Privacy Policy - Purley Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Purley Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Purley Carpet Cleaners customers in the Purley area, including individuals who request quotes, book services, make enquiries, or otherwise interact with us in connection with our cleaning services. We are committed to handling personal information lawfully, fairly, and transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Purley Carpet Cleaners provides carpet cleaning and related domestic and commercial cleaning services. In the context of data protection law, we act as the data controller for personal data we determine the purposes and means of processing. This means we decide why and how your personal data is used when you engage with our services.

2. Information We Collect

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

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, business name.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details including property access notes, cleaning preferences, appointment times, and service history.
Payment information where needed to process invoices, payments, or refunds. We do not store more payment information than necessary.
Communication records such as enquiries, complaints, feedback, and messages exchanged with us.
Technical data where you interact with digital systems used for administration, including IP address, device information, and basic usage logs, if applicable.
Special category data only where you voluntarily provide information relevant to access requirements, allergies, or health-related considerations necessary for safe service delivery. Such data is processed with extra care and only where appropriate safeguards apply.

We aim to collect only the information that is necessary for legitimate business, operational, legal, and customer service purposes. We do not intentionally collect more data than we need.

3. How We Collect Your Data

Personal data may be collected directly from you when you:

make an enquiry or request a quote;
book a service;
provide feedback or make a complaint;
enter into a service agreement;
communicate with us by phone, email, text, or other channels;
provide payment or billing details; or
otherwise interact with us as a customer, prospective customer, or business contact.

We may also receive data from third parties where needed to deliver our services, such as from payment providers, referral partners, property managers, or subcontractors acting on our behalf.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only when we have a lawful basis to do so. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as arranging appointments, delivering cleaning services, and managing billing.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information to comply with legal obligations, such as accounting, tax, fraud prevention, and regulatory requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing customer records, improving our services, responding to enquiries, maintaining security, and handling disputes.

Consent

Where required, we rely on your consent, especially for certain marketing communications or for processing particular sensitive information. You can withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing.

Vital Interests and Public Interest

These bases are unlikely to apply in most cases, but we may rely on them if necessary in exceptional circumstances involving safety or legal necessity.

5. Why We Use Your Data

We use personal information to:

provide and manage cleaning services;
communicate with you before, during, and after service delivery;
prepare quotations, invoices, and receipts;
record preferences and service notes for future appointments;
respond to complaints, disputes, and customer care matters;
improve our business operations, service quality, and scheduling;
meet legal, tax, and accounting obligations;
protect against fraud, misuse, and unauthorised access; and
send marketing communications where permitted and lawful.

We will always process your data in a manner that is adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary for the stated purpose.

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business. These third parties act as processors when they handle data on our instructions. We require processors to protect personal data and use it only for the agreed purpose.

Examples of processors may include:

payment processing providers;
accounting and bookkeeping services;
customer management or scheduling systems;
IT support and cloud storage providers;
professional advisers such as insurers, lawyers, or auditors;
subcontractors who assist with service delivery under our direction.

We may also disclose personal information where required by law, to comply with a legal process, or to protect our rights, customers, staff, or property. If data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and the reason for holding it.

Customer and service records are generally retained for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterward to manage follow-up, disputes, or warranty-related issues.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law.
Communication records may be retained for a period necessary to handle service history, complaints, and business administration.
Marketing data is retained until you unsubscribe or object, or until it is no longer needed.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention practices. We do not keep personal data indefinitely without reason.

8. Your Rights

As a data subject under UK GDPR, you have important rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to certain legal conditions or exemptions.

Right of Access

You may request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and obtain a copy of that data.

Right to Rectification

You may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

Right to Erasure

You may request deletion of your data in certain circumstances, such as where it is no longer necessary for the purpose collected.

Right to Restrict Processing

You may ask us to limit processing in certain cases, for example while a data accuracy issue is being reviewed.

Right to Data Portability

Where applicable, you may receive certain data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format and request transfer to another controller.

Right to Object

You may object to processing based on legitimate interests or to direct marketing. We will stop direct marketing where you object.

Rights Relating to Automated Decision-Making

We do not normally carry out decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes, you will be informed.

To exercise your rights, you should make a request in accordance with the applicable legal process. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

9. Data Security

We take reasonable 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, staff confidentiality practices, and limited sharing with authorised processors only. While no system is completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection appropriate to the risks involved.

10. Marketing Communications

Where permitted by law, we may send you service updates or marketing communications that relate to our services. You can opt out of marketing at any time. If you object to receiving promotional messages, we will stop sending them unless we have another lawful basis to continue. Your choice matters, and we respect it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data protection practices. The most recent version will apply to your use of our services. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their information is handled.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Purley Carpet Cleaners is committed to protecting the privacy of its customers in the Purley area. We collect only the information needed to provide our services, use it on a lawful basis, retain it for appropriate periods, and share it only with trusted processors or when required by law. We also respect your rights and will handle personal data in a way that is responsible, secure, and transparent.

By using our services, you acknowledge that this Privacy Policy applies to all Purley Carpet Cleaners customers in area.