Privacy Policy - Carpet Cleaners Westkensington

This Privacy Policy explains how Carpet Cleaners Westkensington collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Carpet Cleaners Westkensington customers in the area, including people who enquire about services, request quotations, book appointments, receive cleaning services, or otherwise interact with us in connection with carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, rug cleaning, stain treatment, and related domestic or commercial services.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We respect the rights of individuals and take appropriate steps to safeguard personal information.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data depending on how you interact with us:

Identity data such as your name, title, and, where relevant, business name.
Contact data such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service and booking data including appointment details, service preferences, access instructions, property details relevant to the cleaning service, and records of quotations or bookings.
Payment data such as payment status, transaction references, billing details, and other information needed to process invoices or payments.
Communication data including messages, enquiries, complaints, feedback, and notes related to customer service.
Technical and usage data where applicable, such as limited information from emails or website interactions used for security, performance, or analytics purposes.
Special category data only where you voluntarily provide it and it is necessary for a specific service request, for example information about allergies, health conditions, or sensitivities that affect cleaning products used in your premises. We will only process this type of information when a lawful basis and additional condition under data protection law apply.

We generally collect data directly from you when you make an enquiry, book a service, complete a form, communicate with us, or provide information during the course of service delivery. In some cases, we may receive information from third parties such as property managers, landlords, tenants, or payment providers where appropriate and lawful.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations, manage bookings, and deliver cleaning services.
To communicate with you about appointments, service changes, invoicing, and customer support.
To process payments, issue receipts, and maintain accounting records.
To assess service requirements and prepare suitable cleaning plans.
To manage complaints, resolve disputes, and improve our services.
To maintain records for legal, tax, insurance, and operational purposes.
To protect our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud, misuse, or security incidents.
To comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests from authorities.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected, unless we have a lawful basis to do so and we have informed you where required.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

We only process personal data where we have a lawful basis under UK GDPR. Depending on the context, the lawful bases we rely on are:

Contract: processing is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, or to perform a contract with you. This includes managing bookings, completing cleaning services, and processing payments.
Legal obligation: processing is necessary to comply with legal or regulatory requirements, such as accounting, tax, or record-keeping obligations.
Legitimate interests: processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing our operations, improving service quality, preventing fraud, and handling routine communications.
Consent: where required, we rely on your consent, for example for certain marketing communications or for processing special category data in limited circumstances.
Vital interests: in rare situations, processing may be necessary to protect someone’s life or physical safety.

Important: where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary and lawful. These third parties act either as processors, who process data on our instructions, or as independent controllers where they determine their own purposes for using the data.

Our processors may include:

Payment service providers for handling card or electronic payments.
IT and cloud service providers for secure storage, email, scheduling, and data management systems.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers for financial administration and compliance.
Customer communication providers used to send booking confirmations, service updates, or administrative messages.
Professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, or auditors where necessary for advice, claims handling, or compliance.

Where processors are used, they are required to protect personal data, act only on our instructions, and implement appropriate security measures. We do not sell personal data.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, court order, or to protect our legal rights, customers, staff, or property.

5. Retention of Personal Data

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

Customer and service records are usually retained for a period necessary to manage the customer relationship and any follow-up support.
Financial and invoicing records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Communication records may be retained for a reasonable period to support service quality, dispute resolution, and continuity.
Consent-based records are kept until consent is withdrawn or the data is no longer needed.

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

6. Security of Personal Data

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, staff awareness, limited access to sensitive records, and careful handling of documents and electronic systems.

However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. While we take reasonable steps to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your Rights Under Data Protection Law

You have rights regarding your personal data, subject to certain legal limitations and exemptions. These rights include:

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 data.
Right to erasure: to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restrict processing: to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability: to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format where technically feasible.
Right to object: to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We will respond within the timeframe required by law.

8. Marketing Preferences

If we send marketing communications, we will do so only where permitted by law. You can opt out of marketing at any time. Service-related messages, such as appointment confirmations or important updates, are not marketing communications and may still be sent where necessary.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are directed at adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is provided incidentally in connection with a service request and only where lawful and necessary.

10. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections, so that your data remains protected.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, operational needs, or service arrangements. The updated version will apply once published or otherwise communicated where appropriate. We encourage customers to review it periodically.

12. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, you can raise them with us. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been breached.

In summary: Carpet Cleaners Westkensington processes personal data lawfully, only for defined purposes, and with respect for your rights. This policy applies to all Carpet Cleaners Westkensington customers in the area and explains how we collect, use, retain, and protect information in connection with our services.