Privacy Policy - Canning Town Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Canning Town Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related cleaning services to customers in the Canning Town area. It applies to all Canning Town Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including household, rental, and commercial customers who request our services, make enquiries, or otherwise interact with us.

We are committed to handling personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We aim to be clear, fair, and transparent about the information we collect and the rights you have over it.

1. Information We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for running our services, managing customer relationships, and meeting legal obligations. The information we collect may include:

Identity details such as your name and any relevant title.
Contact details such as your address, telephone number, and email address.
Service information such as the type of cleaning requested, property access details, preferred appointment times, and notes about the areas to be cleaned.
Payment and billing information such as payment records and invoicing details.
Communication records such as messages, service queries, complaints, and feedback.
Technical information if you visit our digital platforms, which may include basic device or browser data, although we do not use this to identify you unnecessarily.

We may also collect information you choose to provide when asking for a quotation, making a booking, changing an appointment, or giving us instructions about the work to be carried out. We do not seek to collect sensitive personal data unless there is a clear and lawful reason to do so, and only where it is relevant and necessary.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for legitimate business and operational purposes, including to:

provide carpet cleaning and related cleaning services;
respond to enquiries and prepare quotations;
manage bookings, scheduling, and service delivery;
process payments and issue invoices;
keep service records and handle follow-up requests;
communicate important information about appointments or services;
deal with complaints, disputes, or insurance matters;
maintain internal records for accounting and legal compliance;
improve the quality and reliability of our services;
protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud or misuse.

We will not use your personal data in ways that are incompatible with the purposes described in this policy without first informing you and, where required, obtaining a valid legal basis.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process your information where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging services, confirming bookings, carrying out carpet cleaning work, and managing payments.

Legal Obligation

We process data where needed to comply with legal requirements, such as accounting, tax, record-keeping, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests and where those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. This may include improving our services, maintaining business records, preventing fraud, and managing customer communications.

Consent

In some cases, we may rely on your consent, especially for optional communications or where consent is otherwise required by law. When we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

We take care to ensure that our use of personal data is proportionate, relevant, and limited to what is needed for the purpose in question.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business. These third parties act as processors when they handle data on our behalf under our instructions. Examples may include:

IT and software providers that support booking systems, data storage, or communications;
accounting and bookkeeping providers that help manage financial records;
payment service providers that process transactions;
customer service and administrative support providers that help manage operations;
insurance or legal advisers where necessary for claims, disputes, or compliance;
subcontractors or service partners who assist with delivery of the service when required.

We only share data where necessary, and we require processors to handle personal information securely, lawfully, and only for the purposes we specify. We do not sell your personal data.

We may also disclose information if required to do so by law, regulation, court order, or to protect our rights, property, customers, or staff.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, and reporting obligations. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason we hold it.

Customer and service records are typically retained for a reasonable period after completion of the service for administration, dispute handling, and record-keeping.
Financial and tax records are retained in line with legal and accounting requirements.
Communication records are retained for as long as needed to manage our relationship with you and resolve any issues.
Consent-based information is kept only until consent is withdrawn or it is no longer needed.

When data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to you. We review retention periods periodically to ensure they remain appropriate and lawful.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff awareness, and restricted data handling procedures.

Although we work hard to protect information, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. If a data breach occurs that is likely to present a risk to your rights or freedoms, we will deal with it in line with applicable law.

7. Your Rights

As a data subject under GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the legal basis for processing.

Right of access – you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – you may request deletion of your data in certain situations.
Right to restrict processing – you may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to data portability – you may request transfer of certain data to you or another provider, where applicable.
Right to object – you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to raise a concern with the relevant supervisory authority if you believe your data has been handled unlawfully. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any issue promptly and fairly.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are aimed at adult customers and property occupants. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is unavoidable in a service-related context and where the information is provided by an adult responsible for the property or booking. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without a lawful basis, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect legal, operational, or service changes. Any revised version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers in the Canning Town area to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

10. Summary of Our Commitment

Canning Town Carpet Cleaners is committed to respecting privacy and processing personal data responsibly. We collect only the information we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, keep it only for as long as necessary, share it only with trusted processors where required, and uphold your rights under data protection law.

This policy is intended to give all customers in the Canning Town area confidence that their information is handled with care, transparency, and respect.