Privacy Policy - Hanworth Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Hanworth Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related cleaning services. It applies to all Hanworth Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including residential and commercial clients, and to anyone who interacts with us in relation to a booking, quotation, service visit, or aftercare request.

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. This policy is intended to help customers understand what data we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and what rights individuals have regarding their information.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the personal data necessary to provide our services, manage our business, and meet legal obligations. The information we may collect includes:

Identity details such as name and title.
Contact details such as telephone number, email address, and service address.
Booking and service information such as appointment dates, property access details, service preferences, stain or fabric notes, and cleaning instructions.
Payment-related information such as transaction details, billing records, and payment confirmations.
Communication records such as emails, messages, call notes, complaints, and feedback.
Technical data if you contact us electronically, such as limited device or usage information that may be collected by email or booking systems.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is voluntarily disclosed and strictly necessary for service delivery, such as access requirements or household circumstances that affect cleaning arrangements. Where such data is shared, we treat it with additional care and only use it where a lawful basis applies.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations, arrange bookings, and deliver carpet cleaning services.
To communicate about appointments, service changes, and follow-up matters.
To process payments and maintain accurate financial records.
To respond to queries, complaints, and requests for support.
To keep records of services provided and manage customer relationships.
To improve our services, customer experience, and operational planning.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations.
To protect our business against fraud, misuse, or legal claims.

We will only use your information for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably believe that another compatible purpose is required or permitted by law.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. Hanworth Carpet Cleaners relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes handling bookings, service delivery, communication about your appointment, and payment administration.

Legal Obligation

We process certain data to comply with legal requirements, including accounting rules, tax law, record-keeping obligations, and any lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing our customer relationships, maintaining service records, improving our operations, preventing fraud, and defending legal claims.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, particularly for optional communications or certain forms of data use that are not covered by another lawful basis. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal will not affect processing that has already taken place lawfully.

4. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties that support our operations. These organisations act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We require appropriate contractual and security safeguards before sharing data.

Processors and service providers may include:

Payment processors that handle card or electronic payment transactions.
Booking and scheduling systems used to manage appointments and service records.
IT and cloud service providers that store or maintain business data securely.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers that help with invoicing and financial compliance.
Communication service providers that support email, messaging, or customer notifications.
Professional advisers such as insurers, auditors, legal advisers, or tax advisers where required.

We may also disclose personal data where necessary to comply with the law, respond to lawful requests, enforce agreements, or protect the rights, safety, and property of Hanworth Carpet Cleaners, our customers, or others.

Where a processor handles personal data on our behalf, it may only act on our instructions and must apply appropriate technical and organisational security measures. We do not sell personal data.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, insurance, and reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason for holding it.

Customer and booking records are typically retained for as long as needed to manage ongoing services and any related follow-up.
Financial and transaction records are usually kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Communication records may be retained for a reasonable time to manage queries, disputes, or service history.
Complaint or claim-related data may be retained longer where needed to establish, exercise, or defend legal rights.

When personal data is no longer required, it is securely deleted, anonymised, or archived in a manner that prevents unnecessary access. We review retention periodically to ensure we are not keeping data longer than necessary.

6. Data Security

We take reasonable and appropriate measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, and restricted use of personal information within our business.

Although we take security seriously, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Where required by law, we will notify affected individuals and relevant authorities of a personal data breach.

7. User Rights

Individuals have important rights regarding their personal data. Subject to legal limits and verification of identity, you may have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you.
Rectify inaccurate or incomplete information.
Erase your data in certain circumstances.
Restrict processing in certain situations.
Object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Data portability for information you provided to us where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
Withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis.

You also have the right to raise concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data rights have not been respected. We encourage customers to raise concerns with us first so we can try to resolve them promptly.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults acting on their own behalf or on behalf of a property owner, tenant, business, or household. We do not knowingly collect children’s personal data unless it is incidentally included in a booking or service-related communication and is necessary for service delivery. If we become aware that we have collected data unlawfully, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

9. International Transfers

Where any service provider stores or accesses data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with data protection law. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent protections.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect legal, technical, or operational changes. Any updated version will apply to customers in the Hanworth area and will replace previous versions once published or otherwise communicated. We recommend reviewing the policy periodically to stay informed about how we process personal data.

11. Summary of Key Points

Who it applies to: all Hanworth Carpet Cleaners customers in area.
What we collect: identity, contact, booking, payment, and communication data.
Why we use it: service delivery, administration, legal compliance, and legitimate business interests.
Who may process it: payment, IT, booking, accounting, communication, and professional service providers.
How long we keep it: only as long as needed for service, legal, and business purposes.
Your rights: access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection, portability, and consent withdrawal.

Hanworth Carpet Cleaners is committed to respecting privacy and handling personal data responsibly. We aim to keep information limited, accurate, secure, and only used where there is a clear lawful reason to do so.