Privacy Policy - Petersham Carpet Cleaners

Effective date: This Privacy Policy applies to all Petersham Carpet Cleaners customers in the area and explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data when providing our carpet cleaning and related services.

1. Introduction

Petersham Carpet Cleaners is 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 Privacy Policy sets out what information we collect, why we collect it, the lawful bases we rely on, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and the rights individuals have over their personal data.

We understand that privacy matters. We only collect personal data that is necessary to provide our services, manage our business operations, meet legal obligations, and improve the quality of our work. We will never use your information in a way that is incompatible with the purposes described in this policy.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with us and which services you request. The information we collect may include:

Identity information: name, title, and other identifiers provided when booking or enquiring about services.
Contact details: address, email address, telephone number, and any preferred communication method.
Service details: information about the cleaning services requested, property access details, carpet or fabric type, and relevant instructions.
Payment and billing information: transaction records, invoice details, and payment confirmation information. We do not store card details unless a secure payment provider specifically processes them.
Correspondence: messages, queries, complaints, feedback, and notes from communications with us.
Technical and usage data: limited information about how you interact with our digital systems, if applicable, such as device or browser information for website security and performance.
Records of consent: where we rely on consent, we keep a record of when and how consent was given.

We generally collect personal data directly from you. In some cases, information may be provided by a landlord, letting agent, property manager, insurer, or another person arranging services on your behalf. We may also receive information from payment processors, business partners, or public sources where appropriate and lawful.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide cleaning services and manage bookings.
To prepare quotations, issue invoices, and handle payments.
To communicate with you about appointments, service changes, or customer support matters.
To respond to requests, questions, complaints, or claims.
To maintain internal records and manage our business effectively.
To improve service quality, train staff, and assess customer satisfaction.
To comply with legal, accounting, tax, and regulatory obligations.
To protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud, misuse, or security risks.

We do not use personal data for purposes that are unlawful or unnecessarily intrusive.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Petersham Carpet Cleaners relies on one or more of the following bases depending on the situation:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging a booking, delivering the cleaning service, sending invoices, and managing related customer care.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where required to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, consumer protection, and record-keeping requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing customer relationships, preventing fraud, improving services, and maintaining internal records.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you have asked to receive certain non-essential communications. Where consent is used, it can be withdrawn at any time, and withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

5. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf or, in some cases, as independent controllers. These parties are only allowed to process data for specified purposes and must keep it secure. They may include:

Payment service providers: to handle secure payment transactions.
IT and cloud service providers: to store data, maintain systems, and support security and backup functions.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers: to manage financial records, invoicing, and compliance.
Customer management or communication tools: to organise bookings and service communications.
Professional advisers: such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where necessary.
Subcontractors or service partners: where needed to complete the service you requested.

We require processors to act only on our instructions, implement appropriate security measures, and comply with applicable data protection laws. We do not sell personal data.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, court order, regulatory authority, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Petersham Carpet Cleaners, our customers, staff, or others.

6. International Transfers

If any personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms required under UK GDPR.

7. Data Retention

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

Customer booking and service records are generally kept for a period necessary to manage the customer relationship and deal with any follow-up matters.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law.
Complaint, dispute, or claim-related records may be kept for a longer period where necessary to defend or establish legal rights.
Data collected with consent is retained until consent is withdrawn or the information is no longer needed for the stated purpose.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or otherwise dispose of it in a safe manner.

8. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality requirements, and regular review of our data handling practices.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work hard to reduce risk and maintain strong protection standards.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

Right of access: to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure: to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction: to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object: to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: to receive certain information in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your personal data has been misused. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so we can address them promptly and fairly.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adult customers and property-related contacts. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidentally included in service records and is necessary for service delivery or legal compliance. If we become aware that we have collected children’s data without a lawful basis, 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 services, legal requirements, or data protection practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we process personal data.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Petersham Carpet Cleaners is committed to treating your personal data with care, respect, and transparency. We only collect what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, retain it for appropriate periods, and share it only with trusted processors or where required by law. We also support your data protection rights and aim to respond to any concerns responsibly and promptly.

This policy applies to all Petersham Carpet Cleaners customers in area. By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable data protection laws.