Privacy Policy - South Harrow Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how South Harrow Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing services to customers in South Harrow and the surrounding area. It applies to all South Harrow Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including private households, landlords, letting agents, and business customers who use our carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, rug cleaning, stain treatment, deodorising, and related services.

We are committed to handling personal data fairly, lawfully, and transparently in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy is written to help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and what rights you have over your data.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the data that is needed to manage enquiries, provide services, administer customer accounts, and comply with our legal obligations. The personal data we may collect includes:

Identity details such as your name, title, and, where relevant, business or household name.
Contact details such as address, telephone number, and email address.
Service information including the type of cleaning requested, property details, access instructions, dates of service, and notes related to the job.
Billing and payment details such as invoice records, payment confirmations, and transaction references. We do not retain full card details where payments are processed securely by a payment provider.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, complaint records, feedback, and service updates.
Technical information where you visit any online booking or enquiry systems, such as device type, browser data, and basic usage information. This is used only where necessary for security, functionality, or analytics.
Special instructions that you voluntarily provide, such as allergy concerns, parking instructions, access arrangements, or special care notes for delicate materials.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it to us and it is necessary for the service or complaint handling. If such information is shared, we handle it with additional care and only where lawful to do so.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To schedule, deliver, and manage cleaning services.
To communicate with you about appointments, access, service changes, or follow-up matters.
To issue invoices, process payments, and maintain financial records.
To deal with complaints, disputes, and service improvements.
To maintain internal records and manage our business operations.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
To protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We only use your data for the purposes described in this policy unless we reasonably believe another compatible purpose applies or we are required by law to do otherwise.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. South Harrow Carpet Cleaners relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes managing enquiries, providing quotes, booking appointments, delivering services, and handling payment administration.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided that those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include business record keeping, service improvement, responding to complaints, preventing fraud, and maintaining the security of our systems and operations.

Legal Obligation

We process certain data because we are required to do so by law, such as retaining tax and accounting records, responding to lawful requests from authorities, or maintaining records needed to comply with health, safety, or consumer law requirements.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily provide optional information that is not necessary for the service. When consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time, although this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share it only when necessary for business operations, service delivery, legal compliance, or protection of our rights and customers. Where third parties process data on our behalf, they act as processors and are required to protect the information they handle.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

Booking and scheduling tools used to manage appointments and service diaries.
Payment processing providers used to handle card or online payments securely.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers used for invoicing, tax records, and financial administration.
IT and data storage providers used to host emails, files, or business systems.
Customer communication services used to send appointment reminders, service updates, or administrative messages.
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers, where necessary.

We may also disclose data to law enforcement, regulators, courts, or other authorities where legally required. If a business transfer, restructuring, or similar event occurs, personal data may be transferred as part of that process, subject to appropriate safeguards.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including meeting legal, accounting, and reporting obligations. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the context in which it was provided.

In general:

Customer and service records are retained for the time needed to manage the business relationship and address any follow-up issues.
Invoice, payment, and tax records are retained for the periods required by law and standard accounting practice.
Complaint and correspondence records may be retained for longer where necessary to resolve disputes or demonstrate compliance.
Marketing preferences are retained until you withdraw consent or object, where applicable.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely, anonymise it, or archive it so that it is no longer actively used.

6. Data Security

We take 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, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful selection of trusted processors.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we regularly review our practices to reduce risk and protect the information entrusted to us.

7. Your Rights

You have a number of rights under data protection law. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and legal basis for processing.

Right of access – you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – in certain cases, you may ask us to delete your data.
Right to restriction – you may ask us to limit how we use your data in specific circumstances.
Right to object – you may object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing where applicable.
Right to data portability – where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you may request your data in a usable format.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise a right, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We will handle requests within the time limits required by law and may refuse or limit a request where an exemption applies.

8. Cookies and Online Data

If we use online forms or booking tools, limited technical data may be collected to keep the service secure and functional. Where cookies or similar technologies are used, they are typically necessary for operation, performance, or basic analytics. You can manage browser settings to restrict cookies, although this may affect functionality.

9. International Transfers

Where any processor stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will ensure that suitable safeguards are in place in accordance with data protection law. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, contractual protections, or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service arrangements. 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 their data is used.

11. Summary of Our Approach

In summary, South Harrow Carpet Cleaners only collects personal data that is necessary for service delivery, administration, and compliance. We process it on lawful bases including contract, legitimate interests, legal obligation, and, where appropriate, consent. We retain information only for as long as needed, use trusted processors under appropriate safeguards, and respect your rights to access, correct, restrict, or object to how your data is handled.

This policy applies to all South Harrow Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, and it is designed to ensure that your personal information is treated with care, transparency, and respect.