Privacy Policy - Wimbledon Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Wimbledon Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data in connection with the services we provide. It applies to all Wimbledon Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who contacts us regarding our services. 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.

By using our services or providing us with your information, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

1. Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data that is necessary for us to provide our cleaning services, manage customer relationships, and meet our legal obligations. The information we may collect includes:

Identity data such as your name and title.
Contact data such as your address, email address, and phone number.
Service details such as property access instructions, cleaning preferences, carpet condition notes, appointment details, and service history.
Payment-related data such as billing details and transaction records, where applicable.
Communication data such as messages, feedback, complaints, and any other correspondence.
Technical data such as limited website or device information if you contact us online, though we do not use this policy to describe website cookies in detail.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it to us, or unless we are required to do so for a specific lawful reason. If such information is ever provided, it will be handled with extra care and only where permitted by law.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide carpet cleaning and related services.
To arrange appointments and manage bookings.
To communicate with you about quotes, service updates, or changes.
To issue invoices, process payments, and maintain financial records.
To respond to enquiries, complaints, or requests.
To improve our services and customer experience.
To comply with legal and regulatory obligations.
To prevent fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes set out in this policy, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes managing bookings, carrying out cleaning services, and handling payment administration.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. Examples include managing service records, improving service quality, and preventing fraud or misuse. Where we rely on this basis, we ensure that the processing is proportionate and limited to what is necessary.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information to comply with legal obligations, such as accounting, tax, and record-keeping requirements.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may ask for your consent, for example where explicit permission is needed for a particular type of communication or use of your data. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests or Public Task

These bases are unlikely to apply in the ordinary course of our services, but we may process data in exceptional circumstances if required by law.

4. Sharing Your Data with Processors

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

Payment processing providers.
Appointment or booking management systems.
Accounting and invoicing software providers.
Email and communication service providers.
IT support and data storage providers.

We may also disclose personal data where necessary to professional advisers, insurers, regulators, law enforcement bodies, or courts, but only where legally required or justified. We do not sell your personal data.

5. International Transfers

If any processor stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will take appropriate safeguards to ensure your data remains protected to a standard consistent with UK data protection law. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other approved transfer mechanisms.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, reporting, or dispute resolution requirements. Our retention periods are determined by:

The nature of the services provided.
Any contractual obligations.
Applicable legal retention requirements.
The need to resolve disputes or enforce agreements.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in a manner consistent with our legal and operational needs. We do not keep personal data indefinitely.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, and restricted access to records. While we strive to protect your data, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, these include:

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

You also have the right to raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any issue promptly and fairly.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and property-related customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children in the normal course of business. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected such information, we will take appropriate steps to delete it unless we are legally required to retain it.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal obligations, or service arrangements. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to remain informed about how we protect your information.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Wimbledon Carpet Cleaners is committed to respecting privacy and handling personal data responsibly. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, store it securely, and keep it only for as long as necessary. Our approach is guided by the principles of lawfulness, fairness, transparency, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, and confidentiality.

We understand that privacy matters. That is why we aim to ensure that every customer can trust us to manage personal information carefully, professionally, and in full compliance with GDPR requirements.