Privacy Policy - Eastcote Carpet Cleaners

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This Privacy Policy explains how Eastcote Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Eastcote Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including prospective customers, existing customers, and individuals who contact us on behalf of a property, business, or household.

We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We aim to process personal information fairly, lawfully, and transparently, and to collect only what is necessary for legitimate service delivery and business operations.

1. Information We Collect

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

Identity details: name, title, and where relevant the name of an organisation or landlord.
Contact details: address, email address, telephone number, and other communication details provided to us.
Service information: property type, carpet or upholstery cleaning requirements, access details, booking preferences, and job history.
Payment and billing data: payment records, invoice details, and transaction references. We do not intentionally store full card details unless required by a secure payment provider.
Communications: messages, call notes, complaints, feedback, and any correspondence you send to us.
Technical and usage data: limited information such as device or browser data if you interact with our digital systems, where applicable.
Special category data: in normal circumstances we do not seek to collect special category data. However, you may voluntarily provide information that indirectly reveals health or accessibility needs, such as instructions for vulnerable occupants or special access requirements.

We collect personal data directly from you where possible, for example when you request a quote, make a booking, confirm an appointment, submit feedback, or communicate with us about a service. In some cases, we may receive your information from a third party such as a landlord, letting agent, property manager, insurer, or family member arranging services on your behalf.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide carpet cleaning and related services;
to arrange appointments, estimates, and service visits;
to communicate about bookings, updates, and service changes;
to issue invoices, process payments, and maintain business records;
to manage customer support, complaints, and follow-up queries;
to improve service quality, operational efficiency, and customer experience;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations;
to defend against claims, resolve disputes, and maintain internal safeguards;
to send limited service-related communications where necessary.

We do not use your personal data for unrelated purposes without first assessing whether the new use is compatible with the original purpose and permitted by law.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Depending on the activity, Eastcote Carpet Cleaners relies on one or more of the following bases:

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, managing appointments, and handling billing.

Legal Obligation

We process certain information because we must comply with legal requirements, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, and other regulatory obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include responding to enquiries, managing our business, preventing fraud, maintaining service quality, and keeping appropriate records. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we assess the impact of the processing and ensure it is proportionate.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where we need permission to send certain marketing messages or to process optional information you choose to provide. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Sharing Personal Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to provide services, manage our operations, or comply with the law. These parties may act as processors or, in some cases, separate controllers.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

payment processors that handle secure transactions;
accounting and bookkeeping providers that support financial record keeping;
IT, cloud storage, and software providers used for scheduling, communication, file storage, and administration;
email, telephone, or messaging service providers used for business communications;
professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers;
subcontractors or field staff engaged to help deliver services on our behalf;
public authorities, regulators, or law enforcement where disclosure is required by law.

Where we use processors, we require them to handle personal data only on our instructions, to keep it secure, and to use it only for the specific services they provide. We do not sell personal data.

5. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and for any additional period required by law or justified by legitimate business needs.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of record:

service and booking records: retained for a reasonable period to manage customer history, follow-up issues, and business administration;
invoice, tax, and accounting records: retained for the legally required period;
communication records: retained as long as needed to respond to queries, handle complaints, or evidence agreed arrangements;
marketing records: retained until you withdraw consent or object, where applicable.

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

6. Data Security

We use 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 careful selection of processors.

While we take reasonable steps to safeguard data, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If a personal data breach occurs that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will act in accordance with applicable law.

7. Your Rights

Subject to legal limits, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right of access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure: request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction: ask us to limit processing in specific situations.
Right to object: object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: request transfer of data you provided to us, where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent: withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to raise concerns with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe your data has been mishandled. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so we can try to resolve the matter promptly and fairly.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are generally directed at adults arranging cleaning for homes or business premises. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary and lawful in the context of providing services, for example where a customer mentions household access arrangements involving minors. Any such information is handled carefully and only to the extent required.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any revised version will apply from the date of publication or the date stated in the update. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

10. Summary of Key Principles

In summary, Eastcote Carpet Cleaners processes personal data only when it is necessary, lawful, and proportionate. We collect limited information to provide our services, maintain records, and comply with the law. We use processors carefully, retain data only for justified periods, and respect the rights of every customer in the area.

By using our services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Eastcote Carpet Cleaners customers in area.