Privacy Policy - Brockley Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Brockley Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Brockley Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including individuals who enquire about our services, request quotes, book appointments, or receive cleaning services from us. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Last updated: This policy is intended to reflect our current data protection practices and may be updated from time to time to ensure ongoing compliance.

1. Who We Are

Brockley Carpet Cleaners provides carpet and upholstery cleaning services to residential and commercial customers in the local area. In the course of operating our business, we may process personal data belonging to customers, prospective customers, suppliers, and other individuals whose information is necessary for service delivery, administration, record keeping, and legal compliance.

For the purposes of data protection law, we act as a data controller in relation to the personal data we collect and determine how and why it is used.

2. What Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for the services we provide. Depending on your interactions with us, we may collect the following categories of information:

Information you provide directly

Identity details, such as your name.
Contact details, such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information, such as the type of cleaning required, property access details, preferred appointment times, and special instructions.
Payment and billing information, where needed to process transactions and maintain accounts.
Communication records, including messages, complaints, feedback, and notes relating to service requests.

Information we collect automatically or from third parties

Technical information such as device or browser details if you interact with our digital systems.
Appointment and transaction records generated during the course of our services.
Verification or referral information supplied by third parties where needed to deliver or arrange services.

We do not intentionally collect special category personal data unless it is necessary and lawful to do so. If such information is ever provided to us incidentally, we will treat it with appropriate safeguards and only process it where a valid lawful basis exists.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotes.
To manage bookings and deliver carpet cleaning services.
To communicate about appointments, service updates, and customer support matters.
To take payment, issue invoices, and maintain accurate business records.
To deal with complaints, queries, and aftercare.
To improve our services, internal processes, and customer experience.
To comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, and record-keeping requirements.
To protect our business, customers, and staff from fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for a compatible purpose or where we are legally permitted or required to do so.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes, confirming bookings, delivering cleaning services, and handling billing or service-related communications.

Legitimate interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing customer relationships, maintaining internal records, preventing fraud, and improving service quality. We carefully consider the impact of such processing and only use this basis when appropriate.

Legal obligation

We may process personal data when we are required to do so by law, including for accounting, tax, and regulatory purposes.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is specifically required for certain optional communications or uses. Where consent is used, it will be freely given, informed, specific, and withdrawable at any time.

5. Sharing Your Personal Data and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. However, we may share personal data with trusted third parties where this is necessary to operate our business and provide services efficiently. These third parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers.

Types of processors we may use

Payment processors to handle card or online payment transactions.
Booking and scheduling providers to manage appointments and service calendars.
IT and cloud storage providers that store emails, files, records, or software systems used in our operations.
Accountancy or bookkeeping services that support financial administration and compliance.
Customer communication tools used for sending service updates or administrative notices.

Where a processor is used, we ensure appropriate contractual safeguards are in place so that your data is processed only on our instructions and protected to a suitable standard. We may also disclose information to professional advisers, insurers, law enforcement, regulators, or courts where necessary and lawful.

6. International Transfers

If any service provider stores or processes personal data outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure that adequate protection is in place. This may include using approved contractual safeguards or relying on an adequacy decision where applicable. We aim to ensure that all personal data receives a level of protection consistent with UK data protection requirements.

7. 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 data and the reason it was collected.

Customer service records are typically retained for as long as needed to manage the relationship and resolve any queries or disputes.
Financial and invoicing records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Communications and booking records may be retained for a reasonable period to support customer service, administrative continuity, and legal claims.
Security and fraud prevention records may be retained where necessary to protect our business and meet legal obligations.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

8. 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 confidentiality obligations, and limiting access to data to those who need it for legitimate business purposes.

While no system can guarantee complete security, we take reasonable steps to reduce risk and to protect the information entrusted to us.

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 limitations or exemptions, but we will always consider your request carefully.

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 ask us to delete your personal 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.
Right to data portability – you can request that certain data be provided in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed. We encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve any concerns directly and promptly.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in the context of providing a service requested by an adult customer and only where lawful to do so.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

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

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Brockley Carpet Cleaners is committed to processing personal data responsibly, securely, and transparently. We collect only the information needed to provide our services, rely on lawful bases for processing, use trusted processors where necessary, retain data only for as long as required, and respect your privacy rights at every stage.

By using our services, making an enquiry, or engaging with us as a customer in the area, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy.