Privacy Policy - Balham Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Balham Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data. It applies to all Balham Carpet Cleaners customers in the Balham area, including prospective customers, current customers, and individuals who have previously used our services. We are committed to handling personal information in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Scope of this Policy

This policy applies to personal data we process when you enquire about, book, receive, or pay for our carpet cleaning and related services. It also applies when you communicate with us by phone, email, online forms, or other channels connected to our business operations. We process only the information that is necessary for legitimate business purposes and service delivery.

By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in accordance with this policy.

2. Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity details: your name and, where relevant, business name.
Contact details: address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details: information relating to the carpet cleaning service requested, property access instructions, preferred dates, and job notes.
Payment information: records of payments made and billing history. We do not store full card details where a secure payment processor is used.
Communication records: emails, messages, call notes, and complaint or feedback records.
Technical information: limited data such as device, browser, or usage details if collected through online systems used for service administration.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you provide it voluntarily and it is necessary for a specific service or legal obligation. If you choose to share such information, we will only process it where permitted by law and with appropriate safeguards.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data to provide our services efficiently and lawfully. This includes:

responding to enquiries and quotations;
booking and managing appointments;
delivering carpet cleaning and related services;
handling billing, payments, and record keeping;
communicating about service updates, scheduling changes, or aftercare;
managing complaints, disputes, and service quality matters;
meeting legal, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
protecting against fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access.

We only use personal data for the purposes described above or for compatible purposes where permitted by data protection law.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the context, we rely on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process your personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing a quote, arranging a booking, completing the service, and managing payment.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where necessary to comply with legal requirements, including tax, accounting, insurance, and record-keeping obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. Examples include improving our services, maintaining service records, managing customer communications, and preventing fraud. We always consider whether such processing is fair, necessary, and proportionate.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily agree to receive certain types of marketing communication. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of record and the reason for processing.

Customer and booking records: retained for a reasonable period to manage service history, queries, and business administration.
Financial and accounting records: retained for the period required by applicable tax and accounting laws.
Complaint and communication records: retained as needed to resolve issues and demonstrate compliance.
Consent-based marketing records: retained until you withdraw consent or the information is no longer needed.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or otherwise dispose of it in accordance with our retention procedures.

6. Sharing Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who support our business operations. These parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We ensure appropriate contractual and technical safeguards are in place before sharing data.

Examples of processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers;
booking and scheduling software providers;
payment processing services;
accountants or bookkeeping service providers;
customer communication and email service tools;
professional advisers, where necessary.

Where processors handle personal data on our behalf, they are only permitted to use it according to our instructions and are required to protect it appropriately. We do not sell personal data.

7. International Transfers

If any processor stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal mechanisms designed to protect personal data.

8. 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, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful selection of trusted service providers. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to reduce risk and respond appropriately to any suspected data incident.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to legal limits and exemptions.

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 information.
Right to erasure: you can request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
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, including certain marketing uses.
Right to data portability: you may request transfer of data you provided, where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent: if we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will review your request in accordance with applicable law and respond within the required timeframe.

10. Marketing Preferences

We will only send marketing communications where permitted by law. If you no longer wish to receive such messages, you can object or withdraw consent at any time, depending on the basis for processing. We will respect your preferences and update our records accordingly.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are directed to adults and property holders or authorised occupants. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children in the ordinary course of business. If we become aware that we have collected such data without a lawful basis, we will take steps to delete it where appropriate.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our data handling practices. The updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how their data is used.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Balham Carpet Cleaners is committed to using personal data responsibly, fairly, and transparently. We collect only the information needed to provide services, rely on a clear lawful basis for processing, keep data only as long as necessary, and use trusted processors under appropriate safeguards. We also respect your rights and will handle requests in line with applicable data protection law.

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