Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy - Stjohnswood Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Stjohnswood Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Stjohnswood Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including prospective customers, existing customers, and anyone who contacts us for a quotation, booking, or service enquiry.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We recognise the importance of privacy and take appropriate steps to safeguard personal information.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the personal data necessary to provide our services, manage bookings, respond to enquiries, and comply with legal obligations. The information we may collect includes:

Identity details: name, title, and any business or property name provided by you.
Contact details: address, email address, telephone number, and preferred communication method.
Service details: information about your property, carpet type, stain or cleaning requirements, access details, and any service preferences.
Booking records: appointment dates, service history, quotations, invoices, and payment status.
Communication records: messages, call notes, complaints, feedback, and other correspondence.
Technical data: if you contact us electronically, we may collect limited technical information such as IP address or device data where necessary for security and service delivery.

We do not intentionally collect special category personal data unless you choose to provide it and it is necessary for a specific service request. If you share sensitive information, we will handle it carefully and only where there is a lawful basis to do so.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide carpet cleaning and related services.
To prepare quotations, confirm bookings, and arrange service visits.
To communicate with you about your request, appointment, or invoice.
To manage customer records and service history.
To process payments and maintain accounting records.
To respond to complaints, queries, or customer feedback.
To improve the quality and efficiency of our services.
To comply with legal, regulatory, tax, and insurance requirements.
To protect our business, staff, customers, and property from fraud or misuse.

We will only use your data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably determine that we need to use it for another compatible purpose and the law allows us to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, delivering carpet cleaning services, sending invoices, and completing customer requests.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain personal data where required by law, such as for tax records, accounting, and compliance with regulatory duties.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This can include managing customer relationships, improving services, maintaining security, and handling basic administrative tasks. We always consider whether the processing is proportionate and respectful of your privacy.

Consent

In some cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily provide optional information or agree to receive certain communications. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties, known as processors, who help us operate our business and deliver services. These may include:

Payment service providers that process card or electronic payments.
Accounting and invoicing providers used for bookkeeping and tax compliance.
IT and cloud storage providers that support secure data storage and business systems.
Communication tools used to send appointment confirmations or service updates.
Waste disposal or subcontracted service providers, where needed to complete a job.

All processors are required to handle personal data securely, only on our instructions, and in compliance with data protection law. We do not sell personal data. We do not allow processors to use your information for their own purposes.

We may also share data with professional advisers, insurers, law enforcement, or public authorities where required or permitted by law, or where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the reason it is held.

Customer and booking records: kept for as long as needed to provide services and manage follow-up queries.
Invoices and accounting records: retained for the period required by tax and financial laws.
Correspondence and complaint records: kept for a reasonable time to resolve issues and maintain service records.
Consent-based communications: retained until you withdraw consent or the data is no longer needed.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or dispose of it in a safe manner.

6. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, password protection, limited staff access, secure storage, and careful disposal of records.

While we work hard to protect your information, no method of transmission or storage is completely risk-free. We therefore encourage customers to contact us promptly if they believe their information may have been compromised.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights regarding your personal data. These rights may be subject to certain legal conditions and exceptions.

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 in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction: you can ask us to limit the way we use your data in some situations.
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests.
Right to data portability: you can request that certain data be provided to you or another controller in a structured format.
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in accordance with applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request. We aim to respond within the time limits required by law.

8. Cookies and Website Use

If you visit any online pages associated with our services, limited technical data may be collected for essential site operation, security, and basic analytics. Where required by law, we will provide appropriate notice about such technologies. You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults acting on their own behalf or on behalf of a property owner, landlord, tenant, or business. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children for service purposes. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected such data without appropriate consent or legal basis, we will take steps to delete it where required.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or service arrangements. Any updated version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

11. Summary of Our Commitments

Stjohnswood Carpet Cleaners is committed to keeping your personal data safe, using it only where lawful, and retaining it only as long as necessary. We process information fairly, share it only with trusted processors or where required by law, and respect your rights under data protection legislation. Our goal is to provide a professional service while maintaining privacy, transparency, and accountability at every stage.