Privacy Policy - Homerton Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Homerton Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with the services we provide. It applies to all Homerton Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including people who enquire about our services, receive quotations, book appointments, or use our cleaning services. We are committed to handling personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Homerton Carpet Cleaners is the data controller for the personal information we collect in relation to our carpet cleaning and associated services. This means we decide how and why your personal data is processed. We take our responsibilities seriously and aim to protect your privacy throughout every stage of our work.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for providing our services, managing our business, and meeting legal obligations. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of data:

• Identity details such as your name.
• Contact details such as your address, telephone number, and email address.
• Service information including booking dates, service preferences, property access details, and instructions relevant to the cleaning service.
• Payment and transaction data such as billing records, payment status, and basic transaction details.
• Communication records including emails, text messages, call notes, and enquiries you send to us.
• Technical data if you interact with our online systems, such as IP address, device details, and usage information.
• Feedback and complaint records if you provide a review, raise a concern, or request a resolution.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it and it is necessary for a specific service reason. If we ever need to process such data, we will do so only where permitted by law and with appropriate safeguards.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

• request a quotation;
• make a booking;
• ask questions about our services;
• communicate with us by phone, email, or other channels;
• provide feedback or a complaint;
• make a payment or receive an invoice.

We may also collect limited data from third parties where necessary, for example from payment providers, referral partners, or service platforms that help us administer bookings. In every case, we aim to ensure that any third-party source is lawful and appropriate.

4. Why We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

• to provide carpet cleaning and related services;
• to manage bookings, quotes, and service delivery;
• to confirm appointments and communicate service updates;
• to process payments and maintain financial records;
• to respond to enquiries, complaints, and feedback;
• to maintain business records and improve our services;
• to comply with legal and regulatory requirements;
• to protect our business from fraud, misuse, or security threats.

We only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for a compatible purpose or another lawful reason.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each use of your personal data. Homerton Carpet Cleaners relies on the following lawful bases where appropriate:

a) Contract

We process your 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 handling bookings, providing quotations, delivering services, and processing payments.

b) Legal Obligation

We may process your data where required to comply with legal obligations, such as record-keeping, accounting, tax, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

c) Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. This may include managing customer relationships, improving services, preventing fraud, and maintaining internal administration.

d) Consent

In some cases, we may rely on your consent, particularly where it is required by law or for optional communications. Where consent is used, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

We do not rely on any one lawful basis for all processing activities. The lawful basis depends on the specific context and purpose of the processing.

6. How We Share Personal Data

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for our business operations and service delivery. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the service they provide. We only share the minimum information required and take reasonable steps to ensure your data is protected.

Processors we may use

• Payment processors to handle card or online payments securely.
• Booking and scheduling software providers to manage appointments and customer records.
• IT and cloud storage providers to host business systems and store data securely.
• Accountancy and bookkeeping services to support tax and financial compliance.
• Communication providers that facilitate email, messaging, or phone systems.
• Marketing or review platforms where you have chosen to interact with us through such services.

Where these providers process personal data on our behalf, they are required to act under our instructions and maintain appropriate safeguards. We do not allow processors to use your data for their own unrelated purposes.

We may also disclose data if required by law, court order, or a competent authority. If our business is ever reorganised, transferred, or sold, customer data may be transferred as part of that process, subject to legal protections.

7. Data Retention

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

• Customer service and booking records are generally retained for a reasonable period to manage ongoing customer relationships and resolve queries.
• Financial and transaction records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
• Correspondence and complaint records may be kept for a limited period to evidence service history and handle disputes.
• Technical and security logs may be retained for a shorter period unless needed for investigation or legal compliance.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

8. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful management of service providers. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to protect your information using measures that are proportionate to the risks involved.

9. International Transfers

If any of our service providers store or process personal data outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure that adequate safeguards are in place. These safeguards may include approved contractual protections or transfer mechanisms recognised under data protection law.

10. Your Rights

You have a number of rights under data protection law in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis for processing:

• Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification – to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain situations.
• Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
• Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
• Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
• Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

These rights are not absolute. Some requests may be limited where we must retain data to comply with legal obligations or to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

11. How to Exercise Your Rights

If you wish to exercise any of your rights, you may make a request in writing. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to respond within the time limits set by law and will keep you informed if we need more time due to complexity or the number of requests received.

12. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data, you can raise a concern with us first so that we can try to resolve the matter. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) or the relevant supervisory authority in your jurisdiction. We encourage you to contact us with any concerns so we can address them promptly and fairly.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data handling practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise made available. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.

14. Summary of Our Commitment

Homerton Carpet Cleaners is committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner. We collect only the data we need, use it for clear and legitimate purposes, keep it no longer than necessary, and share it only with trusted processors or where the law requires it. We respect your rights and aim to ensure that every customer in the area can trust us with their information.