Privacy Policy - New Southgate Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how New Southgate Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all New Southgate Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including prospective customers, current 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 General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services or providing your personal information, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. We only collect and process data that is necessary for the delivery, administration, and improvement of our carpet cleaning services.

1. Data We Collect

We collect personal data directly from customers, through communication channels, and where necessary from third parties who help us deliver our services. The types of information we may collect include:

Identity information such as your name and title.
Contact information such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as details of the cleaning service requested, property access notes, stain or fabric concerns, and preferred service dates.
Billing and payment information where relevant for invoicing and payment processing.
Communication records including emails, messages, and notes from phone calls.
Technical information such as basic website or device data if you contact us through digital channels, where applicable.
Customer feedback and service reviews.

We do not intentionally collect more data than is needed for the provision of our services. We also avoid collecting special category data unless it is absolutely necessary and you have provided the required consent or another lawful basis applies. Special category data may include information about health or other sensitive matters that could arise incidentally in communications with us.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations and respond to enquiries.
To book, manage, and deliver carpet cleaning services.
To communicate with you about appointments, changes, or follow-up matters.
To issue invoices, process payments, and manage accounts.
To maintain service records and handle customer service matters.
To improve our services, customer experience, and internal operations.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations.
To protect against fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access.

We only process personal data for specified and legitimate purposes. Where we wish to use data for a new purpose that is not compatible with the original reason for collection, we will assess whether a new lawful basis is required.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the context, our lawful bases may include:

Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotations, arranging appointments, cleaning your carpets, handling payments, and managing customer service requests.

Legal Obligation

We may process information where necessary to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, and regulatory requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include improving our services, maintaining records, preventing fraud, and managing customer communications. We always consider whether our legitimate interests are appropriate and proportionate.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is needed to process optional information or certain sensitive details. If we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

Where special category data is processed, we will only do so when permitted by law and when an appropriate condition for processing applies.

4. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to provide our services or meet our legal obligations. These third parties act as processors when they process data on our instructions, or as independent controllers where they determine their own purposes. We require all processors to handle data securely and in line with data protection law.

Examples of processors and third parties may include:

Payment providers who process card or electronic payments.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who assist with financial administration.
IT and cloud service providers who store or support business systems.
Communication service providers who help us send emails, texts, or appointment messages.
Insurance providers or professional advisers where needed to manage claims or disputes.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, court order, or lawful request from a public authority. We do not sell personal data.

5. International Transfers

If any processor stores or accesses personal data outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, approved contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms. We take reasonable steps to ensure that your data remains protected wherever it is processed.

6. Data Retention

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

Customer and service records are usually kept for the period needed to manage the relationship and any follow-up matters.
Financial records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Communication records may be retained for a reasonable period to deal with enquiries, complaints, or service history.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you. We regularly review retained data to ensure that it is not kept longer than necessary.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard personal data against accidental loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff awareness, and limited access to personal information on a need-to-know basis.

Although we take reasonable steps to protect your information, no system can be guaranteed as completely secure. If a data breach were to occur and it posed a risk to your rights and freedoms, we would take action in line with legal requirements.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the legal basis for processing.

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

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe your data has been mishandled. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so we can try to resolve them promptly.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and household customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally provided in the course of service delivery, such as household contact details. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child inappropriately, we will take steps to delete it where required.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal obligations, or business 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 information is handled.

11. Summary of Our Commitments

We are committed to respecting your privacy and protecting your information. In particular, we will:

collect only the data needed to provide our services;
use data for lawful and clearly defined purposes;
share data only with trusted processors or where legally required;
keep information secure and retain it only as long as necessary;
support your rights under data protection law.

New Southgate Carpet Cleaners values transparency, accountability, and responsible data handling. If you use our services in the New Southgate area, this Privacy Policy applies to you and explains how your personal information is managed from start to finish.