Privacy Policy - Carpet Cleaners Se18

This Privacy Policy explains how Carpet Cleaners Se18 collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data for all Carpet Cleaners Se18 customers in the area. It applies whenever you request a quotation, make a booking, receive a service, communicate with us, or otherwise engage with our carpet cleaning services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to all customers, prospective customers, and service users of Carpet Cleaners Se18 in the area we serve. It also applies to any individual whose personal data we receive in connection with delivering our services, including household members, tenants, landlords, and business representatives where relevant to a cleaning appointment. By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data will be processed as described in this policy.

2. Information we collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for running our carpet cleaning services, meeting our legal obligations, and improving our customer experience. The types of information we may collect include:

• Identity details such as your name, and where relevant, the name of a business or property manager.
• Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
• Service and booking information such as appointment dates, requested services, property access notes, and cleaning preferences.
• Payment information such as billing records and transaction details. We do not store full card details when payments are processed through secure third-party payment providers.
• Communication records including enquiries, complaints, feedback, and messages exchanged with our team.
• Technical information such as limited device and usage data if you interact with our digital systems or online forms, where applicable.
• Special category data only where you voluntarily provide information that could relate to health, allergies, or access needs, and only when necessary for safe service delivery.

We do not intentionally collect more data than is needed. If you provide information about your household or property that is not relevant to the service, we will not use it for unrelated purposes.

3. How we use your data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

• to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
• to arrange and manage bookings;
• to deliver carpet cleaning services safely and effectively;
• to process payments and issue receipts or invoices;
• to keep service records and handle follow-up requests;
• to resolve complaints, disputes, or customer service issues;
• to comply with legal, accounting, and tax obligations;
• to maintain security, prevent fraud, and protect our business operations;
• to improve our services, training, and customer experience.

We will never use your personal data in a way that is incompatible with the reasons it was collected.

4. Lawful basis for processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis before processing personal data. Depending on the situation, Carpet Cleaners Se18 may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes managing bookings, delivering cleaning services, and processing payments.

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 can include improving service quality, keeping internal records, managing appointments, and protecting our business from fraud or misuse.

Legal obligation

We may process data to comply with legal obligations, including tax law, accounting rules, consumer protection requirements, and lawful requests from public authorities.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you choose to receive certain optional communications or provide special category information that we need to handle for a specific service reason. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Vital interests

In rare circumstances, we may process personal data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as where urgent action is needed for health or safety reasons during a service appointment.

5. Data sharing and processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business. These parties act as processors when they process data on our instructions, or as separate controllers where they determine their own purposes for processing. We ensure appropriate contracts and safeguards are in place before sharing data.

• Payment processors who handle secure payment transactions.
• IT and cloud service providers who support our booking systems, data storage, email services, and security tools.
• Accounting and bookkeeping providers who assist with financial administration and tax compliance.
• Customer management or scheduling platforms used to organise appointments and service records.
• Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where necessary.
• Public authorities or law enforcement bodies where disclosure is required by law.

We only share the minimum amount of data needed for the relevant purpose. We do not sell your personal data.

6. International transfers

If any processor stores or accesses personal data outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure that your data receives an adequate level of protection. This may include the use of approved safeguards such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, standard contractual clauses, or transfers to countries with an adequacy decision.

7. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. The exact retention period depends on the type of information and the reason it is held. In general:

• Booking and service records are kept for a reasonable period so we can manage customer history and service queries.
• Financial and invoicing records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
• Correspondence and complaints are kept long enough to address the issue and retain evidence of resolution.
• Marketing-related consent records, where used, are kept until you withdraw consent or the record is no longer needed.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention procedures.

8. Data security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, password protection, secure storage, staff confidentiality requirements, and careful management of third-party providers. While no system is completely risk-free, we work to reduce risks to an acceptable level and review our safeguards regularly.

9. Your rights

As a data subject, you have several rights under data protection law. Depending on the circumstances, these may include:

• Right of access - you can ask for 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 - you can request deletion of your data in certain situations.
• Right to restriction - you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
• Right to object - you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
• Right to data portability - you can request certain data in a portable format where technically feasible.
• Right to withdraw consent - where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.
• Right to lodge a complaint - you may complain to the Information Commissioner's Office if you believe your data rights have been infringed.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. We aim to deal with requests within the time limits set by law.

10. Children’s data

Our services are intended for adults and property-related service arrangements. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental to a service relationship and necessary for practical or safeguarding reasons. If we become aware that we have collected data without a lawful basis, we will delete it where appropriate.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data handling practices. The latest version will always apply to all Carpet Cleaners Se18 customers in area. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we protect your personal data.

12. Summary of our commitment

Carpet Cleaners Se18 is committed to processing personal data responsibly, transparently, and securely. We only collect data that is relevant to our carpet cleaning services, use it for clear and lawful purposes, retain it for as long as necessary, and respect your rights under data protection law. Our approach is built on necessity, fairness, and accountability.