Privacy Policy - Carpet Cleaners Surrey

This Privacy Policy explains how Carpet Cleaners Surrey collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Carpet Cleaners Surrey customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who interacts with us in connection with 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 We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Carpet Cleaners Surrey is the data controller for the personal data we collect and process in connection with our services. This means we decide why and how your personal data is used. We take our responsibilities seriously and have implemented procedures to protect your information throughout the service lifecycle.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide and manage our services effectively. Depending on the nature of your enquiry or booking, we may collect the following categories of data:

Identity data, such as your name and, where relevant, company name.
Contact data, such as address, telephone number, and email address.
Service details, including property access information, cleaning preferences, stain or fabric descriptions, and appointment notes.
Transaction data, including invoices, payment status, and service history.
Communication data, such as messages, feedback, complaints, or service requests.
Technical data, if you interact with our digital systems, such as device or browser information and basic usage logs.
Special category data only where necessary and lawfully permitted, and generally not expected in ordinary service delivery.

We aim to keep our collection minimal. We do not intentionally collect unnecessary personal data, and we ask customers not to share sensitive information unless it is relevant to the service and required for lawful processing.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data to operate our business and deliver services safely and efficiently. Typical uses include:

Responding to enquiries and providing quotations.
Scheduling, confirming, and carrying out carpet cleaning services.
Managing customer accounts and service records.
Processing payments, refunds, and invoices.
Communicating service updates or changes.
Handling complaints, claims, or follow-up matters.
Maintaining service quality, internal records, and business administration.
Meeting legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.

We may also use anonymised or aggregated information for internal analysis, service improvement, and business planning. This information does not identify you directly.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We only process your personal data where we have a valid lawful basis under UK GDPR. Depending on the situation, our lawful bases may include:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as providing a quote, arranging a booking, delivering a carpet cleaning service, or handling payment.

Legal Obligation

We may process certain information to comply with legal requirements, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, or consumer law obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is in our legitimate interests to do so and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This can include managing appointments, responding to customer queries, preventing fraud, improving services, and maintaining business records. We always consider whether our use of data is necessary and proportionate.

Consent

Where required by law, or where no other lawful basis applies, we will ask for your clear consent. If we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us provide our services. These third parties act as processors when they process data on our behalf and only under our instructions. Examples may include:

IT and cloud service providers who store or secure business data.
Payment processing providers who handle card or electronic payments.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers who assist with financial records.
Communication tools used for sending service confirmations or updates.
Professional advisers such as legal, insurance, or tax advisers where necessary.

We require processors to implement appropriate security measures and to process data only for specified purposes. We do not sell your personal data. Where we share information with independent third parties for their own purposes, they are required to process data in accordance with applicable law.

6. International Transfers

In some cases, data may be processed outside the UK if a processor uses systems or servers located elsewhere. Where this happens, we take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or standard contractual protections, so your information remains protected.

7. Data Retention

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

Customer and service records are usually kept for the duration of our relationship and for a reasonable period after completion of services.
Financial records are generally retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Correspondence and complaints may be retained for as long as needed to resolve issues and protect legal rights.
Technical and security logs are retained only as long as necessary for operational and safeguarding purposes.

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

8. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and routine review of our processes. While no system is completely secure, we work hard to safeguard information and reduce risk.

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 certain conditions and exceptions, but we will always assess your request carefully. Your rights may 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 request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to request limited processing in specific 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.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

Please note: exercising your rights does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before your request was received.

10. How We Handle Requests

If you wish to exercise any of your rights, we will need to verify your identity to ensure the request is genuine. We aim to respond within the time limits set by law, typically within one month, although complex requests may take longer. If more time is needed, we will let you know and explain why.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is provided by a parent, guardian, or authorised adult in connection with a service request. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without appropriate authority, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service arrangements. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review it periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

13. Our Commitment

Carpet Cleaners Surrey is committed to treating your information with care, transparency, and respect. We only process personal data when we have a valid reason to do so, we keep it only as long as needed, and we require any processors acting on our behalf to protect it appropriately. If you are a customer in the area, you can trust that your personal information will be handled in a lawful and responsible way.