Privacy Policy - Barnehurst Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Barnehurst Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Barnehurst Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including anyone who requests a quotation, books a service, receives a cleaning visit, or communicates with us in connection with our carpet cleaning services.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in line 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 process, why we process it, and what rights you have.

1. Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for providing our services, managing our business, and meeting legal obligations. The data we collect may include:

• Identity details, such as your name or business name.
• Contact details, such as your telephone number, email address, and postal address.
• Service information, such as property access notes, service preferences, cleaning requirements, and appointment details.
• Payment-related information, such as billing records and payment confirmations. We do not store full card details unless this is necessary and securely processed by a payment provider.
• Communication records, including emails, messages, call notes, complaints, and any other correspondence relating to your booking or service.
• Technical data if you interact with us online, such as basic device or usage information needed to maintain security and functionality.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it and it is necessary for a specific service issue. For example, if you tell us about an allergy, mobility requirement, or health-related access need, we may process that information only to deliver the service safely and appropriately.

2. How We Use Your Data

Barnehurst Carpet Cleaners uses personal data for the following purposes:

• to provide quotations and manage bookings;
• to perform carpet cleaning and related services;
• to communicate about appointments, changes, or service issues;
• to handle invoicing, receipts, and payment administration;
• to keep business records and service histories;
• to respond to enquiries, complaints, or claims;
• to comply with legal and regulatory obligations;
• to maintain the security and performance of our systems and records.

We do not use your personal data for unrelated purposes without first ensuring that we have a valid legal basis to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only where a lawful basis under UK GDPR applies. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotations, confirming appointments, delivering carpet cleaning services, and handling billing.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain data to meet legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, insurance, record-keeping, or 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. Examples include managing our operations, improving service quality, preventing fraud, securing our systems, and maintaining business records.

Consent

In limited cases, we may ask for your consent, for example where we need to use optional information that is not essential to the service. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests

In rare circumstances, we may process personal data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in an emergency affecting health or safety.

4. Sharing Your Information

We may share personal data with trusted third parties when necessary for the operation of our business and the delivery of our services. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the role they perform.

• Payment providers for secure payment handling.
• Booking, messaging, or customer management systems used to schedule and administer services.
• Accountants or professional advisers for financial, tax, or legal support.
• IT and hosting providers that support storage, security, and system maintenance.
• Regulatory, law enforcement, or public authorities where disclosure is required by law.

Where we use a processor, we ensure there is a written agreement in place requiring them to process personal data only on our instructions, to keep it secure, and to comply with data protection law.

We do not sell personal data. We also do not share more information than is necessary for the relevant purpose.

5. International Transfers

If any of our service providers store or process data outside the United Kingdom, we will make sure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal protections designed to keep your data secure and properly protected.

6. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, tax, and insurance requirements. The exact retention period depends on the type of information and the reason for processing.

• Quotation and booking data may be retained for business administration and customer service records.
• Invoice and payment records are typically retained for the periods required by tax and accounting law.
• Communication records may be retained for a reasonable period to manage queries, disputes, or service history.
• Technical or security logs are retained only as long as needed for operational and security purposes.

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or otherwise dispose of it in a safe manner. Retention is reviewed regularly so that data is not kept longer than necessary.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, alteration, loss, or disclosure. These measures may include restricted access controls, password protection, secure storage, staff confidentiality requirements, and careful selection of service providers.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take reasonable and proportionate steps to safeguard your data. If a personal data breach were to occur, we would assess the risk and take any required action under applicable law.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights are not absolute and may only apply in certain circumstances.

• 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 – you can request deletion of your data where there is a valid legal basis to do so.
• Right to restrict processing – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
• Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
• Right to data portability – in some circumstances, you can request your data in a structured, commonly used format.
• Right to withdraw consent – where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We will respond within the time limits required by law and provide a clear explanation if a request cannot be fully met.

9. Automated Decision-Making

Barnehurst Carpet Cleaners does not use personal data to make decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes in the future, we will update this policy and provide additional information where required.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and businesses arranging cleaning services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is provided incidentally in connection with a service, such as access arrangements at a property. If we become aware that we have collected child-related data without a proper basis, we will take appropriate steps to delete 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 how we process personal data. The latest version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated to customers. We encourage you to review it periodically.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Barnehurst Carpet Cleaners values privacy and transparency. We collect only the data needed to deliver our services, rely on valid lawful bases, retain data for no longer than necessary, and use trusted processors with appropriate safeguards. We also respect your rights and will handle any request fairly and promptly.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Barnehurst Carpet Cleaners customers in the area.