Privacy Policy - Richmonduponthames Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Richmonduponthames Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Richmonduponthames Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including prospective customers, existing customers, and individuals who enquire about our services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who we are

Richmonduponthames Carpet Cleaners provides residential and commercial carpet cleaning services in the local area. In the course of delivering our services, we may process personal data about customers, property occupants, tenants, landlords, business contacts, and third parties connected to a booking.

Personal data means any information relating to an identified or identifiable person. This may include names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, billing details, service history, and other information needed to arrange and complete our work.

2. Data we collect

We only collect information that is necessary for our business operations, customer service, and legal obligations. The types of data we may collect include:

Identity and contact details such as name, address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as booking dates, property access notes, cleaning requirements, carpet type, stain details, and job preferences.
Payment and billing details such as invoice information, transaction references, and payment status. We do not routinely store full card details where payments are processed securely by third-party providers.
Communication records such as emails, messages, call notes, quotations, complaints, feedback, and correspondence about completed services.
Technical data where applicable, such as basic device or browser information if you interact with our digital systems.
Special category data is not normally collected. If it is ever provided incidentally, for example in a note about access requirements or health-related precautions, we will only process it where strictly necessary and permitted by law.

We generally collect data directly from you when you make an enquiry, request a quotation, place a booking, provide service instructions, or submit a complaint or review. We may also receive information from landlords, agents, household members, business representatives, payment processors, or other parties authorised to act on your behalf.

3. How we use personal data

We use personal data to provide a reliable, safe, and efficient cleaning service. Typical uses include:

responding to enquiries and preparing quotations;
arranging appointments and managing bookings;
carrying out carpet cleaning and related services;
handling invoices, payments, and refunds where applicable;
keeping records of work completed and customer preferences;
dealing with complaints, disputes, and service issues;
maintaining business records and internal reporting;
meeting legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations;
protecting our business, staff, customers, and property; and
sending service-related communications.

We do not use personal data for unrelated purposes without informing you where required. We also do not sell customer data.

4. Lawful basis for processing

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

Contract

We process personal data because it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, delivering services, issuing invoices, and managing customer accounts or work records.

Legal obligation

We may process personal data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, including accounting, tax, insurance, record-keeping, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include improving our services, maintaining secure systems, preventing fraud, resolving disputes, and managing business operations. We apply a balancing test to ensure this use is appropriate.

Consent

Where consent is required, for example for optional marketing communications or processing certain special category data, we will ask for it clearly and in advance. You may withdraw consent at any time, and this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Retention of personal data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or for as long as required by law. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data and the reason for keeping it.

Customer and job records are generally retained for a reasonable period after the service is completed to manage follow-up queries, disputes, warranties, and customer history.
Financial and tax records are kept for the period required by law and accounting rules.
Communication records may be kept for a period necessary to handle complaints, demonstrate service quality, or maintain business records.
Marketing preferences are retained until you opt out or we determine they are no longer needed.

When personal data is no longer needed, it is securely deleted, anonymised, or archived in line with our retention practices. We aim to avoid keeping information longer than necessary.

6. Processors and sharing of data

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

Payment processors that handle secure payment transactions;
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that help with financial records and compliance;
IT, cloud storage, and software providers that support customer administration, scheduling, and record management;
Communication service providers used for sending emails, texts, or service notifications;
Professional advisers such as insurers, auditors, legal advisers, or consultants;
Public authorities where disclosure is required by law or is necessary to protect our rights or the rights of others.

Where a third party acts as a processor, they process data only on our instructions and must protect it appropriately. We require processors to implement suitable technical and organisational security measures. If data is shared with an independent controller, that party is responsible for its own privacy practices.

7. International transfers

In some cases, personal data may be stored or processed outside the UK, for example if a service provider uses overseas servers. When this happens, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent lawful protections recognised under applicable law.

8. Security of personal data

We take reasonable and appropriate measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, restricted user permissions, and careful selection of processors. However, no system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute protection.

9. Your rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. 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 – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances;
The right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations;
The right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
The right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable;
The right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent;
The right to complain – to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your rights have been infringed.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal limits. We will respond to requests in accordance with applicable law and may need to verify your identity before taking action.

10. Cookies and similar technologies

If we use online tools that rely on cookies or similar technologies, these may be used to improve functionality, remember preferences, measure performance, or support security. Where consent is required for non-essential cookies, it will be obtained in advance. You can manage cookie settings through your browser or device controls where available.

11. Children

Our services are intended for adults and business customers arranging cleaning services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental to a service booking made by an adult and only where necessary for the performance of the service.

12. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service operations. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

13. Summary of our commitments

Richmonduponthames Carpet Cleaners is committed to processing personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently. We collect only what we need, use it for clear business purposes, keep it only for as long as necessary, and share it only with trusted processors or other parties where required. We also respect your rights and aim to make our privacy practices clear and accountable.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Richmonduponthames Carpet Cleaners customers in the area.