Privacy Policy - Aldborough Hatch Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Aldborough Hatch Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Aldborough Hatch Carpet Cleaners customers in area, including individuals who request services, receive quotations, make bookings, or otherwise interact with us in connection with our carpet cleaning and related services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to customers, prospective customers, and any other individuals whose personal data we process in relation to our services in the Aldborough Hatch area. It also applies where personal data is provided by a third party, such as a landlord, tenant, property manager, or family member arranging services on someone else’s behalf.

By using our services or providing personal data to us, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

2. Information we collect

We collect only the personal data that is necessary for the operation of our business and the performance of our services. The types of information we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your address, telephone number, and email address.
Service details such as the type of cleaning requested, property access instructions, appointment preferences, and notes relevant to the job.
Billing and transaction information such as payment status, invoices, and records of services provided.
Communications such as messages, complaints, feedback, and customer service records.
Technical data where relevant, such as limited information collected through email or website interactions, if applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and lawful to do so. Special category data includes information about health, religion, ethnicity, political views, and similar sensitive information. If such information is ever provided to us, we will only process it where a lawful basis exists and where appropriate additional safeguards are in place.

3. How we use your personal data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotes and manage bookings.
To carry out carpet cleaning and related services.
To communicate with customers about appointments, service updates, and aftercare.
To issue invoices, process payments, and maintain records.
To respond to enquiries, complaints, and feedback.
To improve our services, operations, and customer experience.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
To protect our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We only use personal data where there is a valid legal reason to do so.

4. Lawful basis for processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process your personal data where it is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes providing quotations, arranging services, completing cleaning work, and managing customer accounts or service arrangements.

Legal obligation

We process personal data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, consumer protection, and other lawful requirements.

Legitimate interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided that those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include maintaining business records, managing customer communications, improving service quality, preventing fraud, and protecting our operations.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is appropriate to do so for certain marketing activities or optional communications. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Sharing your personal data

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this policy. These third parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place before any data sharing takes place.

Examples of recipients may include:

Payment providers who process transactions securely.
Accounting and bookkeeping services that help us meet financial and tax obligations.
IT and cloud storage providers that support our record management and communications.
Customer management software providers used to organise bookings and service records.
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where necessary.
Public authorities where required by law or to protect rights, safety, or security.

We do not sell personal data. We also do not share more information than is necessary for the relevant purpose.

6. Processors and data protection safeguards

Where we use third-party service providers to process personal data on our behalf, they act as data processors. We require them to process personal data only on our instructions and to implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures. This includes measures designed to protect against accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

Our processors may only use the data they receive for the services they provide to us and must not use it for their own purposes unless they are acting as an independent controller under their own legal obligations.

We regularly review our processors and service providers to help ensure that they remain suitable, secure, and compliant.

7. 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. The exact retention period depends on the type of information and the purpose for which it was collected.

In general, we may retain:

Customer and service records for a reasonable period after the service has been completed.
Financial and tax records for the period required by law.
Correspondence and complaint records for as long as needed to resolve issues and maintain business records.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or destroy it.

8. Data security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or disclosure. These measures are designed to reflect the nature of the data we hold and the risks associated with processing it. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection that is appropriate to the sensitivity of the information we process.

9. Your rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These may 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 circumstances, you can request that we delete your personal data.
Right to restriction - in certain circumstances, you can ask us to limit how we use your data.
Right to object - you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability - in some cases, you may request that we provide your data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent - where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions or limitations. If you exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding.

10. International transfers

If any personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that it is protected to a standard equivalent to UK data protection requirements. This may include using approved contractual safeguards or relying on countries or providers that offer an adequate level of protection.

11. Marketing communications

We will only send marketing communications where we are permitted to do so under applicable law. If we rely on consent, you may opt out at any time. If we rely on legitimate interests where permitted, you may still object to direct marketing at any time, and we will stop such communications.

12. Changes to this Privacy 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 changes will take effect when published in the revised policy. We encourage customers to review this page periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

13. Summary of our commitment

We respect privacy and are committed to responsible data handling. We process personal data only when necessary, keep it secure, share it carefully, and retain it only for as long as required. Our approach is based on transparency, accountability, and respect for the rights of every customer in the Aldborough Hatch area.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Aldborough Hatch Carpet Cleaners customers in area.