Privacy Policy - Hire Man and Van

This Privacy Policy explains how Hire Man and Van collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. It applies to all Hire Man and Van customers in the area, including anyone who enquires about, books, receives, or pays for our moving and delivery services.

We are committed to handling personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently. This policy is written to help you understand what information we process, why we process it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and what rights you have over your data.

1. Who We Are

Hire Man and Van provides man and van, removal, loading, delivery, and related transport services. In order to deliver these services, we may need to process personal data about customers, representatives, recipients, and other individuals connected with a booking.

“Personal data” means any information that identifies, or can be used to identify, a living individual. This may include names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, payment details, and service records.

2. Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity information such as your name and title.
Contact information such as your address, phone number, and email address.
Booking details including collection and delivery addresses, dates, times, item descriptions, access notes, and service preferences.
Payment information such as billing details and payment status. Card details are processed through secure payment providers where applicable and are not always stored by us.
Communications including messages, emails, call notes, complaints, and correspondence related to quotes or bookings.
Operational data such as records of completed jobs, staff notes, incident reports, and claims information.
Technical data if you interact with our digital systems, which may include IP address, device details, and usage logs.

We normally collect data directly from you when you make an enquiry, request a quote, complete a booking, pay for a service, or contact us with a question. In some cases, we may also receive data from third parties such as a person making a booking on your behalf, estate agents, landlords, business clients, or payment providers.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data only where we have a valid lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the circumstances, we may use your data for the following purposes:

To provide quotes and manage bookings.
To carry out moving, transport, lifting, and delivery services.
To communicate with you about your booking, changes, delays, or service issues.
To take payment, issue invoices, and manage accounts.
To handle complaints, claims, disputes, and insurance matters.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
To improve our services, training, planning, and internal operations.
To maintain security, prevent fraud, and protect our customers and staff.

We do not use personal data for purposes that are incompatible with those listed above without first ensuring we have a lawful basis to do so.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. The bases we rely on are:

a. Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes, confirming bookings, managing service delivery, and handling payment arrangements.

b. Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where needed to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including tax records, accounting obligations, and lawful requests from authorities.

c. Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include service management, fraud prevention, quality control, record keeping, and handling business enquiries.

d. Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is required for certain marketing activities or optional processing. Where consent is used, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing Your Personal Data

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to deliver our services or operate our business effectively. These third parties may act as processors or independent controllers depending on the circumstances.

Processors are organisations that process personal data on our behalf and under our instructions. They may include:

Payment processors that handle secure card or bank payments.
IT and cloud service providers that support email, storage, scheduling, or record systems.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that help manage invoices and tax records.
Communication and customer management providers that assist with booking records and service administration.
Insurance or claims handlers where a loss, damage, or incident must be assessed.

We may also share data with:

Drivers, movers, and operational staff involved in delivering your service.
Business partners or subcontractors where required to complete the job.
Public authorities, regulators, law enforcement, or courts where legally required.

Where processors are used, we take steps to ensure they only process personal data according to our instructions and are required to protect it appropriately.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, and in line with legal and operational requirements.

Quotation and enquiry records may be kept for a limited period if no booking is made, to support follow-up, administration, and business records.
Booking and service records are usually retained for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Invoice, payment, and tax records are retained for the period required by law and accounting rules.
Complaint, claim, and incident records may be retained longer where needed to resolve disputes or defend legal claims.

When data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to you.

7. International Transfers

If any of our processors store or access data outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal data. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal mechanisms.

8. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, and contractual protections with processors.

Although we work hard to protect your information, no system is completely secure. We therefore cannot guarantee absolute security, but we will take reasonable steps to reduce risk and respond appropriately if an incident occurs.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. These include:

Right of access – you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – in some circumstances, you can ask us to delete your personal data.
Right to restriction – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability – you may request data you have provided to us in a machine-readable format where applicable.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it without affecting past lawful processing.

You also have the right to raise concerns with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your rights have not been respected. We would encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve the matter.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is necessary for a booking or service arrangement involving an adult customer. If we become aware that we have collected data unlawfully, we will take steps to delete it.

11. Automated Decision-Making

We do not make decisions about you solely by automated means in a way that produces legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes, we will update this policy and provide the information required by law.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or operational practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated.

By using Hire Man and Van services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy. We are committed to handling your information responsibly, securely, and in a manner that respects your privacy rights.