Privacy Policy - Carpet Cleaners Chiswick

This Privacy Policy explains how Carpet Cleaners Chiswick collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data relating to all customers in the Chiswick area. It applies to every customer who books, enquires about, or receives carpet cleaning or related services from us in the area. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Carpet Cleaners Chiswick provides professional carpet cleaning services to homes and businesses in Chiswick and nearby locations. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller for the personal information we collect and process in connection with our services. This means we decide why and how your personal data is used.

We only collect and process personal information that is necessary for legitimate business and service purposes, and we take appropriate steps to keep that information secure and up to date.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect different types of personal data depending on your interaction with us. This may include:

Identity information such as your name.
Contact information such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details such as booking preferences, property access notes, cleaning requirements, and service history.
Payment information such as billing details and payment status. We do not store full payment card details unless required by our payment providers.
Communication records such as enquiries, complaints, feedback, and correspondence.
Technical information where relevant, such as basic device or usage information collected through our systems.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and legally permitted. Special category data includes information about health, race, religion, political views, trade union membership, genetics, biometrics, sex life, or sexual orientation. If such information is ever disclosed to us inadvertently, we will only process it where a lawful basis exists and additional protection is required.

3. How We Collect Data

We collect personal information in several ways:

Directly from you when you make an enquiry or book a service.
When you communicate with us by phone, email, or other messaging methods.
When you provide service instructions, access details, or feedback.
From third parties where necessary for service delivery, for example payment processors or booking platforms.

We aim to keep all collected data relevant and limited to what is needed for the purposes described in this Policy.

4. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data only for specific and lawful purposes, including:

Managing bookings and providing carpet cleaning services.
Communicating with you about appointments, changes, or service updates.
Processing payments and handling invoices.
Responding to enquiries and resolving complaints.
Maintaining internal records and service quality.
Meeting legal, tax, accounting, or regulatory obligations.
Improving our operations, customer experience, and service planning.

We will only use your information in ways that are compatible with the original reason it was collected, unless we obtain your consent or another lawful basis applies.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Carpet Cleaners Chiswick relies on the following lawful bases where appropriate:

Contract

We process your information where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging appointments, providing cleaning services, sending invoices, and managing service-related communication.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. This may include record keeping, service administration, fraud prevention, internal quality control, and improving our services. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we assess the impact on your privacy and only use information in a proportionate way.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information where required to comply with legal obligations, such as tax laws, accounting rules, or lawful requests from authorities.

Consent

In limited situations, we may ask for your consent, for example where we wish to use your information for specific optional communications that are not required for service delivery. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time.

6. Sharing Personal Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third-party service providers who act as processors on our behalf. These processors only handle data under our instructions and must protect it appropriately. Examples may include:

Payment processing providers.
Booking and scheduling software providers.
IT and cloud storage providers.
Administrative and accounting service providers.
Customer communication and email service providers.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law, regulation, court order, or other lawful request from public authorities. If a business transfer, restructuring, or similar event occurs, personal data may be shared as part of that process, subject to appropriate protections.

We do not sell your personal data. Any sharing is limited to what is necessary for service delivery, legal compliance, or legitimate operational needs.

7. Retention of Personal Data

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

In general:

Booking and service records may be retained for a reasonable period after the service ends to manage queries, disputes, and future reference.
Financial and accounting records may be retained for the period required by applicable law.
Correspondence and complaints may be retained long enough to resolve the matter and maintain proper records.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention practices. We do not keep information longer than necessary.

8. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, limited staff access, and confidentiality expectations for anyone handling data on our behalf. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we continually review our practices to improve protection.

9. Your Rights

As a data subject under UK GDPR, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. These rights may be subject to limitations in some circumstances, but we will always consider requests carefully and respond appropriately.

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 where lawful grounds apply.
Right to restrict processing – 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 where applicable.
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 respond in accordance with applicable data protection law. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

10. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will only do so when appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information. This may include approved contractual protections or transfers to countries recognised as providing adequate protection.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with a customer’s booking or property access arrangements and is provided lawfully by an adult. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without a valid basis, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our data handling practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers in the Chiswick area to review this Policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Carpet Cleaners Chiswick is committed to processing personal data responsibly, securely, and transparently. We only collect what we need, use it for clear purposes, retain it for appropriate periods, and share it only with trusted processors or where required by law. We respect your rights and aim to maintain the trust of every customer we serve in the area.

This Policy applies to all Carpet Cleaners Chiswick customers in area.