Privacy Policy - Carpet Cleaners Brixton

This Privacy Policy explains how Carpet Cleaners Brixton collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Carpet Cleaners Brixton customers in area, including individuals who enquire about our services, book a cleaning appointment, receive a quotation, or otherwise interact with us in connection with our carpet cleaning and related services.

We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We aim to be clear, fair, and transparent about what information we process, why we process it, and the rights available to you.

1. Information We Collect

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

Identity details, such as your name.
Contact details, such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details, including property access instructions, cleaning preferences, service history, and notes relevant to the job.
Payment information, such as billing records and transaction confirmations. We do not keep more payment data than is necessary for accounting and fulfilment purposes.
Communication records, including messages, emails, call notes, complaints, and feedback.
Technical data, such as basic website or device information if you interact with our online systems, where applicable.
Marketing preferences, if you choose to receive updates or promotional messages.

We generally do not intend to collect special category data. If such data is provided to us accidentally or as part of an access arrangement, we will only process it where there is a lawful basis and where it is necessary for the specific purpose.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for specific and legitimate purposes connected with our services. These may include:

Providing quotations and managing bookings.
Carrying out carpet cleaning and related services.
Communicating with you about appointments, changes, or service issues.
Processing payments, invoices, and refunds where applicable.
Maintaining service records and customer support history.
Handling complaints, disputes, and insurance or liability matters.
Meeting legal, tax, and accounting obligations.
Improving our services, processes, and customer experience.
Sending marketing communications where permitted by law and where you have not opted out.

We do not use your data for unrelated purposes. If we ever need to use personal data in a way that is different from the original purpose, we will only do so where the law allows it and, where appropriate, we will tell you first.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for every use of personal data. The lawful bases we rely on may include:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, confirming bookings, delivering cleaning services, and handling related customer communications.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data to comply with legal obligations, such as tax recordkeeping, accounting rules, fraud prevention, and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights do not override those interests. Examples include managing our operations, improving service quality, maintaining internal records, protecting our business from misuse, and handling service-related enquiries.

Consent

Where required, we may rely on your consent, especially for certain types of marketing communication. If we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests

In rare cases, we may process personal data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as where there is an emergency.

4. 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 and under appropriate safeguards.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

Payment providers that handle transaction processing.
IT and cloud service providers that support secure storage, email, and administrative systems.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that assist with financial records and tax compliance.
Scheduling or customer management tools used to organise appointments and service records.
Professional advisers, such as legal or insurance advisers, where necessary for advice or claims handling.

We may also disclose data where required by law, to prevent fraud, or to protect our rights, property, customers, or staff. We do not sell personal data.

Where processors are used, we ensure that appropriate contractual and technical safeguards are in place. These arrangements require processors to keep personal data secure, use it only for authorised purposes, and delete or return it when it is no longer needed.

5. Data Retention

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

In general, we may retain:

Customer and service records for as long as needed to manage the relationship and any follow-up issues.
Financial and invoicing records for the period required by law and standard accounting practice.
Complaint or dispute records for a reasonable period after resolution.
Marketing data until you withdraw consent or opt out, where applicable.

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

6. Data Security

We take reasonable 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, confidentiality obligations, and regular review of internal processes.

However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. We will respond appropriately to any data incident in line with applicable law.

7. Your Rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis used, you may have the following rights under data protection law:

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 information.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain situations.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to request transfer of certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
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 UK Information Commissioner’s Office 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.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and households arranging carpet cleaning. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children for marketing purposes. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without appropriate permission or lawful basis, we will take steps to delete it where required.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business operations, or data-handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

10. Contact and Further Information

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, your rights, or how we handle personal data, you can ask for clarification through our usual customer communication channels. We will review requests carefully and respond where appropriate in line with data protection law.

Summary of our approach: we collect only necessary information, use it for clear and lawful purposes, keep it only as long as needed, share it only with trusted processors or where legally required, and respect your rights over your personal data.