Privacy Policy - Camden Town Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Camden Town Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related cleaning services. It applies to all Camden Town Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including residential and commercial clients who request, receive, or enquire about our 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. We only collect and use personal data where we have a valid legal basis and only for purposes that are necessary for delivering our services, managing our business, and meeting our legal obligations.

1. Who We Are

Camden Town Carpet Cleaners acts as the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means we determine why and how your personal data is processed when you use our services or interact with us.

We take data protection seriously and aim to keep your information accurate, secure, and limited to what is relevant and necessary. If we engage third parties to process data on our behalf, they act as processors and are required to follow our instructions and applicable data protection law.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data needed to provide our services, respond to requests, and operate efficiently. Depending on your interaction with us, this may include:

Identity data such as your name and, where relevant, business name.
Contact data such as email address, telephone number, and service address.
Service information such as the type of cleaning requested, preferred appointment times, access details, and notes relevant to the job.
Billing and transaction data such as invoice details, payment status, and records of payments made.
Communication data such as messages, enquiries, complaints, or feedback you send to us.
Technical data if you contact us through digital systems, which may include basic device or usage information collected for security and troubleshooting purposes.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it voluntarily or there is another lawful basis to do so. If such data is ever provided incidentally, we will handle it with extra care and only where permitted by law.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To schedule, deliver, and manage carpet cleaning and related services.
To communicate about appointments, changes, follow-ups, or service issues.
To issue invoices and process payments.
To maintain business records and service history.
To handle complaints, disputes, and customer support matters.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
To improve our services, systems, and customer experience.
To prevent fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access to our systems.

We will only use your personal data in ways that are compatible with the purposes described in this Policy unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another legitimate purpose and that purpose is permitted by law.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. Our main lawful bases are:

Contract

We use personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging cleaning appointments, providing quotes, completing the cleaning service, and managing payment-related tasks.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include maintaining records, improving services, answering customer queries, safeguarding our operations, and protecting against fraud or misuse.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where required to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, or regulatory requirements.

Consent

Where required, we will rely on your consent. If we ask for consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to run our business and deliver services. These third parties act as processors when they process data on our behalf and under our instructions. They are required to protect your data and use it only for the agreed purpose.

Processors may include:

Payment service providers that help process transactions securely.
IT and cloud service providers that host systems, store records, or support communications.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that assist with invoices, financial records, and tax compliance.
Customer management or scheduling tools used to organise appointments and service records.
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where necessary.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, court order, or other lawful request from a public authority. Where possible and appropriate, we will ensure that any recipient only receives the minimum amount of data necessary.

6. International Transfers

If any processor or service provider stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will take appropriate safeguards to protect your information. These safeguards may include approved contractual clauses or other legally recognised transfer mechanisms. We ensure that overseas transfers are only made where an adequate level of protection is in place.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, tax, and operational requirements. The retention period may vary depending on the type of data and the reason it was collected.

In general:

Customer service records are kept for a reasonable period to manage repeat bookings, service issues, and business continuity.
Invoice and accounting records are kept for the periods required by law.
Communication records may be retained for as long as needed to resolve queries or maintain an accurate history of service interactions.
Information collected for legal claims or disputes may be retained longer where necessary.

When personal data is no longer needed, 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, accidental loss, destruction, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful selection of processors.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work hard to protect your information and to reduce risks wherever possible. We also limit access to personal data to people who need it to perform their duties.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights regarding your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the 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 data.
Right to erasure – in some cases, you can ask us to delete your data.
Right to restriction – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests.
Right to data portability – in some cases, you can request your data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing relies on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to raise concerns with the UK data protection supervisory authority if you believe your data has been handled improperly. We encourage you to contact us first so we can address your concerns promptly and fairly.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with a service request and is provided lawfully by an adult responsible for the booking or property. If we become aware that we have collected information from a child without proper authority, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal obligations, or service arrangements. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this Policy periodically to remain informed about how we protect personal data.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Camden Town Carpet Cleaners is committed to processing personal data responsibly, securely, and only when necessary. We keep data collection limited, identify a lawful basis for each processing activity, retain information only as long as needed, use trusted processors under appropriate safeguards, and respect your rights under data protection law. Our approach is designed to ensure that your information is handled with care, transparency, and accountability at every stage.