Privacy Policy - West Norwood Carpet Cleaners

West Norwood Carpet Cleaners is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers in the West Norwood area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information in connection with our carpet cleaning services. It applies to all West Norwood Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including residential and commercial clients, and should be read together with any service terms you agree to when booking our services.

1. Who We Are

West Norwood Carpet Cleaners provides professional carpet cleaning and related cleaning services to customers in the local area. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller for the personal data we collect and use in the course of delivering our services. This means we determine why and how your personal data is processed.

2. Personal Data We Collect

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

• Identity data, such as your name and, where applicable, business name
• Contact data, such as your address, email address, and telephone number
• Service and booking data, such as appointment details, service preferences, access instructions, and cleaning requirements
• Payment data, such as billing information and payment confirmation records
• Communication data, such as messages, enquiries, complaint details, and feedback
• Technical data, such as basic website or device information if you contact us online
• Usage records, such as service history, quotations, and invoices

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it voluntarily, for example where it is relevant to access arrangements or safety concerns. We encourage customers to avoid sharing unnecessary sensitive information.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data to operate our business and deliver our services effectively. The main purposes for processing are:

• to provide carpet cleaning and related services
• to arrange bookings, quotations, and service visits
• to communicate with you about your appointment or service request
• to process payments and issue invoices
• to manage customer records and service history
• to respond to complaints, enquiries, or follow-up requests
• to improve service quality and customer experience
• to comply with legal, accounting, and regulatory requirements

We ensure that personal data is used fairly, lawfully, and in a way that is relevant to the services you request. We do not use your data for unrelated purposes without a valid reason under data protection law.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, we must have a lawful basis for each type of personal data processing. West Norwood Carpet Cleaners relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes arranging services, confirming bookings, and handling payment-related matters.

Legitimate Interests

We may process your data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing customer relationships, maintaining records, preventing fraud, improving operations, and handling service enquiries. We only rely on this basis where it is appropriate and proportionate.

Legal Obligation

We may need to process and retain certain records to comply with legal obligations, including accounting, taxation, business record-keeping, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily provide information for a specific optional purpose. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Sharing Your Data with Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties that process data on our behalf. These parties act as processors and are only permitted to use your data in accordance with our instructions and applicable law. Processors may include:

• payment service providers
• booking or scheduling software providers
• IT and cloud storage providers
• accounting and invoicing service providers
• customer communication systems

We require processors to apply appropriate technical and organisational security measures. They must not use your data for their own purposes unless they are independently acting as a controller and have their own lawful basis.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law, court order, or regulatory obligation. 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. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the purpose of processing. In general:

• booking and service records are retained for a reasonable period after completion of the service
• invoice and payment records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law
• complaints and correspondence are retained for as long as needed to resolve the matter and keep appropriate records
• consent-based records are retained until consent is withdrawn or the purpose ends

When data is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to delete, anonymise, or securely destroy it. Retention is reviewed periodically to ensure we do not keep information for longer than necessary.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate safeguards to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limiting access to data on a need-to-know basis. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take data protection seriously and review our practices regularly.

8. Your Rights

As a customer of West Norwood Carpet Cleaners in the area, you have rights under data protection law. Depending on the circumstances, these may include the right to:

• access the personal data we hold about you
• rectify inaccurate or incomplete information
• erase your data in certain situations
• restrict processing in certain situations
• object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing
• data portability where applicable
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent

You also have the right to raise concerns about how your data is handled. If you believe your rights have not been respected, you may complain to the relevant data protection authority. We encourage customers to contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue promptly and fairly.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is provided by an adult customer in connection with a service request. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without proper authority, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

10. International Transfers

Where processors or service providers store or access data outside the United Kingdom, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as approved contractual protections or other lawful transfer mechanisms. These safeguards are designed to keep your personal data protected to standards required by applicable law.

11. 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 handling practices. Any updates will apply from the date they are published or otherwise communicated. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically so you remain informed about how we protect personal data.

12. Summary of Key Principles

West Norwood Carpet Cleaners processes personal data responsibly and only for legitimate service, legal, and business purposes. We collect only the information needed to deliver our services, rely on lawful bases such as contract, legitimate interests, consent, and legal obligation, and keep data only as long as necessary. We may share data with trusted processors under strict controls, and we respect your rights under GDPR.

By using our services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.