Privacy Policy - Wapping Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Wapping Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Wapping Carpet Cleaners customers in the Wapping area, including anyone who requests a quotation, books a service, receives a cleaning visit, or otherwise interacts with us in connection with our carpet cleaning services.

We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We aim to collect only the information we need, use it fairly and lawfully, and keep it secure.

1. Who This Policy Applies To

This policy applies to customers, prospective customers, and individuals acting on behalf of a business or household who use our services in Wapping. It also applies to anyone whose personal information is provided to us when arranging a service, making an enquiry, or managing a booking.

By using our services or contacting us, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy.

2. Information We Collect

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

• Identity details: name, title, and, where relevant, company name.
• Contact details: address, email address, and telephone number.
• Service details: booking information, property access instructions, cleaning preferences, and service history.
• Payment information: billing details and transaction records. We do not normally store full card details when payments are processed through secure third-party providers.
• Communication records: emails, messages, notes from calls, complaints, and feedback.
• Technical data: limited information such as IP address or browser details if you interact with us through digital systems, where applicable.
• Special instructions: any information you choose to provide about pets, access requirements, allergies, or items requiring special care.

We do not intentionally collect more data than is necessary for our services. If you provide information about another person, you should ensure you have the right to do so and that they are aware of this policy where appropriate.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

• to provide quotations, confirm bookings, and deliver carpet cleaning services;
• to manage customer accounts and service records;
• to communicate about appointments, rescheduling, updates, and service follow-up;
• to process payments, invoices, refunds, and accounting records;
• to respond to questions, complaints, and requests;
• to maintain internal records for quality assurance and business administration;
• to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
• to prevent fraud, misuse, or unauthorised activity;
• to improve our services, customer experience, and operational efficiency.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose and that such use is permitted by law.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We only process personal data where we have a valid lawful basis under the UK GDPR. Depending on the situation, we may rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

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

Legal Obligation

We may process data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, record-keeping, or lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process 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 communications, improving services, maintaining business records, and protecting our business from fraud or misuse.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is required for certain optional communications or specific uses of data. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

We do not rely on consent where another lawful basis is more appropriate.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties that help us run our business. These parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the service they provide. We only share the minimum information necessary and require appropriate safeguards.

• Payment processors: to process card or electronic payments securely.
• Accounting and bookkeeping providers: to maintain financial records and tax compliance.
• IT and cloud service providers: to store data, manage email, and support business systems.
• Customer communication tools: to send booking confirmations or service updates.
• Professional advisers: such as lawyers, accountants, or insurers where needed.
• Public authorities: where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect legal rights.

All processors are expected to handle your data securely, only on our instructions, and in compliance with data protection law. We do not sell personal data to third parties.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected, including for satisfying legal, accounting, tax, or reporting requirements. The retention period depends on the type of data and the context in which it is used.

• Booking and service records: kept for a reasonable period to manage repeat services, disputes, and operational history.
• Financial records: kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
• Communication records: kept as long as needed to deal with enquiries, complaints, or follow-up matters.
• Contractual and legal records: retained where needed to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

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

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff confidentiality obligations, and limiting data access to authorised personnel only.

While no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, we work to reduce risk and maintain a level of protection that is appropriate to the nature of the data we process.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to legal conditions and exemptions, these may include:

• Right of access: to request confirmation of whether we process your data and obtain a copy.
• Right to rectification: to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Right to erasure: to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to restriction: to ask us to limit processing 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 or direct marketing.
• Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data rights have been breached.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with a household booking or similar service arrangement and only with appropriate authority from an adult customer.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published. We encourage customers in Wapping to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

11. Summary of Key Points

In summary, Wapping Carpet Cleaners collects only the data needed to deliver services, communicate with customers, manage payments, and meet legal obligations. We rely on lawful bases such as contract, legal obligation, legitimate interests, and, where appropriate, consent. We share data only with trusted processors and keep it only as long as necessary. You have clear rights over your data and may exercise them in line with applicable law.

This policy applies to all Wapping Carpet Cleaners customers in the area.