Privacy Policy - Carpet Cleaners Hampstead

This Privacy Policy explains how Carpet Cleaners Hampstead collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing cleaning services to customers in the Hampstead area. It applies to all Carpet Cleaners Hampstead customers in the area, including individuals, landlords, tenants, property managers, and business clients who use 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. We aim to keep your information safe and to use it only for legitimate purposes connected with our services.

1. Who We Are

Carpet Cleaners Hampstead acts as the data controller for the personal information we collect and process in connection with our cleaning services. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data. In some situations, we may use third-party service providers that process data on our behalf; in those cases, they act as data processors.

2. Information We Collect

We collect only the personal data that is necessary for arranging, delivering, and managing our services. The information we may collect includes:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, company name.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details such as the type of carpet cleaning requested, property access instructions, preferred appointment times, and service history.
Payment information such as payment status, billing records, and transaction references. We do not store more payment information than is necessary to complete the transaction.
Communication records such as emails, messages, call notes, complaints, and feedback.
Technical information that may be collected when you interact with our digital systems, such as device type, browser type, and basic usage data.

We generally do not collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it voluntarily, or unless we are legally required to process it. Special category data includes information about health, ethnicity, religion, or similar sensitive matters.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotes.
To arrange appointments and deliver cleaning services.
To manage customer accounts and service records.
To process payments and maintain accounting records.
To communicate about bookings, service updates, and aftercare.
To handle complaints, disputes, or claims.
To improve our services, internal processes, and customer experience.
To comply with legal, tax, and regulatory obligations.

We will only use your data for purposes that are compatible with the reason it was collected. We do not sell personal data and we do not use personal data for unrelated purposes without a valid legal basis.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Carpet Cleaners Hampstead relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract: We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as providing cleaning services, preparing a quote, or processing payment.
Legal obligation: We process data when required to comply with legal duties, such as tax, accounting, insurance, or record-keeping obligations.
Legitimate interests: We may process data to operate and improve our business, manage enquiries, prevent fraud, maintain security, and respond to customer issues, provided these interests do not override your rights and freedoms.
Consent: In limited cases, we rely on your consent, for example where you agree to receive certain optional communications. You may withdraw consent at any time.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we assess the impact on your privacy and use appropriate safeguards. Where consent is the basis, we make sure it is informed, freely given, and specific.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data only when necessary and only with trusted parties that support our operations. These may include:

Payment processors that handle secure transaction processing.
IT and software providers that host booking, email, or business administration systems.
Accountants and professional advisers who help us meet financial, legal, or compliance obligations.
Insurance providers or legal advisers where required to manage claims or disputes.
Subcontractors or employees who need access to data to complete the service.

When third parties process personal data on our behalf, they do so under written contracts that require them to protect the data, process it only on our instructions, and maintain appropriate security measures. These parties act as processors and are not permitted to use your data for their own purposes.

We may also disclose data if required by law, by a court order, or to prevent serious harm, unlawful activity, or fraud.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, to meet legal requirements, and to resolve disputes. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the service provided.

Customer and service records are usually retained for the duration of our relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Accounting and tax records are kept for the period required by law.
Communication records may be retained for a limited time to deal with ongoing queries, service issues, or complaints.
Technical logs are kept only as long as needed for security, troubleshooting, and performance monitoring.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, destroy, or anonymise it. In some cases, retention may be extended if necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unlawful access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, password protection, and limiting access to data on a need-to-know basis.

While we work hard to protect your information, no system is completely secure. We therefore encourage customers to share only the information necessary for service delivery and to contact us promptly if they believe data has been compromised.

8. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have rights under data protection law. Depending on the circumstances, these may include:

Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure: In some cases, you can ask us to delete your personal data.
Right to restriction: You can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object: You can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: You may request that certain data be provided to you 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 timeframe required by law. Please note that some rights are subject to legal exceptions and may not apply in every case.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is necessary for service delivery and is provided by an adult customer or legal guardian. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child inappropriately, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

10. International Transfers

Where any service provider stores or processes data outside the UK, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place so that personal information remains protected to a standard consistent with UK data protection law. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual protections, or equivalent measures.

11. Changes to This Privacy 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 made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how their data is handled.

12. Summary of Key Principles

Transparency

We aim to be clear about what data we collect and why we process it.

Necessity

We collect only the information needed to provide our services and meet legal obligations.

Security

We use reasonable safeguards to protect personal data from unauthorised access or misuse.

Respect for rights

We recognise and support the rights of all customers in the Hampstead area under applicable data protection law.

Carpet Cleaners Hampstead is committed to responsible data handling, and we will always process personal data in a way that is lawful, fair, and transparent. If you are a customer in the Hampstead area, this policy applies to the personal information we hold about you in connection with our services.