Privacy Policy - Carpet Cleaners SW1

This Privacy Policy explains how Carpet Cleaners SW1 collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data in connection with our cleaning services. It applies to all Carpet Cleaners SW1 customers in the area, including prospective customers, existing customers, and anyone who contacts us for a quotation, booking, or service enquiry. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, transparent, and secure manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Carpet Cleaners SW1 is a service provider offering carpet cleaning and related cleaning services. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller for the personal data we collect and process in the course of providing our services. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal information.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for providing our services, managing customer relationships, and meeting legal obligations. The types of information we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, title.
Contact details such as your phone number, email address, and service address.
Booking information including appointment details, service preferences, and records of communications.
Payment information such as payment status and transaction records. We do not store full card details unless necessary for secure payment processing.
Property and service information such as carpet type, access instructions, cleaning requirements, and service notes.
Correspondence including emails, messages, feedback, complaints, and requests.
Technical data if you interact with our digital systems, such as IP address, browser type, and usage data.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you voluntarily provide it and it is necessary for a specific service interaction, for example if you disclose a health condition relevant to access or safety. In such cases, we handle the data with extra care and only where there is a lawful basis to do so.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To arrange, manage, and deliver cleaning services.
To communicate about bookings, changes, delays, or follow-up service matters.
To process payments, refunds, and related accounting records.
To maintain service quality, handle feedback, and resolve disputes.
To comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations.
To protect our business, our customers, and our staff from fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected unless we inform you and have a lawful basis for doing so.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only where we have a valid lawful basis under UK GDPR. Depending on the context, one or more of the following bases may apply:

Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, arranging visits, providing cleaning services, and managing payment arrangements.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information to comply with legal requirements, such as tax law, accounting obligations, insurance matters, or lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include improving services, maintaining records, preventing fraud, ensuring security, and handling customer communications.

Consent

Where required, we will rely on your consent, for example for certain marketing communications or optional service-related communications. You can withdraw consent at any time, and this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. How We Share Personal Data

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for service delivery, administration, or compliance. These parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the circumstances.

Payment processors who securely handle payment transactions.
IT and cloud service providers who store data, manage communications, or support business systems.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who assist with financial records and tax compliance.
Operational contractors or service partners where required to fulfil a booking or complete a service.
Regulatory, legal, or insurance bodies where disclosure is required or permitted by law.

We ensure that processors are subject to appropriate contractual obligations, including confidentiality, security, and data protection requirements. We do not sell personal data.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including legal and operational requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data and the reason for processing.

Customer booking and service records are usually retained for up to 6 years for legal and business record purposes.
Financial and transaction records are retained in line with tax and accounting obligations, typically up to 6 years.
Correspondence and enquiry records are retained for a reasonable period needed to manage the relationship or resolve issues.
Marketing consent records are kept until you withdraw consent or ask us to stop using your data for that purpose.

When data is no longer needed, we securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in accordance with our retention procedures.

7. 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, secure storage, password protection, and staff confidentiality obligations. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take reasonable steps to safeguard the information entrusted to us.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. Subject to legal limits, 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 data.
Right to erasure – you can request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in some situations.
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 structured, commonly used format where technically feasible.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond within the time limits required by law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and households arranging cleaning services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidental and necessary for service delivery, and even then only in a limited and appropriate manner. If we become aware that we have collected a child’s data without a lawful basis, we will take steps to delete it.

10. International Transfers

Where any of our processors or service providers store or access data outside the United Kingdom, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections, so that your information remains protected to a standard required by law.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

12. Complaints

If you have concerns about how your personal data is handled, you should contact us using the usual customer communication channels for your service arrangement. You also have the right to raise a concern with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

Carpet Cleaners SW1 is committed to protecting your privacy and using your data responsibly. We aim to ensure that all personal information is processed fairly, securely, and only when necessary to deliver our services effectively.