Privacy Policy

Carpet Cleaners Southkensington is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers in the South Kensington area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. It applies to all Carpet Cleaners Southkensington customers in area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who communicates with us in connection with our services.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Carpet Cleaners Southkensington acts as the data controller in relation to the personal data we collect and process. This means we determine how and why your personal data is used. We take our responsibilities seriously and aim to ensure that all processing is fair, lawful, transparent, and limited to what is necessary for providing our cleaning services and managing our business operations.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with us and the services you request. The information we collect may include:

Identity details such as your name and title
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number
Service information including booking details, service preferences, property access notes, and cleaning instructions
Payment-related information such as billing details and transaction records
Communication records including messages, complaints, feedback, and service enquiries
Technical information if you contact us electronically, such as basic device or usage data used for security and service administration

We normally do not seek to collect special category data unless it is necessary and you voluntarily provide it, for example where it is relevant to access requirements, allergies, or other service-related concerns. When such data is collected, we only process it where the law allows.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data in several ways. Most data is provided directly by you when you request a service, make a booking, ask a question, or communicate with us. We may also collect data from:

our internal records relating to previous services
payment and accounting systems
third-party service providers who help us deliver or manage our services
publicly available sources where appropriate and lawful

We aim to keep data collection to a minimum and only gather information that is relevant to the services we provide.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to use your personal data. Carpet Cleaners Southkensington may process your data on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing bookings, carrying out cleaning services, processing payments, and communicating about the service you have requested.

Legitimate Interests

We may process your data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing customer relationships, improving our services, preventing fraud, maintaining records, and handling complaints. We always consider whether our interests are balanced against your privacy rights.

Legal Obligation

In some cases, we are required to process and retain personal data to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, insurance, or regulatory requirements.

Consent

Where the law requires consent, we will ask for it clearly and separately. For example, consent may be used for certain marketing communications. You can withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.

5. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data only for specified and legitimate purposes. These include:

arranging and delivering cleaning services
confirming bookings and managing appointments
communicating with you about our services
processing invoices, payments, and refunds
handling queries, complaints, or service issues
keeping business, accounting, and compliance records
protecting the security of our operations and customers
improving service quality and customer experience

We do not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the original reason for collection unless we have a lawful basis to do so.

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where this is necessary for delivering services, managing our business, or meeting legal obligations. These third parties may act as processors or, in some cases, as independent controllers.

Examples of processors we may use include:

IT and cloud storage providers
payment processors
accounting and bookkeeping service providers
customer management or scheduling platforms
professional advisers such as lawyers or auditors

Where we use processors, we require them to act only on our instructions, to keep personal data secure, and to process it in compliance with applicable data protection law. We do not sell your personal data.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason for processing.

As a general rule:

customer service and booking records are kept for a reasonable period after the service is completed
financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law
complaints and dispute records may be retained longer where needed to resolve issues or defend legal claims

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete it or anonymise it securely.

8. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include restricted access, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and procedures designed to reduce risk. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take reasonable steps to protect the information entrusted to us.

9. Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply in certain circumstances and may be limited where an exemption applies. Your rights include:

Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Right to rectification – to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
Right to erasure – to ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data rights have been infringed. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so we can try to resolve the issue promptly.

10. Marketing Communications

We may send you marketing communications only where permitted by law. If we rely on consent, you can opt out at any time. If we rely on legitimate interests for certain communications, you still have the right to object. We will always aim to respect your preferences and keep communications relevant and minimal.

11. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms. We only transfer data where necessary and where appropriate protection can be assured.

12. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidental to a customer relationship and necessary for service delivery. If we become aware that we have collected such data without appropriate authority, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data processing practices. When we make significant changes, we will take reasonable steps to bring them to your attention. The most current version will apply from the date it is issued.

14. Summary of Our Commitment

Carpet Cleaners Southkensington respects your privacy and only processes personal data where there is a valid legal basis to do so. We collect only the information needed to provide and manage our services, we share it only with trusted processors or where required by law, and we retain it only for as long as necessary. You retain control over your personal data through the rights described above.

This policy applies to all Carpet Cleaners Southkensington customers in area and is designed to ensure transparency, accountability, and compliance with applicable data protection laws.