Privacy Policy - Acton Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Acton Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data relating to our customers and prospective customers. It applies to all Acton Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including individuals who enquire about, book, receive, or pay for our carpet cleaning services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Important: This policy describes our data protection practices for service users and does not form part of any service agreement. By using our services, you acknowledge that we may process your personal data as described below.

1. Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for providing our carpet cleaning services, managing customer relationships, maintaining records, and meeting legal or regulatory obligations. The type of information we collect may include:

Identity information: your name and, where relevant, the name of an authorised representative.
Contact information: address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details: property access instructions, service preferences, stain or fabric information, and appointment notes.
Payment information: billing details and records of transactions, though we do not ordinarily store full card details ourselves.
Communication records: messages, complaints, feedback, booking requests, and service confirmations.
Technical information: limited website or device data if you contact us through digital channels, such as IP address or browser type, where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it and it is strictly necessary for a service-related reason. For example, you may tell us about allergies, mobility needs, or access requirements. When such information is shared, we treat it with additional care and only process it where appropriate and lawful.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
to schedule, confirm, and deliver cleaning services;
to manage invoices, payments, and account records;
to keep service history and quality assurance records;
to deal with complaints, queries, or follow-up requests;
to comply with tax, accounting, insurance, and legal obligations;
to protect against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity;
to improve our services, processes, and customer experience;
to send service-related communications that are necessary to fulfil your booking or contract.

We will not use your personal data for unrelated purposes without informing you and ensuring there is a valid legal basis.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Acton Carpet Cleaners relies on the following lawful bases, depending on the purpose of processing:

Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract or to perform our cleaning services under a contract. This includes processing your contact details, service address, booking information, and payment-related data.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain records to meet legal obligations, including tax compliance, accounting requirements, insurance documentation, and responses to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include maintaining service records, preventing fraud, improving service quality, and handling disputes. We always assess whether our interests are appropriate and proportionate.

Consent

Where required, we will rely on your consent. This may apply in limited situations, such as when we process optional information that is not necessary for our contract or when we use certain forms of marketing communication. You may withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

We do not rely on consent where another lawful basis is more suitable or more reliable for the purpose of processing.

4. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who assist us in running our business. These parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We only share data where necessary and only with organisations that provide appropriate data protection safeguards.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

Payment service providers that process transactions securely on our behalf;
Booking and administrative systems used to manage appointments and customer records;
IT support and cloud storage providers that help us store and protect data;
Accountants or payroll providers where necessary for legal and financial compliance;
Professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, or auditors where required;
Waste disposal or operational partners only where needed to complete a service safely and lawfully.

All processors are required to handle personal data securely, use it only according to our instructions, and comply with data protection obligations. We do not sell personal data.

If data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as an adequacy decision or approved contractual protections.

5. Data Retention

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

Customer booking and service records are typically retained for a reasonable period to manage follow-up queries, disputes, and service history.
Financial and tax records are kept for the period required by law.
Correspondence and complaint records may be retained for a period necessary to demonstrate how an issue was handled.
Consent-based records are retained only for as long as the consent remains valid or until the data is no longer needed.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in accordance with our retention practices. We regularly review the data we hold to ensure it is not kept longer than necessary.

6. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff confidentiality obligations, and limited data access on a need-to-know basis.

Although we take reasonable steps to protect information, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. If we become aware of a personal data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will take appropriate action in line with legal requirements.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to certain conditions and exemptions. They 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: 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 object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: you can ask for certain data to be provided in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond within the time limits set by law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults arranging carpet cleaning services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected data relating to a child without appropriate authority, we will take steps to delete or safeguard it as required.

9. Changes to This Policy

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

10. Complaints and Further Information

If you have concerns about how your personal data is handled, you should contact us through our usual customer service channels so we can review the matter. You also have the right to raise a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

Summary of our commitment: Acton Carpet Cleaners processes personal data lawfully, fairly, and securely, uses it only for legitimate service-related purposes, retains it only as long as necessary, and respects your rights under data protection law.