Privacy Policy - West Heath Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how West Heath Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all West Heath Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including prospective customers, existing customers, and anyone who interacts with 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.

1. Who We Are

West Heath Carpet Cleaners provides carpet cleaning and related domestic and commercial cleaning services. In the course of providing our services, we may process personal data about customers, property occupiers, and individuals who make enquiries or bookings on behalf of others. We act as a data controller in relation to the personal data we collect and determine the purposes and means of its processing.

2. Information We Collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for the services we provide. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of information:

Identity details such as your name or the name of a business or property contact.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details including booking information, property access notes, job history, preferences, and cleaning requirements.
Payment and billing information such as transaction records and invoicing details.
Communication records including messages, complaints, feedback, and service requests.
Technical information if you contact us electronically, such as basic device or log information.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it voluntarily, or we are otherwise permitted by law to process it. If such information is incidentally disclosed to us, we will only use it where there is a lawful basis to do so.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotes.
To arrange bookings and deliver cleaning services.
To manage customer accounts, service history, and scheduling.
To process payments, issue invoices, and maintain financial records.
To communicate about appointments, service updates, or changes.
To handle complaints, refunds, and customer support requests.
To improve our services, procedures, and customer experience.
To comply with legal, accounting, insurance, and regulatory obligations.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the original reason it was collected unless we have a valid lawful basis and, where required, have informed you.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. West Heath Carpet Cleaners relies on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes booking services, carrying out carpet cleaning, confirming appointments, and managing payments.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where necessary to meet legal obligations, such as maintaining tax records, accounting records, or complying with lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing customer relationships, preventing fraud, improving service quality, and responding to service-related issues. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we carefully consider the potential impact on your privacy.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where we need permission to send certain types of optional marketing communication. If consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties only where necessary and appropriate. These third parties act either as processors or, in some cases, as independent controllers.

Our processors may include:

Payment service providers that process card or online payments.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers that assist with invoicing and financial administration.
IT, hosting, and software providers that support our systems and data storage.
Communication providers that help us send emails, messages, or service notifications.
Contracted service partners where additional support is required to complete a job.

We require processors to protect personal data, act only on our instructions, and comply with applicable data protection law. We do not sell personal data. We may disclose personal data where required by law, to protect our rights, or to prevent fraud or other unlawful activity.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and in line with legal, accounting, and operational requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and the reason for processing.

Customer service and booking records are generally retained for as long as needed to manage the relationship and provide continuity of service.
Invoicing and payment records may be retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Communication records may be retained for a reasonable period to resolve disputes, monitor service quality, and maintain accurate records.
Marketing preference records are retained until you withdraw consent or object, where applicable.

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

7. Data Security

We take the security of personal data seriously and use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it from unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality commitments, and regular review of our handling practices. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to reduce risks and respond appropriately if an incident occurs.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have important rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply in different circumstances and may be subject to legal exceptions. Your rights include:

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 - you can ask us to delete your data where there is no lawful reason for us to keep it.
Right to restrict processing - 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 or direct marketing.
Right to data portability - you can request your data in a structured, commonly used format in some circumstances.
Right to withdraw consent - where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

To exercise your rights, you may make a request in writing using the appropriate channels available to you. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We will aim to respond within the legal timeframe.

9. Marketing Communications

We will only send direct marketing communications where we are permitted to do so under the law. If you have given consent, you may opt out at any time. If we rely on legitimate interests for certain communications, you can object where the law allows. Your preferences will be respected, and we will not knowingly continue to send you material you have opted out of receiving.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are generally aimed at adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is provided in connection with a household service and is necessary for the safe delivery of that service. If we learn that we have collected data from a child without an appropriate lawful basis, we will take steps to delete it where required.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. The most current version will apply to the way we process personal data. We encourage customers to review it periodically so they remain informed about how their information is handled.

12. Complaints and Further Rights

If you are unhappy with how your personal data has been handled, you have the right to raise a concern with the relevant supervisory authority. You may also contact us through the usual service channels to discuss your concerns and seek a resolution. We value privacy and will take complaints seriously.

Summary of our commitment: West Heath Carpet Cleaners processes personal data lawfully, securely, and only for clear business and service purposes. We use appropriate safeguards, retain data responsibly, and respect your rights under data protection law.