Privacy Policy - Riddlesdown Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Riddlesdown Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with the services we provide. It applies to all Riddlesdown Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including individuals who request a quotation, make a booking, receive a service, or otherwise interact with us. We are committed to handling personal data 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

Riddlesdown Carpet Cleaners provides carpet cleaning and related cleaning services to residential and commercial customers in the local area. For the purpose of data protection law, we act as a data controller when we decide why and how personal data is processed. This means we are responsible for ensuring that your information is used appropriately and that your rights are respected.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect information that is necessary for providing our services, managing our business, and meeting our legal obligations. The type of personal data we may collect includes:

Identity information such as your name and title.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Property and service details such as the location of the property, room information, carpet type, stain or cleaning requirements, and access instructions.
Booking and transaction data such as service requests, appointment history, invoice details, and payment records.
Communication records including messages, notes from calls, complaints, and feedback.
Technical information where relevant, such as basic website or device information if you contact us through online forms or digital channels.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it to us yourself, or unless we are required to process it for a lawful purpose. Special category data may include information about health, religion, or other sensitive matters. If such information is ever shared with us, we will handle it with extra care and only where permitted by law.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations and manage bookings.
To deliver cleaning services at the correct address and at the requested time.
To communicate about appointments, service changes, and follow-up matters.
To process payments, issue invoices, and maintain financial records.
To handle complaints, service queries, and customer support requests.
To improve our services, train staff, and maintain quality standards.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements.
To protect our business from fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We will only use your data for the purposes we collected it for, unless we reasonably believe another compatible purpose applies and that doing so is permitted by law.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes confirming bookings, carrying out cleaning services, and managing payment arrangements.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain records where required by law, including tax, accounting, insurance, or record-keeping obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing business operations, preventing fraud, improving services, and responding to customer inquiries. We always consider whether such processing is proportionate and necessary.

Consent

In limited cases, we may ask for your consent, for example where we need to use certain optional data or send specific marketing communications. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data only when necessary and only with appropriate safeguards in place. We do not sell your data. We may share information with trusted third parties that help us operate our business, known as processors. These may include:

Payment providers who handle card or electronic payments.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who help us manage invoices and financial records.
IT and cloud service providers who securely store and support our business systems.
Communication providers who assist with email, messaging, or telephone systems.
Scheduling or administration tools used to manage bookings and service records.

These processors are permitted to process data only on our instructions and must protect it in line with data protection law. We may also disclose data to public authorities, insurers, legal advisers, or law enforcement agencies where required or permitted by law.

6. International Transfers

Where any processor stores or accesses data outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as approved contractual protections or adequacy arrangements, so that your information remains protected to an appropriate standard.

7. Data Retention

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

Customer service and booking records are retained for as long as needed to manage the service relationship and resolve any follow-up queries.
Invoice and payment records are typically retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Complaints and correspondence may be retained for a reasonable period to evidence how matters were handled and to help maintain service quality.
Marketing preferences are kept until you opt out or withdraw consent.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it where appropriate. We do not keep personal data indefinitely.

8. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful management of records. While no system can be guaranteed as completely secure, we take the protection of your information seriously and regularly review our safeguards.

9. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply subject to certain conditions and exemptions under data protection law. Your rights 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 ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data 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 required by law. We may ask for information to verify your identity before acting on your request. In some cases, we may not be able to comply fully where the law allows us to retain or continue processing the data.

10. Marketing Communications

We only send marketing communications where permitted by law. If we contact you with updates or promotional information, you may opt out at any time. Once you object to direct marketing, we will stop using your personal data for that purpose.

11. Cookies and Similar Technologies

If we use a website or digital form service, small files or similar technologies may be used to support basic functionality, security, or usage analysis. Any such tools will be used in a privacy-conscious way and only where lawful. Where consent is required, you will be given a choice.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or the services we provide. Any updates will take effect when published. We encourage customers to review the policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

13. Contact and Complaints

If you have concerns about how your personal data is handled, you may raise the matter with us so that we can review it. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data protection rights have been breached. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any issue promptly and fairly.

Privacy Commitment: Riddlesdown Carpet Cleaners is committed to treating all customer information with respect, care, and confidentiality. We aim to process personal data only when it is necessary, lawful, and proportionate, and to keep that data safe throughout its lifecycle.