Privacy Policy - Chiswick Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Chiswick Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing our carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Chiswick Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including anyone who requests a quotation, books a service, communicates with us, or otherwise interacts with our business.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy is designed to help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and what rights you have in relation to your data.

1. Information We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for us to operate our services effectively, manage our customer relationships, and meet our legal obligations. The types of data we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and phone number.
Service information such as property access details, cleaning requirements, preferred appointment times, and notes about the areas to be cleaned.
Billing and payment information such as payment method details, transaction references, invoicing records, and payment status.
Communication records such as emails, messages, booking notes, complaint records, and feedback.
Technical information if you interact with our digital systems, such as device details, log data, or cookie-related information, where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is provided to us by you and is genuinely necessary for a specific service matter. If such information is shared, we will only process it where a lawful basis applies and appropriate safeguards are in place.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotes and respond to enquiries.
To arrange, confirm, and deliver cleaning services.
To manage customer accounts and service records.
To process payments, issue invoices, and maintain financial records.
To communicate with you about bookings, changes, service updates, or complaints.
To improve our services, train staff, and manage quality control.
To comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory requirements.
To protect against fraud, misuse, or security risks.

We only use your data for purposes that are compatible with the reason it was collected, unless we have a lawful basis to use it for another legitimate purpose.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, or to perform a contract with you. This includes handling bookings, providing cleaning services, processing payments, and managing service-related communications.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data to meet legal requirements, including accounting, tax, consumer protection, insurance, and record-keeping obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include service improvement, administrative management, responding to complaints, and maintaining business security.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is required for optional marketing communications or certain non-essential processing activities. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Retention of Personal Data

We retain personal data only for as long as it is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of record and the reason for processing.

Customer and service records are generally retained for a period that allows us to manage bookings, resolve disputes, and maintain service history.
Financial and tax records are kept for the period required by accounting and tax laws.
Complaints and correspondence may be retained for a reasonable period to help us address issues and improve our service.
Marketing preference records are kept until you update your preferences or withdraw consent, where applicable.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely, anonymise it, or otherwise make it irreversibly unreadable.

5. Processors and Data Sharing

We may share personal data with trusted third-party processors who support our business operations. These processors act on our instructions and are required to handle personal data securely and lawfully. They may include:

Payment service providers who process card or electronic payments.
Booking and scheduling systems used to manage appointments and service diaries.
Accounting and invoicing providers that help us maintain financial records.
IT and cloud storage providers that support secure data storage and business systems.
Customer communication tools used to send service updates or respond to enquiries.
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers, where necessary.

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

We do not sell your personal data. Any sharing is limited to what is necessary, proportionate, and lawful.

6. Data Security

We take 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 training, and restricted data handling procedures.

Although we work hard to protect personal data, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. If a data breach occurs that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will respond in line with legal requirements.

7. Your Rights

You have a number of rights under data protection law. Subject to legal limitations, these 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 ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction - to ask us to limit how we use your data.
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, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will review your request and respond within the time limits required by law. In some cases, we may need to verify your identity before actioning the request.

8. Cookies and Similar Technologies

If we use online systems that involve cookies or similar technologies, they may be used for essential functionality, security, and basic performance purposes. Where non-essential cookies are used, appropriate notice and options will be provided in line with applicable law.

9. International Transfers

If any personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place so that your information remains protected to a standard consistent with UK data protection law.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or operational practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

We are committed to using personal data responsibly, securely, and only where necessary. Our approach is based on transparency, lawful processing, data minimisation, and respect for your rights. By using our services, you can expect us to handle your information with care and in compliance with applicable privacy laws.

Chiswick Carpet Cleaners processes personal data only for legitimate service, legal, and operational purposes, and we aim to ensure that all customer information is treated with confidentiality and respect.