Privacy Policy - Westminster Man And Van

Westminster Man And Van is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data when you use our moving, transport, packing, storage, and related services. It applies to all Westminster Man And Van customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, businesses, and anyone else who engages our services.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Westminster Man And Van acts as the data controller for the personal data we collect and use in connection with our services. This means we determine why and how your personal data is processed, subject to applicable legal obligations and your rights under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data necessary to provide and manage our services effectively. Depending on how you interact with us, the data we may collect includes:

Identity details such as your name and title
Contact details such as your phone number and email address
Service information such as pickup and delivery addresses, moving dates, item lists, access notes, and property details
Billing information such as payment records, invoice details, and transaction status
Communication records including messages, quotations, booking notes, and complaints
Technical data such as basic website or device-related information if you contact us electronically
Special instructions relevant to the move, for example fragile items, parking arrangements, or storage requirements

We do not intentionally collect more information than is required for service delivery, administration, legal compliance, and customer support.

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 manage removals and related services
To communicate with you about scheduling, access, and service updates
To issue invoices, process payments, and maintain financial records
To respond to questions, complaints, and claims
To improve our services, operations, and customer experience
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations
To protect against fraud, misuse, and unauthorised access

We only use your data where we have a valid legal reason to do so, and we ensure that our use is proportionate to the purpose.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Westminster Man And Van relies on the following lawful bases, depending on the context:

a) Performance of a Contract

We process your personal data when it is necessary to provide the services you request, including preparing quotes, arranging the move, completing the move, handling payments, and managing service-related communication.

b) Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information where required by law, including tax, accounting, insurance, record-keeping, and regulatory compliance requirements.

c) Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include improving our services, preventing fraud, maintaining security, and managing internal administration. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we ensure that the processing remains necessary and balanced.

d) Consent

In limited situations, we may ask for your consent before processing certain data. Where consent is used as the lawful basis, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect processing already carried out lawfully before withdrawal.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties that help us deliver and operate our services. These parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the service they provide. Processors only process your data on our instructions and are required to protect it appropriately.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

Payment processing providers
Accounting and bookkeeping service providers
IT hosting, storage, and software support providers
Communication and email service providers
Booking, scheduling, and administration systems
Insurance, legal, or claims support providers where needed

We may also share information with:

Law enforcement or public authorities where legally required
Courts, insurers, or professional advisers in connection with claims or disputes
Any third party necessary to complete a service you have requested, such as building management, access coordinators, or storage partners, where appropriate

We do not sell your personal data. We only share what is necessary, and we take reasonable steps to ensure that third parties respect data protection obligations.

6. International Transfers

Where any processor or service provider stores or accesses personal data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms recognised under applicable data protection law.

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

Booking and service records are generally kept for a reasonable period after the service ends
Financial and tax-related records are kept for the period required by law
Complaint, dispute, or claim-related records may be retained longer where necessary to defend legal rights
Data that is no longer needed is securely deleted or anonymised

We review retention regularly to ensure data is not held longer than necessary.

8. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and restricted system permissions. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to reduce risks and respond promptly to any suspected security incident.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and legal basis for processing:

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 situations
Right to restrict processing – to ask us to limit use of your data in certain cases
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 also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been violated. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any concern promptly and fairly.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are directed to adults and businesses. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with a service arrangement and provided by an adult authorised to act on their behalf. Where children’s data is involved, we handle it with particular care and only as needed.

11. Automated Decision-Making

We do not use personal data for decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. If this position changes, we will update this policy and ensure any such processing complies with applicable legal requirements.

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 date it is published or otherwise communicated. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Westminster Man And Van processes personal data carefully, lawfully, and only for clear business purposes. We collect the minimum data needed to provide moving and related services, rely on lawful bases such as contract, legal obligation, legitimate interests, and consent where appropriate, and retain information only as long as necessary. We work with trusted processors under strict obligations and respect your rights under data protection law.

By using our services, you acknowledge that this Privacy Policy applies to all Westminster Man And Van customers in the area.