Privacy Policy - Colney Hatch Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Colney Hatch Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Colney Hatch Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including individuals who request quotes, book services, receive cleaning treatments, make enquiries, or otherwise interact with our business. 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 We Are

Colney Hatch Carpet Cleaners provides carpet cleaning and related cleaning services to residential and commercial customers in the local area. In the course of delivering our services, we may need to process personal data relating to customers, property owners, tenants, billing contacts, and other individuals connected to a booking or service request.

We only collect and use personal data where there is a valid legal reason to do so, and we limit processing to what is necessary for the purposes described in this policy.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity details such as name and, where relevant, company name or job title.
Contact details such as telephone number, email address, and service address.
Booking and service information such as requested services, appointment times, special instructions, and property access notes.
Payment-related details such as payment status, invoice information, and transaction records. We do not store full card details unless a secure payment service requires limited information for processing.
Communication records such as emails, messages, call notes, and complaint or feedback details.
Technical information if you interact with our digital systems, including IP address, browser type, and device information, where this is necessary for security or troubleshooting.

We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal data unless it is strictly necessary for a specific request or service issue, and only where we have a lawful basis to do so.

3. How We Collect Data

We collect data in several ways:

Directly from you when you request a quote, make a booking, or communicate with us.
From third parties acting on your behalf, such as landlords, letting agents, property managers, or family members who arrange services for you.
Automatically through systems used for administration, invoicing, or service management.
From lawful business records, such as payment processors or bookkeeping systems.

4. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations, schedule appointments, and carry out carpet cleaning services.
To communicate about bookings, access arrangements, service updates, and customer support.
To issue invoices, manage payments, and maintain financial records.
To respond to complaints, disputes, or claims.
To improve our services, internal administration, and record keeping.
To comply with legal obligations, including tax and accounting requirements.
To protect against fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We will not use your personal data for unrelated purposes without informing you and, where required, obtaining the appropriate consent.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. Colney Hatch Carpet Cleaners relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as taking a booking, delivering a carpet cleaning service, or managing payment arrangements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is in our legitimate business interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing customer relationships, improving service quality, preventing fraud, and keeping accurate operational records.

Legal Obligation

We process certain personal data to comply with legal requirements, including tax, accounting, and record-keeping obligations, as well as any lawful requests from public authorities.

Consent

Where we rely on consent, we will ask for it clearly and separately. You may withdraw consent at any time, although this will not affect processing that has already taken place lawfully.

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties when necessary for business operations or legal compliance. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the circumstances.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

Payment service providers that handle transactions securely.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that support financial administration.
Scheduling, invoicing, or customer management software providers.
IT support and data storage providers.
Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers, where necessary.

Where a third party acts as a processor, it will only process personal data on our instructions and must implement appropriate security measures. We require processors to protect personal data and to use it only for the specific services they provide to us.

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

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, and reporting obligations. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of record and the reason for processing.

In general:

Booking and service records are kept for the period needed to manage the customer relationship and resolve any follow-up issues.
Financial and invoice records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Communication records are kept for as long as needed to deal with enquiries, complaints, or service matters.
Data that is no longer needed is securely deleted, anonymised, or disposed of in a controlled manner.

We review retention regularly and do not keep personal data longer than necessary.

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 data minimisation practices.

Although we work to protect your information, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. If we become aware of a personal data breach that presents a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will act in line with our legal obligations.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights regarding your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, these may 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 request deletion of your data where there is no lawful reason for us to keep it.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format, where applicable.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests in certain circumstances.
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 Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data has been mishandled. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any issue promptly and fairly.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is necessary in relation to a household booking or as part of a lawful service arrangement made by an adult.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our operations, legal obligations, or data protection practices. Any updates will apply from the date they are published or otherwise communicated. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we handle personal data.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Colney Hatch Carpet Cleaners is committed to handling personal data responsibly, securely, and transparently. We collect only the information needed to provide our services, rely on valid lawful bases for processing, retain information only as long as necessary, and use trusted processors under appropriate safeguards. We also respect the rights of all customers in the area and will respond to valid requests in accordance with data protection law.