Privacy Policy - Feltham Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Feltham Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with its carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Feltham Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including prospective customers, active customers, and anyone who makes an enquiry or receives a service from us.

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. This policy is intended to help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and what rights you have over your personal data.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for providing our services, managing customer relationships, and meeting legal or operational obligations. The type of information we may collect includes:

Identity information, such as your name and, where relevant, the name of your business or property manager.
Contact details, including address, telephone number, and email address.
Service information, such as details about the cleaning service requested, property type, carpet or upholstery condition, and special instructions.
Payment information, such as payment status, transaction reference, and limited billing information. We do not store unnecessary financial details where this is not required.
Communication records, including emails, messages, phone notes, quotes, complaints, and service feedback.
Technical information where relevant, such as basic website or device data if you contact us through digital channels.
Special category data only where you choose to provide it and only when strictly necessary, for example information about accessibility needs or health-related requirements affecting service delivery.

We do not intentionally collect more data than we need. If we receive information that is not required, we will handle it appropriately and limit its use.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide carpet cleaning and related services.
To prepare quotes, schedule appointments, and manage bookings.
To communicate with you about your enquiry or service request.
To process payments and maintain business records.
To respond to feedback, complaints, or service issues.
To improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of our services.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and insurance requirements.
To protect against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We will only use your personal data for the purpose it was collected for, unless we reasonably need to use it for a compatible related purpose and the law allows us to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Feltham Carpet Cleaners relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes handling enquiries, giving quotes, arranging appointments, delivering services, and dealing with payment and service records.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include improving our services, maintaining accurate records, preventing fraud, and managing customer relationships.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where required to meet legal obligations, including tax, accounting, health and safety, and record-keeping duties.

Consent

Where consent is needed, we will ask for it clearly and separately. For example, this may apply to optional marketing communications or the processing of special category data that you voluntarily provide. You may withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent.

4. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the purpose for which it is used.

Customer service records are typically retained for a period needed to manage the relationship and resolve any follow-up issues.
Invoices, transaction records, and accounting information are retained for the period required by tax and financial regulations.
Correspondence and complaints may be retained for a reasonable period to help us handle disputes and improve service quality.
Consent records are kept while consent remains valid and for a limited period afterwards to demonstrate compliance.

When personal data is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise disposed of safely.

5. Processors and Data Sharing

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who process information on our behalf, known as processors. These processors only act on our instructions and are required to protect your data.

Processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers used to store data, manage communications, or support business operations.
Payment processors that handle transactions securely.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers that help manage financial records.
Scheduling or administrative tools used to arrange appointments and manage customer information.

We may also share data where required by law, to protect our rights, to prevent fraud, or to respond to lawful requests from public authorities. We do not sell personal data.

Where any processor is located outside the UK, we will take appropriate steps to ensure your data is protected to a standard that is consistent with applicable data protection law.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, restricted permissions, and staff awareness of confidentiality obligations.

While no system can be guaranteed as completely secure, we work to reduce risks and respond promptly if we identify a security concern. We also expect any processors we use to maintain suitable safeguards.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These may include:

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 data.
Right to erasure – in certain circumstances, you can request that we delete your data.
Right to restriction – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in some cases.
Right to data portability – where applicable, you may request a copy of certain data in a structured format.
Right to object – you can 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.

Please note that some rights are subject to legal limits and may not apply in every situation. If you exercise a right, we may need to retain certain information where required by law or for legitimate business purposes.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults responsible for the relevant property or booking. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children as a primary purpose. If we become aware that we have collected such data without appropriate reason or permission, we will take steps to delete it where appropriate.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it becomes effective. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to remain informed about how we protect personal data.

10. Summary of Our Commitment

Feltham Carpet Cleaners is committed to processing personal data responsibly, minimising what we collect, limiting use to clear and lawful purposes, and protecting information through suitable safeguards. We aim to be transparent about our practices and respectful of your rights at all times.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Feltham Carpet Cleaners customers in the area and covers personal data collected in connection with enquiries, bookings, services, payments, and communications.