Privacy Policy - Carpet Cleaners Kingstonuponthames

This Privacy Policy explains how Carpet Cleaners Kingstonuponthames collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Carpet Cleaners Kingstonuponthames customers in the area, including anyone who requests a quotation, books a service, makes an enquiry, receives a visit, or otherwise interacts with our business. We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable privacy laws.

1. Who We Are

Carpet Cleaners Kingstonuponthames is a professional carpet and upholstery cleaning service operating for customers in Kingston upon Thames and surrounding local areas. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as a data controller for the personal information we collect and decide how and why it is used.

We take privacy seriously and aim to keep personal information accurate, secure, and limited to what is necessary for providing our services. This policy should be read carefully so that you understand what happens to your data when you engage with us.

2. What Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity information such as your name.
Contact information such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information including details of the cleaning services requested, property access notes, preferred dates, and special instructions.
Billing and payment information such as invoice details, payment status, and transaction references.
Communication records including messages, calls, emails, and service-related notes.
Technical information where applicable, such as basic device or usage data if collected through digital systems used to manage enquiries or bookings.
Customer history including previous services, complaints, feedback, and service preferences.

We generally do not seek to collect special category data. However, if you voluntarily provide information that may reveal a health condition, disability, religious requirement, or other sensitive detail in order to help us safely deliver a service, we will only use that information where necessary and with appropriate safeguards.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data in several ways:

Directly from you when you make an enquiry, request a quote, or book a cleaning service.
When you communicate with us by phone, email, message, or in writing.
During the provision of our services, including appointment management and service follow-up.
From payment and invoicing processes.
From third parties acting on your behalf, such as landlords, letting agents, property managers, or family members, where they are authorised to do so.

We only collect information that is relevant to delivering and managing our services, responding to requests, and meeting legal or contractual obligations.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only where we have a valid lawful basis under UK GDPR. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing bookings, providing cleaning services, confirming appointments, and handling invoices.

Legal Obligation

Some data must be processed to comply with legal requirements, such as accounting, tax, record-keeping, or fraud prevention obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include service administration, internal record-keeping, quality control, responding to enquiries, and improving our customer service.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, especially where processing is optional or involves sensitive information. If we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide carpet cleaning and related services.
To manage bookings, scheduling, and service delivery.
To prepare quotations, invoices, and payment records.
To communicate with customers about appointments, changes, and service updates.
To respond to complaints, queries, or requests.
To maintain internal records and improve our services.
To comply with legal, accounting, and regulatory obligations.

We do not use your data for unrelated purposes without informing you where required.

6. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf. Processors only handle data according to our instructions and are required to protect it appropriately. Examples of processors may include:

Booking and scheduling service providers.
Payment processing providers.
Accounting and invoicing systems.
IT and cloud storage providers.
Customer communication and administrative support tools.

We may also share data with professional advisers, insurers, legal authorities, or regulatory bodies where required by law or where necessary to protect our rights, property, customers, or staff. We do not sell your personal data.

7. 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 depend on the nature of the data and the reason it is held.

Customer and service records are generally kept for a reasonable period after the last interaction so we can manage follow-up queries, resolve disputes, and maintain service history.
Financial and invoicing records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Communication records may be kept for as long as needed to evidence instructions, service arrangements, or complaint handling.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

8. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures are designed to be proportionate to the nature of the data we hold and the risks involved.

Although no system is completely secure, we work to reduce risks by limiting access to personal data, using trusted service providers, and keeping records only when necessary. Staff or contractors with access to personal data are expected to handle it responsibly and in line with data protection principles.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis for processing. They include:

The right of access to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
The right to rectification to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
The right to erasure to request deletion of your data in certain cases.
The right to restriction to request limited use of your data in certain situations.
The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests.
The right to data portability for data you provided to us, where applicable.
The right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to raise concerns with the UK data protection authority if you believe your data has been handled unlawfully. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any issue promptly and fairly.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are generally intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children without appropriate permission from a parent or guardian where required. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child inappropriately, we will take steps to delete it in accordance with legal requirements.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any updates will apply from the date they take effect. We encourage customers in Kingston upon Thames and surrounding areas to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Carpet Cleaners Kingstonuponthames is committed to respecting privacy, protecting personal information, and processing data fairly and transparently. We only collect what is needed, use it for legitimate and lawful purposes, retain it for appropriate periods, and share it only with trusted processors or where the law requires it. This Privacy Policy applies to all Carpet Cleaners Kingstonuponthames customers in the area and is designed to support clear, lawful, and responsible data handling.