Privacy Policy - Westcombe Park Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Westcombe Park Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data relating to all Westcombe Park Carpet Cleaners customers in the area. It applies whenever you request a quotation, make a booking, receive services, communicate with us, or otherwise interact with us in connection with carpet cleaning and related services.

1. Who We Are

Westcombe Park Carpet Cleaners is the controller of the personal data described in this policy. This means we decide how and why your personal information is processed. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, transparent, and secure way in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity information: your name, title, and any relevant property or household details you provide.
Contact information: your address, email address, telephone number, and preferred communication method.
Service information: details about the cleaning services you request, the date of service, access instructions, and notes about the areas to be cleaned.
Payment information: limited billing and transaction information necessary to process payments or issue invoices.
Communication records: emails, messages, call notes, complaints, service feedback, and other correspondence.
Technical data: basic website or device information if you contact us through digital channels, such as IP address or browser type, where applicable.

We generally do not seek to collect special category data. If you voluntarily provide such information, for example in relation to allergies or health-related access needs, we will only process it where necessary and with appropriate safeguards.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data directly from you when you:

request a quote or booking;
provide service instructions or property access details;
make payment or request an invoice;
contact us by phone, message, or email;
leave feedback or make a complaint.

We may also receive data from third parties where necessary to perform our services, such as payment providers, business partners, referral sources, or property managers acting on your behalf.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We only process personal data where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the context, we rely on the following bases:

Contract: to provide quotes, manage bookings, deliver cleaning services, process payments, and fulfil our obligations to you.
Legitimate interests: to manage our business, respond to enquiries, improve service quality, keep accurate records, and protect against fraud or misuse.
Legal obligation: to comply with tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements.
Consent: where required, such as for certain marketing communications or for processing optional information you choose to provide.

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

5. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data to:

respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
schedule and deliver carpet cleaning services;
manage payments, billing, and receipts;
maintain service records and customer history;
handle complaints, disputes, and service follow-up;
comply with legal and regulatory duties;
send administrative updates connected with services you have requested;
improve our operations, staff training, and service standards.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected, unless we have a lawful basis to do so.

6. Processors and Third Parties

We may share personal data with trusted processors and service providers who help us operate our business. These parties only process data on our instructions and are required to protect it appropriately. They may include:

payment processing providers;
booking or scheduling software providers;
cloud storage and IT support providers;
accounting and bookkeeping services;
customer communication tools;
professional advisers such as legal or tax advisers;
subcontractors or field staff assisting with service delivery, where necessary.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law, to respond to lawful requests from public authorities, or to protect our rights, customers, staff, or property.

7. International Transfers

Where any processor stores or accesses data outside the United Kingdom, we will take steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms required by applicable data protection law.

8. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, or reporting obligations. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the purpose of processing.

As a general approach:

customer and service records are retained for as long as needed to manage the relationship and address any follow-up issues;
billing and tax records are retained for the period required by law;
complaints and correspondence may be kept for a reasonable period to support service management and legal defence;
marketing data is retained until you withdraw consent or object, where applicable.

When personal data is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise disposed of in a safe and lawful manner.

9. Data Security

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

However, no method of transmission or storage is entirely secure. While we work to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. Subject to legal limits, these include:

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

You are also entitled to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data rights have been infringed. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so we can try to resolve them promptly.

11. Marketing Communications

If we send marketing communications, we will do so only where we are permitted to, such as with your consent or where another lawful basis applies. You can object to direct marketing at any time, and we will stop sending such communications once your request is processed.

12. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and household customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children in an intentional or routine way. If we become aware that we have received such data without appropriate authorisation, we will take reasonable steps to delete it or otherwise handle it lawfully.

13. Changes to This Privacy 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 made available. We encourage customers in the area to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how their data is protected.

14. Summary of Our Commitment

Westcombe Park Carpet Cleaners is committed to respecting privacy and handling customer data responsibly. We collect only the information necessary to provide and manage our services, use it only for clear and lawful purposes, keep it no longer than needed, and share it only with carefully selected processors or where required by law. All customers in the area are covered by this policy, and we aim to ensure your personal data is treated with care, transparency, and compliance.