Privacy Policy - Eltham Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Eltham Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data when providing cleaning services to customers in Eltham and the surrounding area. It applies to all Eltham Carpet Cleaners customers in area, including prospective customers, current customers, and individuals who enquire about our services. We are committed to handling personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant to providing our services, managing customer relationships, and meeting legal or operational obligations. The information we collect may include:

Identity details, such as name and title.
Contact details, such as address, phone number, and email address.
Service details, including the type of cleaning requested, property access information, and preferred appointment times.
Billing and payment information, where necessary for invoicing, payment processing, and record keeping.
Communication records, such as enquiries, complaints, service notes, and correspondence.
Technical information, where a website, booking form, or email service is used, such as IP address or device-related data collected by standard analytics tools.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and lawful to do so. If such data is ever provided, it will only be processed where a valid legal basis applies and appropriate safeguards are in place.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To schedule, deliver, and manage carpet cleaning services.
To process payments, issue invoices, and maintain financial records.
To communicate about appointments, service updates, or changes.
To handle complaints, feedback, and aftercare requests.
To maintain internal records and improve our services.
To comply with legal, tax, and regulatory obligations.

We process personal data only where it is necessary for a specific purpose and we always aim to limit processing to what is relevant and proportionate.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each use of personal data. Depending on the situation, Eltham Carpet Cleaners relies on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process data when it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, or to perform a contract with you. For example, this includes managing bookings, carrying out cleaning services, and issuing invoices.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your interests and rights do not override those interests. This may include managing customer records, improving our services, preventing fraud, and handling routine business administration. We assess these interests carefully to ensure they are appropriate and do not unfairly impact customers.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where it is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, such as record keeping for tax purposes or responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is required for certain types of optional communication. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell personal data. However, we may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business. These third parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We only use organisations that provide suitable assurances regarding data protection and security.

Examples of processors may include:

Payment service providers that process card or online payments.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that support invoicing, tax, and financial administration.
IT and cloud storage providers that host files, emails, or business systems.
Customer management or scheduling software providers used to organise bookings and service records.
Professional advisers, where necessary, such as accountants or legal advisers.

Where personal data is shared, we ensure that appropriate contractual safeguards are in place and that processors only act on our documented instructions. If personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that suitable legal safeguards protect that transfer.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and for any additional period required by law. Retention periods depend on the nature of the information and the reason we hold it.

Customer service records are usually kept for a reasonable period after the service is completed to manage queries, complaints, or follow-up matters.
Financial and tax records are kept for the period required by law and accounting rules.
Communication records may be retained for operational and legal purposes, particularly where they relate to disputes or ongoing service history.
Enquiry details may be kept for a short period if no service is booked, unless longer retention is necessary for legitimate business reasons.

When personal data is no longer needed, it is securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise disposed of in a safe and appropriate manner.

6. Security of Personal Data

We take the security of personal data seriously and use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff awareness, and careful management of third-party systems.

While no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, we work to reduce risk and ensure personal data is handled responsibly. If a personal data breach occurs and it is likely to result in a risk to individuals, we will take appropriate steps in line with applicable law.

7. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have rights regarding your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and legal basis for processing. They include:

Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain situations.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with how your data has been handled. We encourage you to raise any concerns with us first so we can try to resolve the issue promptly.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adult customers and property owners or occupiers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children as part of our normal business activities. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected such data, we will take appropriate steps to delete it or secure the correct legal basis where necessary.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services, or the way we process personal data. The most current version will apply to all Eltham Carpet Cleaners customers in area. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

10. Summary of Our Commitments

In summary, Eltham Carpet Cleaners only processes personal data where there is a valid lawful basis, uses it for clear and limited purposes, retains it only as long as necessary, and shares it only with trusted processors under appropriate safeguards. We are committed to protecting privacy, maintaining confidentiality, and respecting the rights of every customer whose information we handle.

Privacy is important to us, and we aim to be transparent, fair, and responsible in every stage of data handling. If personal data is no longer needed, we will remove or anonymise it in line with our retention practices and legal obligations.