Privacy Policy - Kingstonuponthames Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy applies to all customers of Kingstonuponthames Carpet Cleaners in the area we serve. It explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data in connection with our carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, stain treatment, and related services. 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.

We respect your privacy and aim to collect only the information we need to provide our services properly, manage customer relationships, meet our legal obligations, and improve the quality of our work. This policy should be read together with any service terms you agree to when booking a cleaning appointment.

1. Who We Are

Kingstonuponthames Carpet Cleaners provides professional cleaning services for homes, landlords, tenants, and businesses in the Kingston upon Thames area. In the course of delivering those services, we act as a data controller for the personal data we decide to collect and use. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your information.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process different categories of personal data depending on your interaction with us. The information we collect may include:

Identity details: your name and, where needed, the name of a business or property manager.
Contact details: address, telephone number, and email address.
Service details: information about the property, rooms, items to be cleaned, preferred dates, access requirements, and service instructions.
Payment information: billing details and transaction records. We do not usually store full card details if payments are handled by a secure payment processor.
Communication records: messages, feedback, complaints, and notes about service arrangements.
Technical data: limited information such as device or browser data if you communicate with us electronically, where necessary for security or system management.
Special category data: in most cases we do not intentionally collect this. However, information may be shared with us incidentally, for example if access arrangements or health-related considerations are mentioned. We only process such information when lawful and necessary.

We do not collect more information than is reasonably required to provide our services and manage our business effectively.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
to arrange and deliver cleaning services;
to manage bookings, rescheduling, and cancellations;
to issue invoices and process payments;
to keep records of services provided;
to handle customer service requests, complaints, or claims;
to maintain business records and improve service quality;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and insurance requirements;
to protect against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We will only use your data for the purposes described above or for compatible purposes where permitted by law.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. For example, we need your name, address, and contact details to arrange and carry out a cleaning service you requested.

Legitimate Interests

We may process your data for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This includes responding to enquiries, managing customer relationships, improving our services, maintaining records, and protecting our business from fraud or misuse.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, and regulatory requirements.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, particularly for optional communications or where special category data is involved and no other lawful basis applies. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where this is necessary for our services or legal compliance. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the service they provide.

Processors may include:

payment service providers that handle secure card or electronic payments;
accounting and bookkeeping software providers;
customer communication platforms such as email or messaging systems;
IT hosting, storage, and cloud service providers;
booking and scheduling tools;
professional advisers, such as accountants or insurers, where needed;
delivery or subcontracted service partners, if required to complete a booking.

All processors are required to handle personal data securely and only in line with our instructions, unless they are acting as separate controllers under their own legal obligations.

We may also disclose data if required by law, court order, or a regulatory authority, or where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, tax, and insurance obligations. Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason we hold it.

Customer and booking records: usually retained for a reasonable period after the service is completed for administrative and service-history purposes.
Invoices and financial records: retained for the period required by law and standard accounting practice.
Correspondence and complaints: retained as long as needed to resolve issues and maintain proper records.
Consent-based communications: retained until you withdraw consent or the data is no longer needed.

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

7. 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 limiting access to those who need the information for legitimate business purposes.

No system is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to safeguard your data and review our practices regularly.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have important rights regarding your personal data. These rights may apply in whole or in part depending on the legal basis for processing and the circumstances of your request.

Right of access: you can ask for 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 situations, 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 circumstances.
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests, and in some cases to direct marketing.
Right to data portability: where applicable, you can request that we provide your data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data has been handled unlawfully.

9. International Transfers

If any processor stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or approved transfer mechanisms, to protect your information in line with UK data protection law.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental to a household booking and necessary for service delivery or safety. In such cases, we will only process the information required and in accordance with data protection law.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated to you. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically.

12. Summary of Key Points

We collect only the personal data needed to provide and manage our cleaning services.
We process data on the bases of contract, legitimate interests, legal obligation, and, where applicable, consent.
We may share data with trusted processors such as payment, accounting, IT, and booking providers.
We retain data only as long as needed and then securely delete or anonymise it.
You have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, object, and withdraw consent where applicable.

By using Kingstonuponthames Carpet Cleaners, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this Privacy Policy, which applies to all customers in the area we serve.