Privacy Policy - Ealing Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Ealing Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data belonging to customers and prospective customers in the Ealing area. It applies to all Ealing Carpet Cleaners customers in area, including individuals who enquire about our services, receive quotations, book appointments, or otherwise interact with us in connection with carpet cleaning and related services. 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 information may be processed as described in this policy. We encourage you to read it carefully so that you understand how and why your data is used.

1. Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for the provision and administration of our services. The types of information we may collect include:

Identity information such as your name and title.
Contact information such as your address, telephone number, and email address.
Service details such as property access notes, service preferences, carpet or upholstery cleaning requirements, and appointment history.
Payment information such as partial payment records, invoice details, and transaction confirmations. We do not intentionally store full card details where payment processing is handled by a secure third party.
Communication records such as messages, call notes, complaints, feedback, and service-related correspondence.
Technical information where relevant, such as device or browser data if you interact with digital systems used for booking or enquiries.

We do not knowingly collect special category data unless it is voluntarily provided by you and is necessary for a specific reason, such as access considerations. If such data is shared, we will handle it with additional care and only where a lawful basis allows us to do so.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data only for legitimate business and operational purposes connected to our services. These purposes include:

providing quotations and confirming bookings;
delivering carpet cleaning and related services;
managing appointments, cancellations, and rescheduling;
issuing invoices and recording payments;
responding to queries, complaints, or service requests;
maintaining accurate business records;
meeting legal, tax, and accounting obligations;
preventing fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access;
improving service quality and customer experience.

We will only use your data for the purpose for which it was collected unless we reasonably determine that we need to use it for a compatible purpose. We do not sell personal data.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process your personal 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 providing quotes, booking services, completing cleaning work, and handling billing matters.

Legal obligation

We may process and retain certain information to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, and record-keeping requirements.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing our business efficiently, preventing fraud, keeping service records, and responding to customer enquiries.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example if you choose to receive specific marketing communications or agree to the use of optional information. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

We do not rely on consent where another lawful basis is more appropriate.

4. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected, including any legal, accounting, or reporting obligations. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the nature of the service provided.

In general:

customer service records may be kept for a reasonable period to manage repeat services, disputes, or warranty-related issues;
financial and invoice records may be kept for the period required by law for tax and accounting purposes;
correspondence and complaint records may be retained for as long as needed to resolve issues and demonstrate appropriate handling;
where data is no longer needed, it will be securely deleted or anonymised.

If we determine that retaining certain information is necessary for a legitimate business purpose or legal requirement, we will keep it only for the minimum period necessary. We regularly review the data we hold to ensure it is not retained longer than required.

5. Processors and Third Parties

We may share personal data with trusted third-party processors who help us operate our business and deliver services. These processors act on our instructions and are required to protect your data and use it only for agreed purposes.

Examples of processors may include:

payment processing providers;
accounting or bookkeeping software providers;
appointment scheduling or business administration tools;
IT support, storage, or secure backup services;
professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers;
service partners or subcontractors where necessary to complete a booking or fulfil a customer request.

Where data is shared with third parties, we take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate contractual safeguards and security controls are in place. We do not permit processors to use your information for their own independent purposes.

In limited circumstances, we may also disclose personal data if required by law, court order, or request from a regulatory authority. Any such disclosure will be limited to what is necessary and proportionate.

6. Data Security

We take the security of personal data seriously and use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, restricted permissions, and staff awareness practices.

While no method of data transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection appropriate to the risks associated with the data we process.

7. Your Rights Under GDPR

As a data subject, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal information. Subject to legal restrictions and conditions, these 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 restrict processing - to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability - to request that we provide certain information in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to object - to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent - where processing is based on consent, to withdraw it at any time.

If you exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to respond within the time limits set by law and will explain if any exception applies.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data has been handled unlawfully.

8. Marketing Communications

If we send marketing messages, they will be limited and relevant. Where required, we will ask for your consent before sending such communications. You can opt out of marketing at any time. Service-related messages, such as booking confirmations or important updates, are not marketing and may still be sent where necessary to fulfil our services.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or service arrangements. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically so you remain informed about how your data is handled.

10. Summary of Our Commitment

We are committed to respecting your privacy and handling personal data responsibly. Our approach is based on minimising the information we collect, using it only for clear and lawful purposes, keeping it secure, and retaining it only for as long as necessary. This policy is intended to be clear, fair, and consistent with the rights of all customers in the Ealing area who use our services.

Last updated: Current as of publication.