Privacy Policy - Willesden Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Willesden Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Willesden Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including individuals who request quotes, make enquiries, book services, receive cleaning appointments, or otherwise interact with us in connection with 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 carefully so you understand what information we hold, why we hold it, and what rights you have.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, business or property name.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details including the type of cleaning requested, property access information, booking preferences, and service history.
Payment information such as payment status, transaction references, and limited billing records. We do not store full card details unless required through a secure payment processor.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, and complaint or feedback correspondence.
Technical and usage information where relevant, such as basic website or device data if you interact with our online systems.
Special category data only if you provide it voluntarily and it is necessary for a specific request, for example access needs or health-related instructions affecting service delivery.

We generally collect data directly from you when you make an enquiry, request a quotation, confirm a booking, or communicate with us. In some cases, we may receive information from third parties acting on your behalf, such as landlords, property managers, or authorised representatives.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data only when we have a valid reason to do so. The main purposes for which we process data are:

To provide carpet cleaning and related services.
To respond to enquiries and prepare quotations.
To arrange, confirm, and manage bookings.
To process payments, invoices, and account records.
To communicate service updates, changes, or follow-up information.
To handle complaints, disputes, and customer support matters.
To maintain internal records and manage our business operations.
To meet legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
To improve our services, processes, and customer experience.

We do not use personal data for unrelated purposes without first ensuring that a lawful basis exists and, where necessary, providing appropriate notice.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis before processing your personal data. Depending on the context, we rely on the following legal bases:

Contract

We process your personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing cleaning services, managing appointments, processing payments, and fulfilling customer requests.

Legal Obligation

We may process data when needed to comply with legal requirements, such as tax, accounting, bookkeeping, or other statutory duties.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data for our legitimate business interests where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing our records, improving service quality, preventing fraud, maintaining security, and handling customer communications. We ensure that any such processing is proportionate and relevant.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example if we wish to process optional information or contact you for purposes not covered by contract or legitimate interests. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests

In rare situations, we may process personal data where necessary to protect someone’s life or physical safety.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who assist us in operating our business. These third parties act as processors when they process data on our instructions and under appropriate confidentiality and security obligations.

Examples of processors may include:

Booking and scheduling system providers.
Payment processing services.
IT support, data storage, and cloud service providers.
Accounting and bookkeeping service providers.
Customer communication and email service providers.

We may also disclose data to professional advisers, insurers, legal authorities, or regulatory bodies where required or permitted by law. Any sharing is limited to what is necessary and appropriate for the relevant purpose.

We do not sell your personal data. If personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure suitable safeguards are in place so that it remains protected to a standard consistent with UK GDPR requirements.

5. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the purpose of processing.

Enquiry records are generally kept for a reasonable period to manage follow-up and customer service.
Booking and service records are retained for the duration of the customer relationship and afterward where required for business, legal, or contractual purposes.
Invoice and payment records are normally kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Complaint and dispute records may be retained longer where needed to defend legal claims or resolve issues.

When data is no longer needed, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise disposed of safely. Our retention approach is based on the principle of data minimisation, meaning we keep only what is necessary for as long as it is necessary.

6. Your Rights

As a data subject under UK GDPR, you have important rights regarding your personal data. These rights may be subject to legal restrictions in certain circumstances. Your rights include:

The right to be informed about how your data is collected and used.
The right of access to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
The right to rectification if any data we hold is inaccurate or incomplete.
The right to erasure in some circumstances, also known as the right to be forgotten.
The right to restrict processing where certain conditions apply.
The right to data portability for data you have provided to us in specific cases.
The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing, where applicable.
The right not to be subject to automated decision-making where this produces legal or similarly significant effects.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We will respond within the time limits required by law unless an extension is permitted.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational 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 restricted data handling procedures.

Although we take reasonable steps to secure personal data, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We therefore encourage customers to contact us promptly if they believe their information has been compromised.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with a service request made by a parent, guardian, or authorised adult. Where child-related information is provided, it will be handled carefully and only for the purpose for which it was supplied.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, operational practices, or our services. 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 handled.

10. Summary of Key Principles

In summary, Willesden Carpet Cleaners processes personal data fairly, lawfully, and transparently. We collect only the information needed to deliver our services, rely on appropriate lawful bases, retain data for no longer than necessary, and share it only with trusted processors or where required by law. We respect your rights and aim to keep all customer data secure and appropriately managed.

This policy applies to all Willesden Carpet Cleaners customers in area.