Privacy Policy - Stockwell Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Stockwell Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Stockwell Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who interacts with our services, bookings, quotes, or customer support. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in line with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This policy should be read carefully so 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 regarding your personal data.

1. Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity information such as your name.
Contact information such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details including property access instructions, cleaning requirements, service preferences, and booking history.
Payment information such as payment method details and transaction records, where applicable.
Communication records including enquiries, complaints, feedback, and correspondence relating to your service.
Technical information such as basic website or device data if you contact us electronically, including IP-related logs where necessary for security and system administration.
Marketing preferences where you have chosen to receive or decline promotional messages.

We only collect information that is necessary for our business operations, the services requested, and our legal obligations. We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is provided to us by you and is needed for a specific legitimate purpose, such as access arrangements or safety considerations.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To manage bookings and deliver carpet cleaning services.
To communicate about appointments, service changes, or follow-up matters.
To process payments, issue receipts, and maintain accurate financial records.
To handle customer support, complaints, and aftercare.
To improve our services, operations, and customer experience.
To maintain records for administrative, legal, and tax purposes.
To send marketing communications where permitted by law and where you have provided consent or there is another lawful basis.
To protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected unless we reasonably believe we need to use it for another compatible purpose and the law allows this.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only where we have a valid lawful basis under GDPR. Depending on the circumstance, the lawful bases we rely on may include:

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes, arranging appointments, carrying out carpet cleaning services, and processing payments.

Legal obligation

We may process and retain data to comply with laws and regulations, including accounting, tax, health and safety, and consumer protection obligations.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. This may include improving services, keeping records, preventing fraud, securing systems, and managing customer communications.

Consent

Where required, we rely on your consent, for example for certain types of marketing communication. You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy, including for legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the purpose for which it is held.

Customer service and booking records are generally retained for as long as needed to manage the customer relationship and address follow-up matters.
Payment and transaction records are kept for the period required by tax and financial regulations.
Correspondence and complaint records may be retained for a reasonable period to evidence service handling and resolve disputes.
Marketing records are kept until you opt out, withdraw consent, or we determine the data is no longer needed.

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

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We do not sell personal data. However, we may share personal information with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf or as independent controllers where necessary. These may include:

Payment service providers who process card or electronic payments.
IT and cloud service providers that store, protect, or maintain business records and systems.
Booking, communication, or customer management platforms used to organise appointments and customer interactions.
Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers where necessary for compliance and business administration.
Public authorities or regulators when disclosure is required by law.

Where a processor handles personal data for us, we ensure they are bound by appropriate contractual obligations to keep data secure, use it only for specified purposes, and comply with data protection law. We take reasonable steps to ensure that any third-party service provider offers adequate safeguards.

6. International Transfers

If any of our processors store or access data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place before any transfer occurs. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms recognised under data protection law.

7. Security of Your Data

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff awareness, and limited access to information on a need-to-know basis.

While we take data protection seriously, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. You should also take care when sharing personal information with us, especially by email or other electronic methods.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply subject to certain legal conditions and exemptions:

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 information.
Right to erasure - you can request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction - you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability - you may request your data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to object - you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent - where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in accordance with applicable data protection law. We may need to verify your identity before we can act on your request.

9. Marketing Preferences

If we send you marketing communications, we will do so only where lawful to do so. You can opt out at any time. Where you unsubscribe or object to marketing, we will respect your choice and update our records accordingly. Your choice will not affect the delivery of essential service messages or legal notices.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are directed at adults and household customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children for marketing or service purposes. If we become aware that personal data has been collected inappropriately, we will take steps to delete it where appropriate.

11. Changes to This Policy

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

Stockwell Carpet Cleaners is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data responsibly. By using our services, making enquiries, or engaging with us as a customer in the area, you acknowledge that your data may be processed as described in this policy and in accordance with applicable law. We aim to be clear, limited, and fair in everything we do with your personal information.