Charlton Carpet Cleaners Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Charlton Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data relating to our customers. It applies to all Charlton Carpet Cleaners customers in our service area, whether you contact us, request a quote, make a booking, or use any of our carpet and upholstery cleaning services.
Charlton Carpet Cleaners acts as the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. We are committed to complying with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and all applicable data protection laws.
Personal Data We Collect
We collect and process only the personal data that is necessary for us to provide our services and run our business. The types of data we may collect include:
Identification and contact details, such as name, postal address, and any other contact details you choose to provide when you communicate with us.
Booking and service information, such as property type, areas to be cleaned, preferred dates and times, access instructions, and any specific service requirements or notes you provide.
Billing and payment information, such as payment status and payment method details as required to process your payment. Where we use third-party payment processors, they may collect and process your payment card details on our behalf.
Communication data, such as details of enquiries, quotes, complaints, feedback, and any other communications between you and Charlton Carpet Cleaners.
Technical and usage data, where applicable, such as basic information about how you interact with our online content, including device type and general usage patterns, where this is provided by analytics tools or similar technologies.
How We Collect Personal Data
We may collect your personal data in the following ways:
Directly from you when you contact us, request a quote, make a booking, provide feedback, or otherwise communicate with us.
During the provision of our services, for example when our staff attend your property and update booking records or service notes.
From third-party service providers acting on our behalf, such as payment processors or booking systems, where this is necessary to manage your booking and payment.
Lawful Basis for Processing
We only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis under the UK GDPR. The main lawful bases we rely on are:
Performance of a contract. We process personal data to provide you with our carpet cleaning and related services, to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, and to manage your bookings, payments, and service delivery.
Legitimate interests. We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This may include maintaining our records, improving our services, handling enquiries, and exercising or defending legal claims.
Legal obligation. We may process your personal data where we are required to do so by law, for example for tax, accounting, or regulatory purposes.
Consent. In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of marketing communications where consent is required. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
How We Use Your Personal Data
We may use your personal data for the following purposes:
To handle your enquiries and provide quotes for our services.
To manage bookings, schedule appointments, and deliver our carpet and upholstery cleaning services.
To process payments, manage invoices, and keep accounting records.
To communicate with you about your booking, including confirmations, updates, and follow-up communications regarding the services provided.
To respond to feedback, complaints, or disputes and to improve our customer service and business processes.
To maintain internal records, manage our business operations, and meet legal and regulatory requirements.
Where permitted by law, to send you information about our services, offers, or updates that we think may be of interest to you. You can opt out of such communications at any time.
Data Sharing and Processors
We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We may share your personal data with trusted third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These may include:
IT and system support providers who maintain our booking, communication, or record-keeping systems.
Payment service providers who securely process your payments.
Professional advisers, such as accountants or legal advisers, where necessary for legitimate business or legal reasons.
Any third party to whom we may choose to sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or our assets. If such a change happens, the new owners may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this Privacy Policy.
Where we use data processors, we ensure that appropriate contracts and safeguards are in place requiring them to process your personal data only in accordance with our instructions, to keep it secure, and to comply with applicable data protection laws.
International Data Transfers
Where we use service providers that are located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, or that store data on servers outside these regions, we take appropriate steps to ensure that your personal data is afforded an adequate level of protection. This may include using standard contractual clauses or relying on other lawful transfer mechanisms recognised by the UK GDPR.
Data Retention
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and to meet any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
In general:
Customer and booking records are kept for as long as you are an active customer and for a period after your last interaction with us, in line with limitation periods for legal claims and tax record-keeping requirements.
Payment records and invoices are retained for the period required by tax and financial regulations.
Communication records, including enquiries and complaints, may be retained for a reasonable period to help us respond to follow up questions, resolve disputes, and improve our services.
When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete or anonymise it so that you can no longer be identified from it.
Data Security
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, and regular review of our data protection practices.
While we take reasonable steps to protect your personal data, no transmission of information or storage system can be guaranteed as completely secure. You are also responsible for taking reasonable precautions when sharing your personal data with us.
Your Data Protection Rights
Under the UK GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, you may have the right to:
Access your personal data and receive a copy of the information we hold about you.
Request correction of any inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
Request erasure of your personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it, for example where it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.
Object to the processing of your personal data where we are relying on legitimate interests and you believe your rights and interests override our reasons for processing.
Request restriction of processing of your personal data, for example while we verify its accuracy or our reasons for processing it.
Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to another service provider in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, where this is technically feasible and where the processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
Withdraw consent where we rely on your consent to process your personal data. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.
If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the contact details provided on our website or in our service communications. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request and we will respond within the timeframes required by law.
Complaints
If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, we encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve the issue. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK data protection supervisory authority. Details of how to do this can be found on the authority's official website.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. The updated version will be published by Charlton Carpet Cleaners and will apply from the date it is made available. We recommend that you review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.
