Privacy Policy - Grahame Park Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Grahame Park Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all customers of Grahame Park Carpet Cleaners in the Grahame Park area, including private households, landlords, tenants, and business clients who use our services. We are committed to handling personal data in a fair, transparent, and secure manner in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Grahame Park Carpet Cleaners provides carpet, upholstery, rug, stain removal, and related cleaning services. In the course of delivering these services, we may need to collect and use personal data about customers, property occupants, and individuals who arrange services on behalf of others. This policy describes the principles we follow and the rights you have over your data.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for service delivery, administration, safety, and legal compliance. Depending on the type of service requested, the information we may collect includes:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of a contact person.
Contact details such as telephone number, email address, and service address.
Property and service information including access notes, room details, carpet or fabric types, stain descriptions, and any special cleaning requirements.
Booking and transaction information such as appointment history, service requests, quotes, invoices, payment status, and customer correspondence.
Health or access-related information where you choose to provide it, for example mobility concerns, allergy-related requests, or instructions for safe entry.
Technical and communication data if you contact us electronically, such as message records and basic device or log information used to manage enquiries.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and you provide it voluntarily, for example where a medical or access need affects service delivery. Where this occurs, we apply extra safeguards and only use the data for the specific purpose for which it was shared.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data to provide efficient and reliable cleaning services. Typical uses include:

responding to enquiries and preparing quotes;
booking, confirming, and managing appointments;
delivering the requested cleaning service;
handling payments, refunds, and accounting records;
keeping records of service history and customer preferences;
dealing with complaints, disputes, and insurance-related matters;
meeting legal, tax, and regulatory obligations;
improving our service quality and customer experience;
protecting against fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access.

We do not sell personal data. We only use your information for purposes that are compatible with the reason it was collected.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Grahame Park Carpet Cleaners relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing bookings, delivering cleaning services, issuing invoices, and communicating about your appointment.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This includes maintaining customer records, improving service quality, preventing fraud, and managing business administration. We always consider whether our interests are balanced against your privacy rights.

Legal Obligation

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

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, particularly for optional information you choose to provide. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as data processors or independent controllers, only where necessary and with appropriate safeguards in place. These may include:

Payment processors that handle card or electronic payments securely.
Booking and scheduling software providers used to organise appointments and service records.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that support invoicing, tax, and financial administration.
IT and cloud service providers that store or maintain business systems and backups.
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where needed for business or compliance reasons.
Public authorities where disclosure is required by law.

All processors are expected to act only on our instructions, use appropriate security measures, and keep data confidential. Where data is transferred outside the UK, we ensure suitable protection is in place, such as an adequacy decision or approved contractual safeguards.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, unless a longer retention period is required by law. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the reason it is held.

Customer and booking records are normally kept for the period needed to manage the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterward for queries, service history, and dispute handling.
Financial and tax records are kept for the legally required period.
Correspondence and complaint records may be retained for a limited time to help resolve issues and demonstrate compliance.
Technical logs are retained only as long as needed for security, troubleshooting, or system administration.

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted, anonymised, or destroyed. We do not keep personal data indefinitely.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, restricted staff access, and regular review of our data handling practices. While no system is completely risk-free, we take reasonable steps to protect the information entrusted to us.

8. Your Rights

As a customer, you have a number of rights under data protection law. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and legal basis for processing. They include:

Right of access – you can ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – you can ask us to delete your data in certain situations.
Right to restriction – you can ask us to limit how your data is used in certain cases.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing where applicable.
Right to data portability – you can ask for certain data to be provided in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will assess your request in line with legal requirements and respond within the required timeframe. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

9. Automated Decision-Making

We do not use personal data for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects. Any service decisions are made by people, using the information you provide and our professional judgement.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in the context of a household service and provided by an adult responsible for the booking. If we become aware that we have collected information unlawfully, we will take appropriate steps to remove it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service arrangements. The most current version will apply to all customers in the Grahame Park area. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Grahame Park Carpet Cleaners is committed to respecting your privacy and using your personal data responsibly. We collect only what is needed, use it for clear and lawful purposes, keep it only as long as necessary, and share it only with trusted processors where required. Your privacy matters to us, and we aim to handle your information with care, fairness, and transparency.