Privacy Policy - West Kensington Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how West Kensington Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all West Kensington Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who contacts us or uses our services. We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

West Kensington Carpet Cleaners provides carpet, upholstery, and related cleaning services. In the course of operating these services, we may process personal data about customers, property occupants, booking contacts, and service recipients. We act as a data controller for the personal data we determine the purposes and means of processing.

2. Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for delivering our services, managing bookings, communicating with customers, and fulfilling legal or operational obligations. Depending on your interaction with us, we may collect the following categories of data:

• Identity details such as your name and title.
• Contact details such as your telephone number, email address, and service address.
• Booking and service information such as appointment dates, requested services, property access notes, and service preferences.
• Payment-related information where relevant, such as payment confirmation and transaction records. We do not aim to store full card details unless this is necessary and securely handled by an approved payment provider.
• Communication records including emails, messages, calls, complaints, and feedback.
• Technical information if you visit our digital services, such as basic device and usage data, where applicable.
• Special instructions that may relate to access, cleaning concerns, sensitivities, or property conditions. We ask customers to avoid sharing unnecessary sensitive information.

We do not intentionally collect more data than is needed. If you provide additional information voluntarily, we will only use it where there is a lawful basis to do so.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

• to arrange and manage bookings;
• to provide cleaning services at your property;
• to communicate regarding appointments, service changes, and service follow-up;
• to process payments and keep records of transactions;
• to respond to enquiries, complaints, or requests;
• to maintain business and service records;
• to meet legal, accounting, tax, and insurance obligations;
• to improve service quality and customer experience;
• to prevent fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We process data only to the extent necessary and in a manner that is fair, lawful, and transparent.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis before processing personal data. The lawful bases we rely on may include:

Contract

We process your personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing bookings, delivering services, issuing confirmations, and handling payments related to the service agreement.

Legal Obligation

We process certain data to comply with legal duties, such as accounting, tax record-keeping, or responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This can include maintaining service records, improving operations, preventing fraud, and managing customer communications.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on consent, for example where it is required for a particular type of optional communication or processing activity. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who support our operations. These third parties act as processors when they handle data on our behalf and under our instructions. We require all processors to protect personal data and to use it only for the agreed purpose.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

• booking and scheduling service providers;
• payment processing providers;
• IT, software, and cloud storage providers;
• email and communication service providers;
• accounting, bookkeeping, and administrative support services;
• professional advisers such as insurers, lawyers, or auditors where necessary.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, court order, regulator, or other lawful authority. Where possible and appropriate, we limit disclosure to the minimum necessary.

We do not sell personal data. We also do not share personal data for unrelated marketing purposes without a valid lawful basis.

6. 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 depend on the type of data and why it is held.

• Booking and service records are usually retained for a reasonable period after the service to support customer care, record-keeping, and dispute handling.
• Financial and tax records are kept for the period required by law and accounting standards.
• Communication records may be kept for a limited time to manage enquiries, complaints, and service improvements.
• Legal or insurance-related records may be retained longer where claims, investigations, or legal obligations require it.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in a controlled way. Retention is reviewed periodically to ensure data is not kept longer than necessary.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. Measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, and limiting access to those who need it to perform their duties.

Although no method of transmission or storage is completely risk-free, we take reasonable and proportionate steps to keep your information secure.

8. International Transfers

If any processor stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent protections recognised under applicable data protection law.

9. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have a number of rights under UK GDPR. These rights may be subject to legal conditions or exemptions. They include:

• The right of access to obtain a copy of your personal data.
• The right to rectification to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• The right to erasure in certain circumstances, also known as the right to be forgotten.
• The right to restriction of processing in certain situations.
• The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
• The right to data portability where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
• The right to withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.

You also have the right to make a complaint to the UK data protection supervisory authority if you are unhappy with how your data is handled. We encourage customers to raise concerns with us first so we can address them promptly and fairly.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults or for arrangements made by adults on behalf of a household. 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 handled appropriately under data protection law.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data handling practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we handle personal data.

12. Summary of Our Commitments

At West Kensington Carpet Cleaners, we are committed to processing personal data responsibly, securely, and only where necessary. We collect limited information, use it for clear business and legal purposes, keep it only for as long as needed, and share it only with trusted processors or where required by law. Your privacy matters to us, and we aim to handle every customer’s data with care, respect, and compliance.