Privacy Policy - Clapham Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Clapham Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Clapham Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who communicates with us about our services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Clapham Carpet Cleaners is a service provider offering carpet cleaning and associated cleaning services to residential and commercial customers in the local area. For the purposes of data protection law, we are the data controller for the personal data we collect and process in connection with our services. This means we decide why and how your personal data is used.

2. Personal Data We Collect

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

• Identity data such as your name, title, and, where applicable, business name.
• Contact data such as address, email address, and telephone number.
• Service data such as property access details, cleaning preferences, stain or fabric information, and service instructions.
• Transaction data such as details of services purchased, invoices, and payment records.
• Communication data such as messages, enquiries, complaints, and feedback.
• Technical data such as basic device or usage information when you interact with us electronically, where relevant to service administration.
• Special category data only in exceptional circumstances where it is necessary and you have provided it, for example, if you voluntarily share health-related access needs so we can carry out a service safely.

We do not intentionally collect more data than we need.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

• request a quote or book a service;
• complete forms or provide information by phone, email, or other communication methods;
• make a payment or request an invoice;
• contact us with a question, complaint, or feedback;
• provide instructions before, during, or after a service.

We may also collect limited information from third parties where appropriate, such as property managers, estate agents, landlords, or payment processors, if they are arranging services on your behalf or if this is necessary for service administration.

4. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

• to provide quotations and arrange appointments;
• to deliver carpet cleaning and related services;
• to communicate about bookings, service changes, or follow-up matters;
• to process payments, refunds, and invoices;
• to maintain business records and service histories;
• to handle complaints and resolve disputes;
• to comply with legal and regulatory requirements;
• to protect against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity;
• to improve our services and customer experience.

We will only use your personal data for the purpose for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for a compatible reason and that reason is lawful.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each use of your personal data. Clapham Carpet Cleaners relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes handling bookings, providing cleaning services, issuing invoices, and responding to requests connected to the service you have asked for.

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 managing customer records, improving our services, maintaining security, and handling routine communication. We carefully balance our interests against your privacy rights.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, and regulatory requirements.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example, where you provide information that is not necessary for the service but is relevant to your preferences or access needs. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

6. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, including satisfying legal, accounting, insurance, and operational requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of record and the context in which it was collected.

• Customer and service records are normally kept for a reasonable period after the last service to help us manage enquiries, follow-ups, and disputes.
• Financial and invoicing records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
• Communication records may be retained where necessary for customer service, dispute resolution, or legal protection.
• Information collected on the basis of consent is kept only for as long as the consent remains valid or the data is needed.

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

7. Data Processors and Sharing

We may share personal data with carefully selected third parties who help us operate our business. These parties act as processors when they handle data on our behalf, and they are only allowed to use it under our instructions and for specified purposes. Examples may include:

• Payment service providers that process card or online payments;
• Accounting or bookkeeping providers that assist with financial administration;
• IT, cloud storage, and communications providers that support our systems and business operations;
• Scheduling or customer management tools used to organise appointments and service records;
• Professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, or auditors where necessary.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law, where necessary to protect our rights, or in connection with a business transfer or reorganisation. We do not sell your personal data.

8. International Transfers

If any processor stores or accesses personal data outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These safeguards may include approved contractual protections or other lawful transfer mechanisms designed to keep your data secure and protected to the required standard.

9. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from accidental loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, restricted staff permissions, and data minimisation. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take privacy and data protection seriously and regularly review our practices.

10. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights regarding your personal data. These rights may apply in different circumstances and may be subject to legal exceptions.

• 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 – in some situations, you can ask us to delete your data.
• 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.
• Right to data portability – you can ask for your data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
• Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to raise concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue promptly.

11. Automated Decision-Making

We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes in the future, we will update this Privacy Policy and provide the required information.

12. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business clients. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is provided by an adult customer and is necessary for the service, such as access or household arrangements. If we become aware that we have collected data improperly, we will take steps to delete it.

13. 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 encourage customers to review the policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

14. Summary of Our Commitment

Clapham Carpet Cleaners is committed to processing personal data responsibly, transparently, and securely. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, retain it for no longer than necessary, and respect your rights under data protection law. Your privacy matters to us, and we aim to ensure that all customer data is handled with care and integrity.