Privacy Policy - Dulwich Carpetcleaning

This Privacy Policy explains how Dulwich Carpetcleaning collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Dulwich Carpetcleaning customers in the area, including anyone who requests a quotation, books a service, receives a service, or communicates with us in connection with our cleaning services. We are committed to handling personal information in a fair, lawful, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services or providing us with your personal data, you acknowledge that your information will be processed as described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the personal data necessary to provide and manage our services, respond to enquiries, fulfil bookings, and meet legal obligations. The information we collect may include:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of your household or business.
Contact details such as phone number, email address, and service address.
Service information such as details about the cleaning work requested, property access notes, preferred appointment times, and service history.
Billing and payment records such as invoices, payment status, and transaction references.
Communication records including messages, call notes, complaints, feedback, and any correspondence related to a booking or completed service.
Technical information where applicable, such as basic website or device information if you submit an enquiry online, though we do not collect more than is needed for service administration.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it to us and there is a valid reason to process it, such as where a health issue affects access to your property or service arrangements. If such information is shared, we will treat it with extra care and confidentiality.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To schedule, deliver, and manage carpet cleaning and related services.
To communicate about appointments, service changes, or follow-up matters.
To process payments, issue invoices, and maintain financial records.
To handle complaints, claims, and service improvements.
To comply with legal, accounting, insurance, and regulatory obligations.
To keep accurate business records and maintain operational quality.

We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose and the law allows us to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the context, Dulwich Carpetcleaning relies on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotations you have requested, booking services, completing cleaning work, and processing payment.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain data to comply with legal duties, such as tax, accounting, and record-keeping requirements, or where disclosure is required by law.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided that your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include managing customer relationships, improving service quality, maintaining secure business operations, preventing fraud, and defending legal claims. We always assess whether our interests are balanced and appropriate before relying on this basis.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example if you agree to receive certain optional communications or if you provide specific information that is not required for service delivery. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Sharing Your Information and Processors

We do not sell personal data. We may share information only when necessary and only with trusted third parties acting as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. These may include:

Payment processors that handle card or electronic payment transactions.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers that assist with invoicing, reconciliation, and financial administration.
IT and cloud service providers that store or secure business records and communications.
Customer management or scheduling tools used to organise appointments and service records.
Insurance providers, legal advisers, or dispute resolution professionals where necessary to manage claims, liabilities, or legal matters.
Public authorities where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect our rights, customers, or the public.

Where third parties act as processors, they are only permitted to process your data on our instructions and must keep it secure and confidential. We take reasonable steps to ensure that our processors meet appropriate data protection standards.

5. Data Retention

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

Quotation and service enquiry records may be kept for a reasonable period to manage future bookings, customer queries, and business records.
Completed service and transaction records are generally retained for the period needed for accounting, tax, and contract administration purposes.
Complaint or dispute records may be retained longer where needed to resolve issues or defend legal claims.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or destroy it in accordance with our retention practices.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures are designed to reflect the nature of the information we hold and the risks associated with processing it. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to maintain a high standard of protection and to limit access to personal information to those who need it for legitimate business purposes.

7. International Transfers

Where service providers store or process data outside the United Kingdom, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. This may include using jurisdictions recognised as providing adequate protection or relying on approved contractual safeguards. We will only transfer data where lawful and necessary for business operations.

8. Your Rights

You have a number of rights under data protection law. Subject to legal limitations, these may include:

The right of access to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
The right to rectification to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
The right to erasure in certain circumstances, also known as the right to be forgotten.
The right to restrict processing in certain situations.
The right to data portability for data you have provided to us and which we process by automated means under certain lawful bases.
The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
The right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
The right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe your rights have been infringed.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in accordance with applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and household or business customers arranging cleaning services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidentally included in service-related communication and is necessary for the provision of our services. If we become aware that we have collected such data without a valid reason, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal obligations, or operational requirements. The most recent version will apply to all Dulwich Carpetcleaning customers in the area. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how your data is handled.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Dulwich Carpetcleaning is committed to processing personal data responsibly, keeping it secure, and using it only where there is a lawful basis to do so. We collect information only as needed to provide quality services, manage customer relationships, and meet legal duties. We work with carefully selected processors, retain data only for appropriate periods, and respect your rights under data protection law. Our aim is to ensure that your personal information is handled with care, transparency, and respect at every stage.