Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy - Shepherds Bush Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Shepherds Bush Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Shepherds Bush Carpet Cleaners customers in the Shepherds Bush area, including prospective customers, existing customers, and anyone who contacts us about our services.

We are committed to handling personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy describes what data we process, the legal grounds we rely on, how long we keep personal data, the third parties we use, and the rights available to individuals.

1. Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for the purposes described in this policy. The data we may collect includes:

Identity data: name, title, and any information needed to identify you as a customer or enquiry.
Contact data: address, email address, telephone number, and preferred contact method.
Service data: details of the cleaning service requested, property access notes, appointment times, service history, and instructions provided by you.
Billing data: invoice details, payment status, and transaction references. We do not store full payment card details where payment processing is carried out by a secure payment provider.
Communication data: emails, messages, call notes, and any feedback or complaint information you provide.
Technical data: limited information such as device or browser details if you submit forms or interact with digital communications, where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category data, such as health information, political opinions, religious beliefs, or biometric data, unless you choose to disclose such information to us and it is necessary for the service. If that happens, we will only process it where a lawful basis exists and where appropriate safeguards are in place.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We process personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
to arrange, manage, and deliver cleaning services;
to maintain appointment records and service histories;
to issue invoices, manage payments, and keep financial records;
to communicate about service updates, changes, or follow-up matters;
to handle complaints, service disputes, and customer support requests;
to improve service quality, train staff, and maintain operational records;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
to protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud or misuse.

We will only use your data in ways that are compatible with the purpose for which it was collected. We do not sell your personal data.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

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

Legal Obligation

We process personal data where required to meet our legal obligations, such as accounting, tax record keeping, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing customer records, improving our services, preventing misuse, and maintaining internal quality control.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on consent, for example where you choose to receive optional marketing communications. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Vital Interests

Although uncommon for our services, we may process data to protect someone’s vital interests in an emergency, such as when urgent action is needed to prevent serious harm.

4. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected, or as required by law. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the nature of the relationship with you.

Customer and service records: retained for the period necessary to provide the service and manage any follow-up matters.
Invoices and accounting records: retained for the period required by tax and accounting legislation.
Complaint and dispute records: retained as long as needed to resolve the issue and defend legal claims where relevant.
Marketing preferences: retained until you opt out or request deletion, subject to legal exceptions.

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

5. Processors and Third Parties

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors or independent controllers, only where necessary and with appropriate safeguards. These may include:

Payment processors: to process card or online payments securely.
Booking and scheduling systems: to manage appointments and service planning.
IT and cloud service providers: to store data, maintain systems, and support secure communications.
Accountants or bookkeepers: to assist with financial records and statutory compliance.
Professional advisers: such as legal or insurance advisers where necessary.
Regulators, law enforcement, or public authorities: where disclosure is required by law or is reasonably necessary to protect rights and interests.

Where we use processors, we require them to process data only on our instructions, keep it secure, and comply with data protection law. If data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual protections or an adequacy decision, where applicable.

6. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, password protection, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limited access on a need-to-know basis.

However, no system is completely secure. While we take care to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have the following rights under data protection law, subject to certain conditions and exemptions:

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 ask us to limit processing in specific situations.
Right to object: to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: to request transfer of 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 also have the right to raise a concern with the UK data protection authority if you believe your rights have been infringed. We encourage you to raise any concerns directly with us first so we can try to resolve them promptly.

8. Marketing Communications

We may send limited service-related or optional marketing communications where permitted by law. If marketing is based on consent, you may opt out at any time. If marketing is based on legitimate interests, you may object and we will stop unless there are compelling grounds to continue.

We will never require you to receive marketing as a condition of receiving our cleaning services.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults or persons arranging services on behalf of a property occupant. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidental and necessary for service delivery, such as access instructions involving household members. If we become aware that we have collected data unlawfully, we will take steps to delete it.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our data processing practices. The updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers in the Shepherds Bush area to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their personal data is handled.

11. Summary of Key Points

We collect only the data needed to provide and manage carpet cleaning services.
We process data on lawful bases including contract, legal obligation, legitimate interests, and consent where applicable.
We retain data only as long as necessary and securely dispose of it when no longer required.
We may share data with carefully selected processors and other authorised third parties.
You have important rights over your personal data, including access, correction, deletion, objection, and portability.

This Privacy Policy is designed to provide clear, transparent information about how personal data is handled by Shepherds Bush Carpet Cleaners. By using our services, requesting a quotation, or contacting us about a service, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy and in accordance with applicable data protection law.