Privacy Policy - Carpetcleaning Hampstead

This Privacy Policy explains how Carpetcleaning Hampstead collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Carpetcleaning Hampstead customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and individuals who contact us on behalf of a household, landlord, tenant, business, or property management company. 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.

By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy. We aim to collect only the information we need, keep it secure, and retain it only for as long as necessary.

1. Data We Collect

We may collect and process different categories of personal data depending on how you interact with us and which services you request.

Information you provide directly

• Identity details such as your name and title.
• Contact details such as address, email address, and phone number.
• Service details including property access instructions, preferred dates and times, and information about the cleaning tasks requested.
• Billing and payment information necessary to arrange payment, issue invoices, or confirm transactions.
• Communication records such as messages, notes, complaints, and feedback.

Information we collect automatically

• Technical information such as device type, browser type, and approximate location derived from your interaction with digital systems used for administration.
• Usage information relating to how you interact with our communications or booking tools, where applicable.

Information from third parties

We may also receive personal data from third parties where necessary to provide our services. This may include:

• letting agents, landlords, or property managers arranging services on your behalf;
• payment providers confirming payment status;
• subcontractors or service partners involved in delivering the work;
• publicly available sources, where relevant and lawful.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and lawful. If such information is incidentally provided, for example within a property access note or complaint, we will handle it with additional care and in line with legal requirements.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

• to provide quotes and assess service requirements;
• to schedule and perform carpet cleaning and related services;
• to communicate with customers about appointments, changes, and service updates;
• to process payments, manage invoices, and maintain accounting records;
• to respond to questions, complaints, or requests;
• to improve service quality, customer experience, and operational efficiency;
• to maintain internal records and manage business administration;
• to comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations;
• to prevent fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity;
• to enforce our agreements and protect our legitimate interests.

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

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Depending on the context, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations, confirming bookings, carrying out cleaning services, and managing payments.

Legal obligation

We may process personal data to comply with legal requirements, such as tax record keeping, accounting obligations, insurance requirements, and lawful requests from authorities.

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 maintaining records, improving services, handling complaints, or protecting against fraud and misuse. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the impact on your privacy and limit processing to what is necessary.

Consent

In some situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is required for certain optional communications or non-essential processing. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

We do not use your personal data for purposes that require consent unless you have clearly given it or another lawful basis applies.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties known as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. These parties help us operate our business and deliver services efficiently. They are only permitted to process personal data on our instructions or for their own lawful purposes where they act as independent controllers.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

• payment processing providers;
• accounting and bookkeeping services;
• IT, cloud storage, and system support providers;
• customer communication or scheduling tools;
• professional advisers such as lawyers, insurers, or accountants;
• subcontractors involved in carrying out cleaning work, where necessary.

We require processors to take appropriate security measures and to process personal data only in accordance with applicable data protection laws. If personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that suitable safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law, court order, regulatory request, or to protect the rights, property, safety, or security of our business, customers, or others.

5. Data Retention

We retain 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 data and the purpose of processing.

• Customer and service records are generally kept for the period needed to manage the service relationship and resolve any follow-up matters.
• Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by accounting and tax laws.
• Complaint or dispute records may be kept longer where needed to defend legal claims or demonstrate compliance.
• Communication records are kept as long as necessary for administration and customer support.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in a controlled manner. Retention is always limited to what is necessary and proportionate.

6. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights regarding your personal data. These rights may be subject to legal limits and exceptions, but we will always assess requests carefully and respond appropriately.

• Right of access: You can ask for confirmation of whether we process your personal data and request a copy of it.
• Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
• Right to erasure: In certain circumstances, you can ask us to delete your personal data.
• Right to restrict processing: You may request that we limit how we use your data in specific situations.
• Right to object: You may object to processing based on legitimate interests, and in some cases to direct marketing.
• Right to data portability: Where applicable, you can request your data in a structured, commonly used format and ask for it to be transferred to another controller.
• Right to withdraw consent: If processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to respond within the time limits required by law.

7. Security of Personal Data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff confidentiality obligations, and limited access to information on a need-to-know basis.

Although we work hard to protect your data, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. If a data breach occurs and it is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will take the steps required by law, which may include notifying the appropriate authority and affected individuals where necessary.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is necessary in connection with a service arrangement involving a household. Where information relating to a child is unavoidably provided, we will handle it carefully and only use it for the relevant service purpose.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services, or legal obligations. 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 personal data is handled.

10. Summary of Our Commitment

Carpetcleaning Hampstead is committed to processing personal data lawfully, transparently, and securely. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and legitimate purposes, share it only with appropriate processors or where required by law, and keep it only for as long as necessary. We respect your rights and strive to handle all personal data with care, fairness, and accountability. This Privacy Policy applies to all Carpetcleaning Hampstead customers in area.