Tooting Carpet Cleaning Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Tooting Carpet Cleaning collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal data when you use our carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all customers and prospective customers of Tooting Carpet Cleaning in the Tooting area, including anyone who contacts us to request information, quotations, or appointments.

We are committed to complying with the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. We only process personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner and only for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

What Personal Data We Collect

We collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with us and the services you request. The main categories of data we may collect are:

Identification data such as your name and, where relevant, business or company name.

Contact details such as your address, service location, and any other location details you provide, as well as any non-digital correspondence you send to us.

Service information such as details of the property or premises where cleaning is to be carried out, access instructions you provide, and any specific requirements or notes regarding your carpets, upholstery, or other items.

Booking and transaction data such as dates and times of appointments, records of services provided, amounts charged, payment status, and any relevant billing or invoicing information. We do not store full payment card numbers; if card payments are used, these are processed securely by payment service providers.

Communication records such as notes of enquiries, quotations, feedback you provide, and any complaints or follow up correspondence relating to our services.

Technical data where relevant, such as basic information provided automatically when you visit our website, including the type of device and browser used, and general usage data. We aim to collect only the minimum technical data necessary for the functioning and security of our website or for measuring overall interest in our services.

How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us, request a quotation, make a booking, or communicate with us in any other way. This may be in person, over the phone, or through online or written communication channels.

We may also receive limited personal data from third parties where it is necessary to perform a service you have requested, such as property access arrangements via landlords, letting agents, or property managers. In such cases, we take steps to confirm that those third parties are permitted to share your information with us.

Purposes and Lawful Basis for Processing

We process your personal data only where we have a valid lawful basis under data protection law. The main purposes and lawful bases for processing are:

To provide our services. We use your identification, contact, and service information to supply carpet cleaning and related services, manage bookings, access your premises, and complete the work you have requested. The lawful basis is the performance of a contract or taking steps at your request before entering into a contract.

To handle enquiries and quotations. We process your details to respond to information requests, provide quotations, and follow up where appropriate. The lawful basis is our legitimate interest in responding to potential customers and growing our business, or taking steps at your request before entering into a contract.

To manage payments and accounts. We process transaction data to issue invoices, confirm payments, and maintain accurate financial records. The lawful basis is the performance of a contract and our legal obligation to maintain appropriate financial and tax records.

To improve and manage our services. We may use limited information about how you use our services and interact with us to improve our processes, train staff, and develop new services. The lawful basis is our legitimate interest in operating and developing our business, provided that your rights and interests are not overridden.

To send relevant service communications. We may send non-marketing service messages, such as booking confirmations, appointment reminders, and important updates directly related to your existing bookings. The lawful basis is the performance of a contract and our legitimate interest in providing clear and efficient service communications.

To comply with legal and regulatory obligations. We may need to process and retain certain data to comply with tax, accounting, health and safety, or other legal requirements. The lawful basis is compliance with legal obligations.

To send marketing communications where permitted. If we send marketing about our services, we will do so only where the law allows, and you can object or opt out of marketing at any time. The lawful basis will be our legitimate interests or your consent, depending on how the communication is sent and your relationship with us.

Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or for as long as required to meet legal, regulatory, or operational requirements.

In general, we retain customer records, including identification, contact, booking, and transaction data, for a period that allows us to respond to queries about past work and meet our tax and accounting obligations. This is usually up to six years from the end of our relationship with you, unless a longer period is required by law or necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

We retain enquiry records without a confirmed booking for a shorter period, sufficient to follow up on your request and manage our internal records. Communication records such as complaints or feedback may be retained as long as reasonably necessary to resolve issues and improve services.

Technical data used for website functionality, analytics, or security is kept only for as long as needed for those purposes and is then deleted, anonymised, or aggregated where possible.

Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your information with trusted third parties where necessary to provide our services, run our business, or comply with legal obligations. These third parties act as data processors or independent controllers, depending on their role.

Examples of such third parties include payment service providers that securely process card or electronic payments, IT and hosting providers who support our business systems and data storage, and professional advisers such as accountants who assist with financial and legal compliance.

Where we use third party processors, we ensure that appropriate data protection agreements are in place requiring them to process your data only in accordance with our instructions, keep it secure, and comply with applicable data protection laws.

We may also share your data with public authorities or law enforcement agencies where we are required to do so by law or where it is necessary to prevent or investigate suspected fraud or other unlawful activity.

International Transfers

We aim to store and process personal data within the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area. Where it is necessary for data to be transferred to a country outside these areas, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or equivalent protection measures, to protect your rights and freedoms.

Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures may include secure storage systems, controlled access to records, staff training, and regular review of our security practices.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to ensure that the level of protection we provide is appropriate to the type of data processed and the risks involved.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights apply subject to certain conditions and exemptions. They include:

The right to be informed about how your data is collected and used, which is one of the purposes of this Privacy Policy.

The right of access to obtain confirmation of whether we process your personal data and, if so, to request a copy of that data.

The right to rectification to have inaccurate or incomplete personal data corrected or updated.

The right to erasure, also known as the right to be forgotten, in certain circumstances where there is no longer a lawful basis for us to continue processing your data.

The right to restrict processing in certain situations, for example where you contest the accuracy of the data or object to our processing, and we are considering your request.

The right to data portability to receive personal data that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine readable format and, where technically feasible, to have it transmitted to another controller where the processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.

The right to object to processing that is based on our legitimate interests, including certain profiling, and always to object to direct marketing.

The right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you, where applicable.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, you can contact us using the contact methods normally available for Tooting Carpet Cleaning. We may need to verify your identity to protect your information and that of others.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe your data protection rights have been breached. We encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve your concerns.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, our data processing practices, or legal and regulatory developments. The updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We recommend that you review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we process and protect your personal data.

Your continued use of Tooting Carpet Cleaning services in the Tooting area after any changes to this Privacy Policy will be taken as your acknowledgement of those changes as far as they relate to our processing of your personal data in connection with providing our services.