Privacy Policy - Uxbridge Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Uxbridge Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data when providing services to customers in the Uxbridge area. It applies to all Uxbridge Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including anyone who requests a quote, books a service, receives cleaning services, or otherwise interacts with our business. We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

We aim to keep this policy clear and transparent so that you understand what data we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and what rights you have in relation to your personal information.

1. Who We Are

Uxbridge Carpet Cleaners provides carpet cleaning and related cleaning services to domestic and commercial customers. In the context of data protection law, we are the data controller for the personal data we collect and decide how and why it is processed.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide our services, manage customer relationships, and meet legal obligations. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identity information, such as your name.
Contact details, such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details, including property access instructions, room or carpet details, preferred appointment times, and service history.
Payment-related information, such as partial billing or transaction details, where required to manage invoices and records. We do not store unnecessary payment card information unless handled securely by a payment processor.
Communication records, such as emails, phone notes, messages, and customer service correspondence.
Technical information, where relevant, such as website usage data if you contact us through a form or digital service. This may include limited device or browser information.
Special instructions you provide relating to health, safety, or access requirements.

We do not intentionally collect more data than is needed for the purposes described in this policy.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We may collect personal data in the following ways:

When you request a quote or booking.
When you communicate with us by phone, email, message, or written correspondence.
When you become a customer and use our services.
When you make a payment or receive an invoice.
When we need to follow up on service issues, complaints, or rescheduled appointments.

Where necessary, we may also receive information from third parties, such as referral partners, payment service providers, or booking platforms, but only where this is appropriate and lawful.

4. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide carpet cleaning and related services.
To manage appointments, estimates, and customer requests.
To communicate with you about bookings, changes, or service updates.
To process payments, issue invoices, and maintain accounting records.
To deal with complaints, aftercare, and customer support.
To improve our services and ensure quality control.
To comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations.

We will only use your data for purposes that are compatible with the reason it was collected or where we have a lawful basis to do so.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging services, carrying them out, billing, and managing customer support.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include maintaining service records, responding to enquiries, improving operations, and preventing fraud or misuse.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain data where required to comply with legal duties, including accounting, tax, record-keeping, or responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you choose to receive certain marketing communications. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time.

We do not sell your personal data.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. The exact retention period depends on the nature of the information and the reason for processing.

Customer records are generally kept for the duration of the business relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to handle follow-up queries, service history, and dispute resolution.
Financial and tax records are retained in line with applicable legal and accounting obligations.
Communication records may be held for as long as needed to resolve requests, complaints, or service matters.
Consent-based records are kept only until consent is withdrawn or the data is no longer needed.

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

7. Processors and Third Parties

We may use trusted third-party service providers, known as processors, to help us operate our business. These processors only handle personal data on our instructions and are required to keep it secure and confidential.

Examples of processors or third parties may include:

Booking and scheduling software providers.
Payment processing services.
Accounting and bookkeeping software providers.
Cloud storage or IT service providers.
Communication and email service providers.

We may also share data with professional advisers, such as accountants or insurers, where necessary and lawful. In limited cases, data may be disclosed to public authorities, regulators, or law enforcement where required by law.

Where a processor is used, we take steps to ensure appropriate data protection safeguards are in place.

8. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, misuse, loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, and staff awareness of data protection responsibilities.

While we work hard to protect personal data, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. If a data breach were to occur, we would respond in line with our legal obligations.

9. 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 exceptions:

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 data.
Right to erasure – you may ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – you can request that we limit how we use your data in some situations.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – where applicable, you can 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.

You also have the right to make a complaint to the relevant data protection authority if you believe your data has not been handled properly. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any concerns directly.

10. Marketing Communications

If we send marketing communications, we will only do so where permitted by law. You may choose to opt out of such communications at any time. If you opt out, we will stop sending non-essential marketing messages, although we may still contact you for important service or legal reasons.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If we become aware that we have collected such data without appropriate legal basis, we will take steps to remove it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or operational needs. Any updates will take effect when published. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Uxbridge Carpet Cleaners is committed to processing personal data fairly, lawfully, and transparently. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and limited purposes, keep it for no longer than necessary, and protect it with appropriate safeguards. We also respect your rights and will respond to requests in line with applicable data protection law.

By using our services, you acknowledge that this Privacy Policy applies to all Uxbridge Carpet Cleaners customers in the area and explains how your personal data is handled.