Privacy Policy - Finsburypark Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Finsburypark Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Finsburypark Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including prospective customers, existing customers, and anyone who makes an enquiry, booking, or payment for services.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy sets out the categories of data we collect, the lawful bases we rely on, how long we retain data, the processors we may use, and the rights available to individuals.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information needed to provide our services effectively, manage bookings, process payments, and meet legal and operational obligations. The types of data we may collect include:

Identity data: name and, where relevant, business name.
Contact data: address, telephone number, and email address.
Service data: details of the cleaning work requested, property access information, service preferences, and notes relevant to the job.
Transaction data: payment status, invoices, receipts, and service history.
Technical data: basic website or communication records if you contact us electronically, such as device or browser information where automatically collected.
Communication data: messages, calls, complaints, reviews, and correspondence.

We generally do not seek special category data. However, in limited situations, a customer may voluntarily provide information that could indirectly reveal sensitive personal circumstances. If this happens, we handle it with appropriate care and only where necessary for the service requested.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data to operate our business and deliver our services. Typical uses include:

responding to enquiries and providing quotations;
arranging appointments and confirming service details;
delivering carpet cleaning and related services;
processing payments, issuing invoices, and maintaining records;
handling complaints, aftercare, and service follow-up;
maintaining internal administration and business records;
meeting tax, accounting, insurance, and legal obligations;
preventing fraud, misuse, or unauthorised activity;
improving our service quality and customer experience.

We only collect data that is relevant and proportionate to these purposes.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to use personal data. Depending on the situation, Finsburypark Carpet Cleaners may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, delivering cleaning services, and managing payments.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where required to comply with legal duties, such as tax, accounting, record-keeping, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing customer relationships, securing our operations, preventing fraud, and improving services. When we rely on legitimate interests, we assess the impact on individuals and apply safeguards.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is required for a specific optional communication or marketing activity. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected, or as required by law. Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason for holding it.

Customer and booking records: retained for a reasonable period after service completion to handle queries, disputes, and service history.
Invoices and accounting records: retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Correspondence and complaints: retained while needed to resolve the matter and for a short period afterwards for audit or reference.
Marketing preferences: retained until you withdraw consent or object where applicable.

When data is no longer required, we take appropriate steps to delete, anonymise, or securely dispose of it. We do not retain personal data indefinitely.

5. Processors and Third Parties

We may share personal data with trusted third-party service providers who act as processors on our behalf. These processors only handle data according to our instructions and are required to keep it secure and confidential. Typical processors may include:

payment service providers that process card or electronic payments;
accounting and bookkeeping providers that support financial records and compliance;
IT and cloud storage providers that host data, email, or administrative systems;
customer management or scheduling systems used for booking and service coordination;
professional advisers such as lawyers, insurers, or auditors where needed;
public authorities where disclosure is required by law.

We do not sell personal data. Any third party receiving data from us must apply appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it.

6. Data Security

We take reasonable and proportionate measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff awareness, and limiting access to data on a need-to-know basis.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we continuously review our practices to reduce risks and improve safeguards.

7. 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 legal basis for processing and the circumstances of the request.

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

To exercise any of these rights, you should make a request in a clear manner and provide enough information for us to identify you and respond appropriately. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

We aim to respond within the time limits set by law. If a request is complex or numerous, we may take longer where permitted by GDPR.

8. Complaints and Supervisory Authority

If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data, you may raise the issue with us so we can try to resolve it. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK data protection supervisory authority if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

9. Updates to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practice, or the way we process personal data. The latest version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise made available.

This policy is intended to provide clear and transparent information about how personal data is handled by Finsburypark Carpet Cleaners for all customers in the area.