Balham Carpet Cleaners Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Balham Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to customers and prospective customers. It applies to all Balham Carpet Cleaners customers in our service area, including people who contact us for quotes, book our services, or otherwise interact with us.
We respect your privacy and are committed to complying with the UK General Data Protection Regulation GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. This Privacy Policy describes the types of personal data we process, the purposes and lawful bases for processing, how long we keep your data, with whom we may share it, and your rights in relation to your personal data.
Who this policy applies to
This Privacy Policy applies to individual customers, prospective customers, and any person acting on behalf of a customer, such as a tenant, landlord, or property manager, within the area served by Balham Carpet Cleaners. By using our services or contacting us, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
Personal data we collect
We may collect and process the following categories of personal data when you contact us, request a quote, make a booking, or use our services:
Identification and contact details such as your name, postal address, service address, and any alternative contact person you nominate.
Communication details such as your chosen communication channel and information you provide when you contact us by phone, online form, messaging services, or post.
Service details such as details about the property where the cleaning is to be carried out, including type of property, number of rooms, type of flooring or furnishings, access instructions, and any special requirements.
Booking and transaction details such as dates and times of appointments, services provided, pricing, invoices, and payment records. We do not store full payment card details if you pay by card. Any payment processing is handled by third party payment providers who act as independent controllers or processors as applicable.
Usage and technical information where applicable, such as information you provide via our website contact forms, basic device and browser information submitted automatically, and records of your consents and preferences.
Feedback and correspondence such as records of communications, complaints, compliments, and survey responses.
How we collect your personal data
We typically collect personal data directly from you when you contact us, request a quote, make a booking, or interact with us in person or through our website or other communication channels. We may also receive your details from third parties who are arranging services on your behalf, such as letting agents, landlords, tenants, or family members. In such cases, we take reasonable steps to ensure that you are informed about the provision of your data to us.
Purposes and lawful bases for processing
We will only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so. The main legal bases we rely on under the GDPR are:
Performance of a contract We process your personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, for example to provide cleaning services, manage your bookings, issue invoices, and communicate with you about your appointments.
Legitimate interests We may process your personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This includes managing our operations, maintaining records of past work for reference and quality purposes, responding to enquiries, improving our services, and pursuing or defending legal claims.
Legal obligations We may process personal data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, such as record keeping and accounting requirements, and to respond to lawful requests from public authorities.
Consent In certain limited situations, we may rely on your consent for specific processing activities, such as sending certain types of marketing communications where consent is required. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.
How we use your personal data
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
To provide and manage cleaning services, including arranging appointments, carrying out work, and managing any follow up visits.
To respond to your enquiries, requests for quotes, and customer service communications.
To manage billing and payment, including issuing quotations, invoices, and receipts, and dealing with payment queries.
To keep administrative records of services provided for our internal accounting, operational planning, and quality assurance.
To send service related communications, such as appointment confirmations, reminders, updates, and notices about changes to our terms or this Privacy Policy.
To handle complaints, disputes, or legal claims, and to protect our rights, property, and safety, and those of our customers and staff.
To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, including tax and accounting rules.
Data sharing and processors
We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, and only to the extent required. These third parties may act as data processors, processing personal data on our behalf, or as independent controllers. We take steps to ensure that any data processors provide sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data.
Categories of third parties may include:
Payment service providers who process payments and refunds.
IT and system support providers who host or maintain our booking, communication, or record systems.
Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers where necessary for compliance and business management.
Public authorities where we are legally required to share information, such as law enforcement or regulatory bodies.
We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
International transfers
If we use service providers or systems located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, personal data may be transferred internationally. Where this occurs, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or standard contractual clauses, to provide a level of protection for your personal data that is essentially equivalent to that provided in the UK.
Data retention
We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. The exact retention period may vary depending on the nature of the data and our legal obligations.
In general, we retain customer and booking records for a period that allows us to respond to queries about past services, defend potential legal claims, and demonstrate compliance with our obligations. Financial records are kept for the period required by applicable tax and accounting laws. Once data is no longer needed, we will securely delete or anonymise it.
How we protect your personal data
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures include access controls, secure storage, and restrictions on who can access personal data within our organisation and among our processors.
Your data protection rights
Under the GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data, subject to certain conditions and exemptions. These include:
Right of access You can request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and obtain a copy of that data together with information about how it is used.
Right to rectification You can ask us to correct or complete personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
Right to erasure You can ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances, for example when it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected or where you withdraw consent and there is no other lawful basis for processing.
Right to restriction You can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, such as while we are investigating the accuracy of the data or our use of it.
Right to data portability Where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you may request to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine readable format and transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.
Right to object You can object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including any direct marketing. We will stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights, and freedoms, or we need the data to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
Rights in relation to automated decision making Balham Carpet Cleaners does not carry out automated decision making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority if you believe that your data protection rights have been infringed.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data protection practices. Any changes will be effective when the updated policy is made available. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we process your personal data.
