Privacy Policy - Wandsworth Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Wandsworth Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Wandsworth Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including private households, landlords, tenants, letting agents, and commercial clients who request or receive our services. We are committed to processing 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

Wandsworth Carpet Cleaners is the controller of the personal data described in this policy when we determine why and how such data is processed. This means we are responsible for ensuring that your personal information is handled lawfully, fairly, and transparently. We take privacy seriously and only process information that is necessary to provide services, manage our business, comply with legal obligations, and protect our legitimate interests.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process several categories of personal data depending on how you interact with us and which services you request. The data we collect may include:

Identity details such as your name, title, and any business name you provide.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information including cleaning preferences, property access instructions, booking history, and details of the carpets, rugs, or upholstery to be cleaned.
Payment information such as payment status, invoice records, and transaction references. We do not store full card details where a third-party payment provider handles the transaction.
Communication records including enquiries, complaints, feedback, and correspondence relating to appointments or service issues.
Technical information if you contact us through digital channels, such as device details, IP address, or usage information where relevant for security or service delivery.
Special category data only where necessary and where you choose to provide it, for example access needs or health-related information that affects service delivery. Such data is processed with extra care and only when lawful to do so.

We do not intentionally collect more data than is needed for the purpose stated at the time of collection. If you choose not to provide certain information, we may be unable to complete a booking or deliver services properly.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
to arrange and manage bookings;
to deliver carpet cleaning and related services;
to process payments and issue invoices or receipts;
to communicate about appointments, access, or service updates;
to handle complaints, refunds, and aftercare issues;
to maintain internal records and improve our service quality;
to meet legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
to protect our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We only use your data for the purposes for which it was collected unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose. If we need to process your data for an unrelated purpose, we will explain the legal basis before doing so where required.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes managing bookings, providing quotations, carrying out cleaning services, and processing payments.

Legal Obligation

We may process your data where required to comply with applicable legal obligations, including record-keeping, accounting, tax, and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process your data when it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and when your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. Examples include improving our services, preventing fraud, managing customer relationships, and maintaining business records. We always consider whether our interests are balanced against your privacy rights.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, especially where the law requires it. For example, if we process optional marketing preferences or certain sensitive information in circumstances where consent is the most appropriate basis, we will make this clear. You may withdraw consent at any time, and this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business. These parties act as data processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We only share the minimum information necessary and require appropriate safeguards. Processors may include:

Payment service providers that process transactions securely on our behalf;
Booking and administration software providers that help us manage schedules and records;
IT, cloud storage, and communications providers that support our systems and data security;
Accountants and professional advisers where needed for compliance, tax, or business administration;
Waste disposal, logistics, or subcontracted service partners where required to complete a service;
Public authorities, regulators, or law enforcement where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect our rights.

Where we engage processors, we ensure they are bound by written contracts that require them to process data only on our instructions, keep it secure, and not use it for their own purposes. We do not sell your personal data.

6. International Transfers

If any of our processors store or access data outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent lawful transfer mechanisms. These protections are designed to keep your data secure and to maintain a level of protection essentially equivalent to that required under UK law.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including meeting legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the nature of the data and the purpose of processing. For example:

booking and service records may be kept for a reasonable period to manage enquiries, disputes, and customer history;
financial and tax records are generally retained for the period required by law;
correspondence and complaints may be retained to evidence service handling and resolve disputes;
data collected based on consent may be deleted when consent is withdrawn, unless retention is otherwise justified.

When data is no longer needed, we securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention practices. We review retention regularly to ensure data is not kept for longer than necessary.

8. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful management of service records. While no system is completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection appropriate to the risk associated with the data we process.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to conditions and exceptions depending on the circumstances. Your rights include:

Right of access – you may request confirmation of whether we process your data and obtain a copy of it;
Right to rectification – you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
Right to erasure – you may ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances;
Right to restrict processing – you may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations;
Right to object – you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
Right to data portability – you may request certain data in a structured, commonly used format where technically feasible;
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time;
Right to complain – you may lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your rights have been infringed.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a rights request. We aim to respond within the time limits set by law.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults arranging cleaning services for residential or commercial premises. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidentally provided by an adult customer and is necessary for service delivery. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child unlawfully, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

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 updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

12. Our Commitment to Privacy

We aim to handle personal data in a way that is fair, lawful, transparent, and proportionate. We respect your privacy and only use the data necessary to provide services efficiently and responsibly. If you are a customer in the Wandsworth area, this policy applies to you whenever you engage Wandsworth Carpet Cleaners for our services.

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