparency, and care. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, retain it only as long as necessary, and protect it through appropriate security measures. If you use Man With Van Fortisgreen in the area, this policy explains how your information is managed and the rights available to you under data protection law.