Hounslow Carpet Cleaners Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Hounslow Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores and protects your personal data when you use our carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Hounslow Carpet Cleaners customers and prospective customers in our service area, including individuals and businesses who contact us, request a quote, make a booking, or otherwise interact with us.
We are committed to safeguarding your privacy and handling your personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018, and all other applicable data protection laws.
Personal data we collect
We only collect personal data that is necessary for providing our services and managing our relationship with you. The types of personal data we may collect include:
Identification and contact details such as your name, address, service address, and any other contact information you choose to provide when you make an enquiry or booking.
Service information such as details of the property or premises where cleaning is required, access instructions, preferred dates and times, and specific service requirements.
Transaction and payment information such as records of services ordered, invoices, payment status, and amounts paid. Payment card details are handled by third-party payment processors and are not stored by us where this can be avoided.
Communication records such as enquiries, quotes, messages, feedback, and complaints that you send to us by any communication channel, and notes of our responses where relevant.
Technical data relating to your use of our website or online services such as IP address, device information, browser type, and basic usage data, where collected through essential cookies or similar technologies. We do not seek to identify you from this information except where it is necessary for security or legal reasons.
How we collect your data
We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us by phone, via forms on our website, via messages through online platforms, or in person. We may also receive information about you from third parties when you have given permission for your details to be shared for the purpose of obtaining cleaning services, for example from comparison sites or referral partners.
Lawful bases for processing
We process your personal data only when we have a valid lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the context, we may rely on the following lawful bases:
Contract. We process your data when it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, and to perform a contract for cleaning or related services. This includes handling enquiries, providing quotes, scheduling appointments, delivering services, and managing payments.
Legitimate interests. We may process your data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, and where these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This includes managing our business operations, improving our services, keeping records of past work for quality and training purposes, and protecting our rights, property, and safety.
Legal obligation. We may process personal data where it is necessary to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, such as tax and accounting rules, record keeping obligations, and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.
Consent. In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where required before sending certain types of marketing communications. Where processing is based on consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before your withdrawal.
How we use your personal data
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
To respond to your enquiries, provide quotes, and manage bookings and appointments.
To deliver carpet cleaning and related services at the address you specify, and to keep you informed about the status of your booking.
To issue invoices, process payments, and manage any refunds or adjustments.
To manage our customer relationship with you, including recording service history, handling complaints, collecting feedback, and providing customer support.
To maintain and improve our website, services, and internal processes, including quality control and staff training.
To comply with legal, regulatory, and tax obligations, and to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
To send you service-related communications and, where permitted, occasional information about our services that may be of interest to you. You can ask us to stop such communications at any time.
Data sharing and processors
We do not sell your personal data. We may share your data where necessary with trusted third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These may include:
Payment processing providers that handle card and electronic payments securely.
IT and hosting providers that supply and maintain our website, booking systems, email, and data storage.
Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers where sharing is necessary for lawful business and compliance purposes.
These service providers are only allowed to use your personal data in accordance with our instructions and must implement appropriate security measures.
We may also share your personal data where required by law, in response to lawful requests from public authorities, or to protect our rights, customers, or the safety of others.
Data retention
We keep your personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, and reporting requirements.
In general, we keep records of customer details, bookings, and invoices for the period required by applicable tax and accounting laws, after which the data will be securely deleted or anonymised. Communication records and service information are retained for a period that allows us to answer queries, handle complaints, and maintain service history, and are regularly reviewed to ensure they are not kept longer than necessary.
Data security
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect the personal data we hold from unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures include limiting access to personal data to staff and contractors who need it to perform their duties, using secure storage and communication methods where appropriate, and training staff on data protection responsibilities.
International transfers
Where we use service providers or systems that store or process personal data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in line with data protection law. This may include reliance on adequacy regulations or standard contractual clauses.
Your data protection rights
As a customer or prospective customer of Hounslow Carpet Cleaners, you have certain rights in relation to your personal data, subject to legal conditions and exemptions. These rights include:
Right of access. You have the right to request confirmation that we process your personal data and to receive a copy of that data.
Right to rectification. You have the right to ask us to correct inaccurate personal data and to complete incomplete data.
Right to erasure. In some circumstances, you may request that we delete your personal data where there is no longer a valid reason for us to keep it.
Right to restriction. You may ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we verify its accuracy or consider an objection you have raised.
Right to object. You have the right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including profiling, and to object at any time to the use of your personal data for direct marketing.
Right to data portability. Where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you may have the right to receive your personal data in a commonly used, machine readable format, and to request that we transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.
If you wish to exercise any of these rights, you can contact us using the details provided on our main contact page. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request and will respond within the time limits set by law.
Complaints
If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, we encourage you to contact us so we can try to resolve the issue. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office, which is the UK supervisory authority for data protection matters.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or how we process personal data. Any updates will be made available on our website, and the revised version will apply from the date it is posted. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data.