Privacy Policy - Hackney Wick Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Hackney Wick Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all customers of Hackney Wick Carpet Cleaners in the Hackney Wick area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who has previously used our services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services, making an enquiry, or otherwise providing us with your personal data, you acknowledge that your information will be processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

1. Who We Are

Hackney Wick Carpet Cleaners provides professional carpet and upholstery cleaning services for homes and businesses in the Hackney Wick area. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller in relation to the personal data we collect and use for our own business purposes. This means we decide why and how your personal information is processed.

We take data protection seriously and aim to ensure that all personal data is handled securely, appropriately, and only when necessary.

2. Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity data such as your name.
Contact data such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as details of the cleaning services requested, property access requirements, preferred appointment times, and service history.
Payment data such as billing details and payment status. We do not intentionally store full card details unless required through a secure payment provider.
Communication data such as emails, messages, notes from calls, and records of complaints or feedback.
Technical data where relevant, including basic website or device information if you contact us through digital channels.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it and it is necessary for the service, for example information relating to allergies, medical sensitivities, or access needs. If such information is provided, we will only process it where there is a lawful basis to do so and where it is necessary for service delivery or to meet legal obligations.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotes.
To arrange and deliver carpet cleaning and related services.
To manage bookings, scheduling, and customer records.
To communicate with you about your appointments, invoices, or service updates.
To process payments and maintain financial records.
To handle complaints, disputes, or requests for support.
To improve our services, training, and customer experience.
To comply with legal, accounting, tax, and regulatory obligations.

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 another compatible purpose and that use is permitted by law.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. Depending on the context, Hackney Wick Carpet Cleaners relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, carrying out cleaning services, sending service-related communications, and processing payments.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include record keeping, service quality monitoring, business administration, and responding to customer inquiries.

Legal Obligation

We may process your personal data where this is required to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, insurance, or record-keeping duties.

Consent

In some situations, we may rely on your consent, for example if you agree to receive certain types of marketing communications or if you voluntarily provide sensitive information that we need to process for a specific purpose. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. However, we may share it with trusted third parties where necessary to operate our business and deliver services. These third parties may act as processors, meaning they process personal data on our behalf and only under our instructions.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

Booking and scheduling service providers.
Payment processing providers.
IT and cloud storage providers.
Administrative and communication service providers.
Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers, where necessary.

We may also disclose personal data to public authorities, regulators, courts, insurers, or law enforcement where required by law or where necessary to protect our legal rights.

When we use processors, we aim to ensure they provide sufficient guarantees of security, confidentiality, and GDPR compliance. They are not permitted to use your personal data for their own purposes.

6. International Transfers

Where any service provider processes personal data outside the UK, we will take appropriate steps to ensure your information is protected. This may include the use of standard contractual clauses, adequacy regulations, or other lawful safeguards.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, and to meet legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

Retention periods may vary depending on the nature of the information:

Customer and service records are typically retained for a reasonable period after the last service interaction to manage follow-up matters, complaints, and service history.
Financial records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Correspondence and enquiry records may be kept for a period needed to manage business communications and resolve disputes.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or destroy it. We aim to keep information only for the minimum period necessary.

8. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include restricted access, secure storage, staff awareness, password protection, and where appropriate encryption or other protective controls.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to maintain a level of security that is appropriate to the risks involved.

9. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may not always apply in every situation, but we will consider each request carefully.

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 circumstances.
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 usable format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data has not been handled properly. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any concerns.

10. Marketing Communications

We may send you service-related information that is necessary for appointments, billing, or customer support. We will only send marketing communications where permitted by law and, where required, with your consent. You can object to direct marketing at any time.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children for marketing or account purposes. If we become aware that we have collected such information without appropriate justification, we will take steps to delete it.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, business practices, or service arrangements. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically.

13. Summary of Key Principles

Hackney Wick Carpet Cleaners is committed to processing personal data in a way that is:

lawful, based on a valid legal ground;
fair, meaning we do not use information in unexpected or unjustified ways;
transparent, so you understand how your data is used;
secure, with suitable measures to protect information;
limited, collecting only what is needed;
retained appropriately, for no longer than necessary.

In short, we handle customer data responsibly and only for legitimate business, service, and legal purposes. This policy applies to all Hackney Wick Carpet Cleaners customers in the area and is intended to ensure that your personal information is treated with care and in compliance with applicable data protection laws.