Privacy Policy - Putney Carpetcleaning

This Privacy Policy explains how Putney Carpetcleaning collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Putney Carpetcleaning customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who has used our services or enquired about them. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Putney Carpetcleaning provides carpet, upholstery, and related cleaning services to customers in the local area. In the context of data protection law, we are the data controller for the personal data we collect and decide how and why it is used. This means we are responsible for ensuring your data is processed safely, securely, and only for legitimate purposes.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information that is necessary to provide our services, manage customer relationships, and meet legal or operational requirements. Depending on your interaction with us, this may include:

Identity information: name, title, and basic identification details.
Contact information: address, email address, telephone number, and service location.
Service details: information about the cleaning work requested, property access notes, preferred appointment times, and customer instructions.
Payment information: records of payments, invoices, billing status, and transaction history. We do not retain card details unless required for a specific payment process managed securely by a payment provider.
Communication records: messages, call notes, complaints, feedback, and correspondence.
Technical information: limited website or device data if you contact us through digital channels, such as IP address, browser type, or cookies, where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category personal data unless you choose to provide it, and only where it is relevant and necessary. If such information is shared with us, we will treat it with additional care and only process it where a lawful basis applies.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
to arrange, deliver, and manage cleaning services;
to issue invoices and process payments;
to maintain service records and customer history;
to handle complaints, queries, or after-service support;
to comply with legal, accounting, and insurance obligations;
to improve our services, operations, and customer experience;
to protect against fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We will only use your personal data in ways that are compatible with the reason it was collected. We do not sell personal data and we do not use it for unrelated purposes without a lawful basis.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Putney Carpetcleaning relies on the following lawful bases depending on the situation:

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing bookings, carrying out cleaning services, processing payments, and handling service-related communications.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include record-keeping, responding to customer queries, service quality monitoring, fraud prevention, and internal administration. When we rely on legitimate interests, we consider whether the processing is proportionate and whether your privacy rights are affected.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain data to comply with legal requirements, including tax, accounting, consumer protection, and insurance obligations.

Consent

In some circumstances, we may rely on your consent, such as for optional marketing communications or certain non-essential cookies. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time, and this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to run our business and provide our services. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the service they provide. Examples may include:

Payment processors that securely handle transaction processing;
Accounting or bookkeeping providers that assist with financial records and tax compliance;
IT and cloud service providers that support data storage, email systems, and operational tools;
Customer management or booking software providers used to organise appointments and service records;
Professional advisers such as insurers, auditors, or legal advisers where necessary;
Regulators, law enforcement, or public authorities where disclosure is required by law.

Where third parties process data on our behalf, they are required to protect it and use it only according to our instructions and applicable data protection law. We take reasonable steps to ensure that processors provide appropriate technical and organisational safeguards.

6. International Transfers

If any processor stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms approved under applicable data protection law.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and to meet legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason for holding it. In general:

Customer and service records are retained for a reasonable period after the service has ended to manage follow-up issues, warranties, disputes, or rebooking history.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law.
Communication records are kept for as long as needed to resolve queries or maintain accurate business records.
Marketing data is kept until you opt out or withdraw consent, where consent is the basis for processing.

When data is no longer needed, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or destroyed. We aim to keep retention periods proportionate and limited to what is necessary.

8. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and use of trusted providers with suitable security standards. Although no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take data protection seriously and regularly review our safeguards.

9. Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. Subject to legal limits and exemptions, these rights may include:

Right of access: you can ask for 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: you can ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances;
Right to restrict processing: you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases;
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing;
Right to data portability: you can ask for certain information in a structured, commonly used format where applicable;
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 UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data has been handled improperly. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so we can try to resolve them promptly and fairly.

10. Marketing Communications

We may send service-related communications where necessary to manage appointments, invoicing, or customer support. If we ever send optional marketing messages, we will do so only where legally permitted and, where required, with your consent. You can opt out of marketing at any time. We will respect your choice and update our records accordingly.

11. Cookies and Similar Technologies

If we use a website or digital booking tools, small files or similar technologies may be used to support functionality, analytics, and user experience. Where consent is required, we will ask for it in a clear and transparent way. You can adjust your browser settings to manage cookies, although some features may not work properly if cookies are disabled.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect legal, operational, or technical changes. Any updated version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their personal data is handled.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Putney Carpetcleaning is committed to handling personal data responsibly and transparently. We collect only what we need, use it only for clear and lawful purposes, share it only with trusted processors where necessary, and retain it only for as long as required. Privacy, security, and fairness are central to how we operate, and this policy is designed to give all customers in the area confidence that their information is treated with care.