Carpet Cleaning Swiss Cottage Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Carpet Cleaning Swiss Cottage collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data relating to customers and prospective customers in the Swiss Cottage area. It is intended to be compliant with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and related data protection laws. By using our services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all Carpet Cleaning Swiss Cottage customers and potential customers located in the Swiss Cottage area. It covers personal data collected in connection with our carpet, upholstery, and related cleaning services, whether you contact us by phone, online form, or other means, and whether you are acting as a private individual or on behalf of a business.

Data Controller

Carpet Cleaning Swiss Cottage is the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. As data controller, we decide why and how your personal data is processed, and we are responsible for ensuring that such processing complies with applicable data protection laws.

Personal Data We Collect

We collect and process different categories of personal data depending on how you interact with us and which services you request. This may include:

Identification and contact details: name, address, service address, billing address, and other contact details such as your preferred method of communication.

Booking and service information: details about the services you request, dates and times of appointments, access instructions for your property, and information about the areas or items to be cleaned.

Billing and payment information: details necessary to issue invoices and record payments, such as invoice amounts, payment status, and payment method. Where card payments are processed, these are handled securely by third-party payment processors; we do not store full card details.

Communication data: records of communications with you, including enquiries, complaints, feedback, and any notes relevant to providing our services.

Technical data: limited technical data relating to your use of our website or online forms, such as IP address, browser type, and basic analytics data, where this is necessary for the operation and security of our site.

How We Collect Personal Data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us to request a quote, make a booking, or communicate with us regarding our services. This may be by telephone, through online contact forms, or in person. We may also obtain personal data indirectly where another person arranges a service on your behalf, for example, a landlord, tenant, or managing agent providing your contact or property details so that we can carry out cleaning at the relevant address.

Lawful Bases for Processing

We only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so. Depending on the context, we may rely on the following lawful bases:

Contract: we process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, including taking steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes handling bookings, providing quotes, delivering cleaning services, and managing payments.

Legitimate interests: we process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Legitimate interests include managing and improving our services, maintaining business records, responding to enquiries, and ensuring the security of our systems and staff.

Legal obligation: we process certain personal data to comply with legal obligations, such as keeping appropriate tax and accounting records and complying with requests from regulatory or law enforcement authorities where required by law.

Consent: in limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example, where you choose to receive optional marketing communications. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing that took place before withdrawal.

How We Use Your Personal Data

We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:

To provide services: to process enquiries, issue quotes, confirm bookings, deliver cleaning services at the agreed location, and communicate with you about your appointments.

To manage payments and billing: to prepare and send invoices, record payments, handle refunds if applicable, and maintain financial records.

To communicate with you: to respond to your questions, provide customer support, notify you of changes to appointments or terms, and seek feedback about our services.

To improve and manage our business: to analyse how our services are used, train staff, manage our schedule, and improve the quality and safety of our operations.

To comply with legal and regulatory requirements: to maintain records required by law and respond to lawful requests from public authorities.

Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or for any longer period required by law. In determining retention periods, we take into account the nature of the data, the purpose of processing, and any applicable legal requirements.

Customer and booking records, including basic contact and invoice information, are generally retained for a period consistent with tax and accounting obligations. Communications relating to enquiries, complaints, or feedback may be retained for a period needed to resolve the issue and demonstrate how it was handled. When personal data is no longer required, we take steps to delete or anonymise it in a secure manner.

Data Processors and Third-Party Service Providers

We may share personal data with carefully selected third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These processors only process personal data in accordance with our instructions and for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. They are required to implement appropriate security measures and to protect your personal data.

Such processors may include:

IT and hosting providers who support our website, email, and data storage systems.

Payment processors who handle card and electronic payments on our behalf.

Professional advisers such as accountants for the purpose of maintaining financial records and fulfilling statutory obligations.

Where required by law, we may also disclose personal data to public authorities, regulators, or law enforcement agencies. We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

International Transfers

If any of our service providers or systems involve transferring personal data outside the United Kingdom, we take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include using countries that have been recognised as providing an adequate level of protection, or implementing standard contractual clauses or equivalent measures to protect your data.

Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures include restricting access to personal data to staff and service providers who need it for legitimate business purposes, using secure systems for storing and transmitting information where appropriate, and regularly reviewing our security practices. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under data protection law, you have certain rights in relation to your personal data. These may include:

Right of access: you have the right to request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and to obtain a copy of that data, along with certain related information.

Right to rectification: you have the right to request correction of inaccurate personal data and to have incomplete data completed.

Right to erasure: in certain circumstances, you have the right to request that we delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected or where you withdraw consent.

Right to restriction of processing: you may request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in specific situations, such as while we verify its accuracy or consider an objection you have raised.

Right to object: you have the right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests, on grounds relating to your particular situation. In such cases, we will stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds or the processing is needed for legal claims.

Right to data portability: where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you may have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format and to transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.

Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Exercising Your Rights and Complaints

If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights or have questions about how we handle your personal data, you can contact Carpet Cleaning Swiss Cottage using the contact details provided on our website or other service materials. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. We aim to respond within the time limits set by data protection law.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe that your personal data has been processed in a way that does not comply with the law. We would, however, appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns directly in the first instance.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or the services we offer. Any updated version will be made available through our usual communication channels. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we handle personal data.