Privacy Policy - Eel Pie Island Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Eel Pie Island Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our carpet cleaning services. It applies to all Eel Pie Island Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including current, former, and prospective customers who make an enquiry, request a quotation, book a service, or otherwise interact with us.

We are committed to handling personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We only process personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so, and we aim to ensure that all information is kept accurate, secure, and used fairly.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect and process different categories of personal data depending on how you interact with us. The types of information may include:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of a business or property manager.
Contact details such as telephone number, email address, and service address.
Service information including details of the carpet cleaning services requested, property access notes, preferred appointment times, and special instructions.
Payment information such as transaction records, payment confirmation, and billing details. We do not intentionally store full card details unless required by a secure payment provider.
Communication records including emails, messages, notes from calls, and correspondence relating to quotations, bookings, complaints, or aftercare.
Technical data where you interact with any digital systems we use, such as IP address, browser type, or device information, if collected by those systems.
Photographic or property condition records where images are taken for quality control, damage documentation, or before-and-after service records, with care taken to avoid unnecessary personal data.

We aim to collect only the information that is necessary for our legitimate business and service purposes. We do not intentionally collect special category personal data unless it is provided by you and is necessary for a specific service, safety, or legal reason.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations and respond to enquiries.
To schedule, deliver, and manage carpet cleaning services.
To communicate about appointments, access arrangements, service updates, and follow-up matters.
To process payments and maintain business records.
To handle complaints, disputes, insurance matters, or customer support requests.
To improve our services, manage quality standards, and maintain accurate internal records.
To meet legal, accounting, and tax obligations.
To prevent fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access to systems or property.

We do not use personal data for unrelated purposes unless we have a lawful basis or you have given appropriate consent where required.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Depending on the context, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, carrying out cleaning services, sending invoices, and managing 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. This may include customer administration, service improvement, internal record keeping, and preventing misuse or fraud. We always consider whether the processing is proportionate and relevant to the purpose.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, insurance, consumer law, or regulatory requirements. In some cases, we may need to retain certain records to support these obligations.

Consent

Where required, we rely on your consent. This may apply to certain optional communications or uses not covered by another lawful basis. If we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Retention of Personal Data

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the nature of the data and the reason it was collected.

Enquiry and quotation records may be kept for a reasonable period to manage follow-up and service history.
Customer service and booking records may be retained for as long as needed to support ongoing service delivery and dispute resolution.
Payment and invoice records are generally retained for the periods required under tax and accounting law.
Complaint or claims records may be kept longer where necessary to defend legal claims or respond to insurance matters.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete, anonymise, or securely archive it in accordance with our retention practices. We aim to avoid keeping data longer than necessary.

5. Processors and Sharing of Data

We may share personal data with trusted third parties that act as data processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. These parties are used only where necessary and are required to handle information securely and lawfully.

Payment service providers who securely process card or electronic payments.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who support invoicing, financial reporting, and tax compliance.
IT and cloud service providers who store or maintain our business systems, email, or records.
Communication platforms used to send and receive messages, appointment confirmations, or service updates.
Insurance providers, legal advisers, and professional advisers where necessary for claims, disputes, compliance, or business administration.
Regulators, public authorities, or law enforcement where required by law or where disclosure is necessary to protect rights, property, or safety.

Where a processor is used, we take steps to ensure that appropriate contracts and safeguards are in place. These arrangements require processors to act only on our instructions and to maintain suitable security measures.

6. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, and limiting access to data on a need-to-know basis.

Although we work hard to protect information, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. If a personal data incident occurs, we will respond appropriately and, where required, notify affected individuals and relevant authorities in line with legal obligations.

7. Your Rights

You have several rights under data protection law in relation to your personal data. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, these may include:

The right of access to obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
The right to rectification to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
The right to erasure in certain circumstances, also known as the right to be forgotten.
The right to restriction to limit how we use your data in specific situations.
The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing, where applicable.
The right to data portability to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
The right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to raise concerns 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 we can attempt to resolve any issue promptly and fairly.

8. Children’s Data

Our carpet cleaning services are generally directed at adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary for a service arrangement and provided appropriately by a parent, guardian, or responsible adult. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child inappropriately, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

9. 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 updates will apply from the date they take effect. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their information is used.

10. Summary of Our Commitments

We only collect personal data needed for carpet cleaning services and related administration.
We process data on lawful bases including contract, legitimate interests, legal obligation, and consent where required.
We keep data only as long as necessary and securely dispose of it when no longer needed.
We use trusted processors under appropriate safeguards.
We respect your data protection rights and handle concerns responsibly.

Eel Pie Island Carpet Cleaners is committed to privacy, fairness, and accountability in all customer interactions. If personal data is processed in connection with our services, it will be handled with care and in line with applicable law.