Privacy Policy - Streatham Carpet Cleaners

Last updated: This Privacy Policy explains how Streatham Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Streatham Carpet Cleaners customers in the Streatham area and surrounding service area, including anyone who requests a quotation, books a service, receives a service, or otherwise interacts with us.

We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Streatham Carpet Cleaners provides carpet cleaning and related cleaning services to residential and commercial customers. For the purposes of data protection law, we are the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal information.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect data that is necessary for our business operations and service delivery. Depending on your interaction with us, we may collect the following categories of personal data:

Identity information: name, title, and any details you provide when requesting a service.
Contact information: address, email address, telephone number, and service location details.
Service information: details about the type of cleaning requested, property access requirements, preferred dates and times, and special instructions.
Payment information: transaction details, billing records, and limited payment-related information necessary to process and confirm payments. We do not store unnecessary financial information.
Communication data: messages, enquiry records, complaints, feedback, and notes from phone calls or emails.
Technical data: basic device or usage information collected if you interact with our digital systems, such as IP address or browser data, where applicable.
Marketing preferences: choices about whether you wish to receive updates, offers, or service-related communications.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you provide it to us for a specific reason and it is necessary to perform the service or meet a legal obligation. Please avoid sharing sensitive information unless it is required.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We may collect personal information directly from you when you:

request a quote or make an enquiry;
book or reschedule a cleaning service;
communicate with us by phone, email, text, or other channels;
submit feedback, reviews, or complaints;
pay for services or request an invoice;
use our website or other online forms, where applicable.

We may also receive information from third parties where necessary, such as payment processors, referral partners, property managers, or sub-contractors involved in service delivery. Any third-party information is handled in line with this policy and applicable law.

4. Why We Use Your Data

We use personal data only for legitimate business and legal purposes, including:

providing quotations and responding to enquiries;
booking, managing, and completing cleaning services;
confirming appointments and service changes;
processing payments and issuing records or invoices;
handling complaints, disputes, and customer support;
maintaining business records and service history;
meeting legal, accounting, tax, and regulatory obligations;
improving our services, operations, and customer experience;
sending service-related updates and, where permitted, marketing communications.

We will never use your data in a way that is incompatible with the original purpose for which it was collected unless we have a valid legal basis to do so.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. The lawful bases we rely on are:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes handling quotations, booking services, carrying out cleaning work, processing payments, and managing service communications.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where necessary to comply with legal requirements, such as tax, accounting, record-keeping, or responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process 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, preventing fraud, improving services, and maintaining business records.

Consent

Where required, we rely on your consent, for example for certain marketing communications or optional data uses. You can withdraw consent at any time, and this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

6. How We Share Personal Data

We may share your personal data only when necessary and with appropriate safeguards in place. This may include sharing with:

Payment processors to handle transactions securely;
IT and cloud service providers that store or support our systems;
Accountants and professional advisers for financial, tax, or legal support;
Sub-contractors or cleaning staff involved in delivering your service;
Business software providers used for scheduling, record management, or communications;
Regulatory, legal, or public authorities where disclosure is required by law.

We do not sell your personal data. Any processor we use is required to act only on our instructions, keep data secure, and comply with data protection requirements.

7. Data Processors

When we use third-party service providers to process personal data on our behalf, they act as data processors. We ensure that appropriate contracts are in place and that processors only use data for the agreed purposes. Typical processor responsibilities may include secure hosting, payment handling, email delivery, bookkeeping support, and customer management software.

We take care to select processors that provide sufficient guarantees regarding technical and organisational security measures. Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that adequate safeguards are in place in accordance with applicable law.

8. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including meeting legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods can vary depending on the type of record and the purpose for which it is held.

Customer and service records: retained for the period needed to manage the relationship and handle any follow-up queries or disputes.
Financial and tax records: retained for the legally required period under accounting and tax law.
Communication records: retained as needed to deal with complaints, support requests, or business continuity.
Marketing preferences: retained until you change your preferences or withdraw consent.

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or otherwise dispose of it.

9. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, password protection, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and restricted access to records.

While we take reasonable steps to protect your data, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We therefore encourage you to contact us promptly if you believe any information has been shared incorrectly or compromised.

10. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and legal basis for processing:

Right of access: you can request 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: you can ask us to delete your data in certain situations.
Right to restrict processing: you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: you can request certain data in a structured, commonly used format where technically feasible.
Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

Please note: some rights are subject to legal exceptions and may not apply in every situation. If you wish to exercise any of your rights, we will respond in line with applicable data protection law.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children in the ordinary course of our business. If we become aware that such data has been collected inadvertently, we will take appropriate steps to delete it where required.

12. Changes to This Policy

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

13. Complaints and Further Information

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, you should first raise the issue with us so we can review and address it. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your rights have been infringed.

This Privacy Policy is designed to provide clear, lawful, and transparent information to customers of Streatham Carpet Cleaners in the area we serve. By using our services, you acknowledge that your information may be processed in accordance with this policy and the requirements of applicable data protection law.