Privacy Policy - Carpet Cleaners Balham

This Privacy Policy explains how Carpet Cleaners Balham collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data relating to customers and prospective customers in the Balham area. It applies to all Carpet Cleaners Balham customers in the area, including individuals who request a quote, book a service, communicate with the business, or otherwise use our services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to personal data processed in connection with domestic and commercial cleaning services provided by Carpet Cleaners Balham. It covers existing customers, potential customers, visitors who make enquiries, and any person whose information is provided to arrange or manage a cleaning appointment. It also applies where we process data for administration, invoicing, customer support, service quality, and legal compliance.

2. Information we collect

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

Identity information such as name, title, and any relevant business name.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as property details, preferred dates, service notes, access instructions, and cleaning requirements.
Payment and billing information such as payment status, invoice records, and transaction references.
Communication records including enquiries, messages, complaint details, and service feedback.
Technical information where relevant, such as basic website or device usage data if provided through digital channels.
Special category data only where strictly necessary and provided by you voluntarily, for example if you disclose information relating to access needs or health-related constraints affecting service delivery. We do not seek this data unless it is needed for a specific purpose.

We collect most personal data directly from you when you make an enquiry, book a service, or communicate with us. In some cases, we may receive your details from a third party who is arranging a cleaning service on your behalf, such as a landlord, tenant, property manager, or family member. Where this happens, we expect the person providing your data to have a lawful basis for doing so.

3. How we use personal data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To arrange, deliver, and manage cleaning services.
To communicate about bookings, changes, cancellations, or follow-up matters.
To issue invoices, process payments, and maintain accounting records.
To handle complaints, disputes, and service-related queries.
To improve service quality, staff training, and operational efficiency.
To meet legal, regulatory, tax, and insurance obligations.

We will only use personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably believe that we need to use it for another compatible purpose and that this is lawful.

4. Lawful basis for processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Carpet Cleaners Balham relies on the following lawful 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, sending service updates, and processing payments.

Legal obligation

We process certain data to comply with legal requirements, such as tax record keeping, accounting obligations, and responses to lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing customer records, improving services, preventing fraud, and resolving disputes. We ensure that any such processing is proportionate and relevant.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, particularly for optional communications or where you provide certain types of sensitive information voluntarily. Where consent is used, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

5. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including any legal, accounting, or reporting obligations. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the context in which it was collected.

Customer and booking records are usually retained for a reasonable period after the last service to manage queries, repeat bookings, and business records.
Invoice and payment records are retained in line with tax and accounting requirements.
Complaint and dispute records may be retained for longer where necessary to evidence the handling of a matter.
Consent-based records are kept until consent is withdrawn or the data is no longer needed.

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise disposed of in a safe and appropriate manner. We do not retain personal data indefinitely.

6. Processors and third parties

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf or, in some cases, as separate controllers. These parties may include:

Payment service providers that handle transactions securely.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers that support financial administration.
IT and data storage providers that host or support our systems.
Customer management tools used to organise appointments and communications.
Professional advisers such as insurers, lawyers, or auditors where necessary.

Where processors are used, they are required to process personal data only on our instructions and to implement appropriate security measures. We take reasonable steps to ensure that any third party receiving personal data has suitable safeguards in place. If data is transferred outside the UK, we will only do so where appropriate legal protections are in place.

7. Data security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limited access to information on a need-to-know basis. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we are committed to maintaining a high standard of protection.

8. Your rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to certain conditions or exceptions. Your rights 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 data.
Right to erasure – you can request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
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.
Right to data portability – you can request certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in accordance with data protection law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

9. Complaints

If you have concerns about how your personal data is handled, we encourage you to raise them so that we can address the issue promptly. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services, or our data processing practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We recommend reviewing it periodically to stay informed about how your data is handled.

Effective for all Carpet Cleaners Balham customers in area. This policy is intended to provide clear information about how we manage personal data and to reassure you that we treat privacy seriously. Our aim is to process only the data we need, keep it secure, and respect your rights at every stage.