Privacy Policy - Earls Court Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Earls Court Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Earls Court Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including household and business clients, prospective customers, and anyone who communicates with us about our 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. This policy should be read alongside any service agreement, quotation, or booking confirmation provided by us.

1. Data We Collect

We only collect the personal data necessary to provide and manage our services. The information we may collect includes:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as address, email address, and phone number.
Service information such as the type of cleaning requested, property access details, appointment times, and instructions relevant to the job.
Payment information such as invoice details, payment status, and limited transaction records.
Communication records such as emails, messages, call notes, complaints, and feedback.
Technical information if you interact with us online, such as device data or basic website usage details where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you choose to provide it. For example, you may inform us of medical sensitivities, allergies, or access needs so we can deliver a safer service. Where such information is provided, we will handle it with extra care and only use it for the purpose for which it was shared.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data to manage customer relationships and deliver carpet cleaning services efficiently. This may include:

Preparing quotations and confirming bookings.
Carrying out cleaning services at the requested property.
Communicating about appointments, delays, access arrangements, and service changes.
Processing payments and maintaining financial records.
Handling complaints, refunds, or follow-up requests.
Improving service quality, training staff, and maintaining internal records.
Complying with legal, accounting, insurance, and regulatory obligations.

We will not use personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the original reason it was collected unless we have a valid legal basis to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. The lawful bases we rely on are:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, delivering cleaning services, issuing invoices, and managing service-related communications.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain records where required to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, fraud prevention, and record-keeping requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing enquiries, improving operations, maintaining service records, preventing misuse, and defending legal claims.

Consent

Where we rely on consent, such as for certain optional communications or the processing of sensitive information you voluntarily provide, you may withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before it was withdrawn.

4. Sharing Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to deliver our services or comply with legal obligations. These parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We only share the minimum information needed for the relevant purpose.

Processors may include:

Payment service providers that help process card or online payments.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that support invoicing, financial reporting, and tax compliance.
IT and data storage providers that host secure systems, email services, or business records.
Customer management or scheduling systems that help manage bookings and service administration.
Professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, or auditors where necessary.

All processors are required to protect personal data, process it only on our instructions, and use appropriate technical and organisational security measures. We do not sell personal data.

5. Data Retention

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

Customer and service records are typically retained for the duration of our business relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to deal with queries or disputes.
Financial and tax records are kept for the period required by law.
Correspondence and complaint records may be retained longer where needed to manage claims, resolve issues, or demonstrate compliance.

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

6. Data Security

We take appropriate measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of data handling procedures. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to maintain a high standard of protection.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights regarding your personal data. These may 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 restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal limitations. We will respond to requests in line with applicable law and may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

8. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it, such as adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections. We only allow such transfers where lawful and necessary for our operations.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally provided by a parent, guardian, or customer in connection with a service request. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child without appropriate consent or legal basis, we will take steps to delete it where required.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our data handling practices. Any updates will take effect when published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their personal data is handled.

11. Complaints

If you have concerns about how your personal data is handled, we encourage you to raise them so they can be reviewed and resolved promptly. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

Summary of our commitment: Earls Court Carpet Cleaners processes personal data lawfully, uses it only for legitimate business purposes, keeps it secure, retains it only as long as necessary, and respects your data protection rights.