Privacy Policy - Tulse Hill Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Tulse Hill Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Tulse Hill Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including private households, landlords, tenants, and commercial clients who use our carpet cleaning and related services. We are committed to handling personal information lawfully, fairly, and transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Tulse Hill Carpet Cleaners provides carpet cleaning and associated property cleaning services in Tulse Hill and the surrounding area. In providing these services, we act as a data controller for personal information that we collect and determine how it is used. This means we are responsible for making sure your personal data is processed in a way that complies with data protection law.

2. Information We Collect

We collect only the personal data necessary to arrange, deliver, manage, and improve our services. The types of information we may collect include:

Identity details: your name and, where relevant, business or household name.
Contact details: address, telephone number, and email address.
Service information: details of the cleaning service requested, property access notes, preferred appointment times, and any special instructions.
Payment and billing information: records of payments, invoices, and transaction history.
Communication records: correspondence with us by phone, email, text message, or other communication channels.
Technical information: limited website or device data if you interact with any online booking or enquiry system we use, such as IP address, browser type, and session details.
Service-related notes: observations necessary to carry out the work safely and effectively, such as carpet condition, staining, flooring type, or access requirements.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and you provide it voluntarily, for example where it is relevant to access arrangements or a safety issue. If we ever need to process sensitive information, we will do so only when permitted by law and with appropriate safeguards.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for legitimate business purposes connected to our services. This includes:

responding to enquiries and providing quotations;
booking and managing appointments;
delivering carpet cleaning and related services;
processing payments, issuing invoices, and maintaining financial records;
communicating with you about your booking, arrival times, or service changes;
keeping records of services supplied and customer preferences;
handling complaints, claims, or disputes;
meeting legal, accounting, and tax obligations;
protecting against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity;
improving our service quality and customer experience.

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 such use is permitted under data protection law.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, carrying out cleaning services, sending confirmations, and processing payments.

Legal obligation

We may process data to comply with our legal obligations, such as maintaining tax records, accounting documents, and other information required by law.

Legitimate interests

We may process your data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. Examples include managing our customer relationships, improving services, safeguarding our business, and keeping internal records. When we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the impact on your rights and ensure that the processing is proportionate.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example if we send certain types of marketing communication that are not covered by another lawful basis. If we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. How We Share Personal Data

We do not sell your personal information. We may share it with trusted third parties only when necessary to provide our services, run our business, or comply with the law. These parties may include:

Payment providers who process card or bank transactions;
Accounting and bookkeeping services that help us manage our financial records;
IT and system providers that support our booking, communication, or storage systems;
Professional advisers such as lawyers, insurers, or auditors where needed;
Authorities or regulators where disclosure is required by law or to protect our rights.

Where processors are used, they are only allowed to process personal data on our instructions and must keep it secure. We take reasonable steps to ensure that any third party processing your data does so in compliance with data protection law and uses appropriate technical and organisational measures.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including for legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the reason it is held.

Customer service records are generally retained for the length of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to manage follow-up issues or disputes.
Financial and tax records are kept for the period required by law.
Communication records may be retained for evidence of instructions, complaints, or service history.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it where appropriate. If data is archived, it will be kept in a restricted and secure format.

7. Data Security

We take data security seriously and use appropriate safeguards to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or alteration. These safeguards may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff awareness measures, and restricted use of third-party systems. While no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, we work to maintain a level of security appropriate to the risks involved.

8. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that suitable legal safeguards are in place. This may include using service providers located in jurisdictions with an adequate level of protection or relying on approved contractual mechanisms designed to protect your data.

9. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have a number of rights under data protection law. These rights may be subject to conditions or exemptions, but we will always consider your request carefully. 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 information.
Right to erasure: in certain cases, you can ask us to delete your personal data.
Right to restriction: you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability: you can ask for your data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests, and in some cases to 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 data protection law and within the relevant time limits. We may need to verify your identity before actioning your request.

10. Marketing Preferences

We only send marketing communications where permitted by law. If you choose to receive promotional updates, you may opt out at any time. Where required, we will obtain your consent before sending marketing by electronic means. If you opt out, we will still send essential service communications relating to bookings, payments, or legal notices.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and businesses. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children in the ordinary course of our work. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected such data, we will take reasonable steps to delete it unless there is a lawful reason to retain it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

13. Summary of Our Commitments

Tulse Hill Carpet Cleaners is committed to processing personal information fairly, securely, and only where there is a lawful reason to do so. We collect the information needed to provide our services, retain it only for as long as necessary, share it only with trusted processors when required, and respect your rights under data protection law. This policy applies to all customers in the Tulse Hill area who use our services.