Privacy Policy - Dulwich Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy applies to all Dulwich Carpet Cleaners customers in the area. It explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data when you use our services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Dulwich Carpet Cleaners provides carpet cleaning and related cleaning services to customers in the Dulwich area. In this policy, references to “we,” “our,” or “us” mean Dulwich Carpet Cleaners. References to “you” mean the customer, client, or any individual whose personal data we process in connection with our services.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for providing our services, managing our relationship with you, and meeting legal or operational obligations. The types of data we may collect include:

Identity data such as your name and title.
Contact data such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as details about the cleaning service requested, property type, access instructions, and preferences.
Payment data such as payment status, billing records, and transaction references. We do not store full card details unless required by a secure payment processor.
Communication data such as messages, complaints, feedback, and notes from calls or emails.
Technical data such as device or browsing information if you interact with our digital systems.
Usage data such as records of appointments, service history, and customer interactions.

We may also receive personal data from third parties where necessary, for example from a person booking on behalf of another customer, a landlord, property manager, or payment provider. Where we do so, we will handle that information in line with this policy.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data only where we have a valid reason to do so. Typical uses include:

providing cleaning services and managing appointments;
processing payments and issuing invoices or receipts;
communicating with you about bookings, service changes, or follow-up matters;
responding to queries, complaints, or service issues;
maintaining business records and service history;
meeting legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations;
protecting our business, staff, customers, and property;
improving the quality, efficiency, and safety of our services.

We will not use your personal information for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected unless we have a lawful basis to do so and, where required, we notify you.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, delivering services, managing payment arrangements, and communicating about the service you requested.

Legal Obligation

We may process your data where we are required to do so by law, including for tax, accounting, fraud prevention, regulatory compliance, and record-keeping obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include improving our services, managing customer relationships, preventing misuse, and maintaining internal business records.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily agree to receive certain types of communication not covered by contract or legitimate interests. You may withdraw consent at any time, although this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law. The retention period may vary depending on the type of information and the purpose of processing. In general:

booking and service records are retained for a reasonable period to manage customer history and disputes;
financial and tax records are kept for the period required by applicable accounting and tax laws;
complaints and communication records are retained for as long as needed to resolve issues and protect our legal position;
technical and security logs are kept only for a limited time unless needed for investigation or compliance.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so it can no longer identify you. We regularly review the data we hold to ensure it is not kept longer than necessary.

6. Data Processors and Sharing

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business. These parties act as data processors or independent controllers depending on the circumstances. Examples may include:

payment service providers;
accountants and bookkeepers;
IT and cloud storage providers;
customer management or booking system providers;
professional advisers such as lawyers or insurers;
subcontractors or service partners assisting with work delivery.

We only share personal data where necessary and ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. Where a processor acts on our behalf, they are required to follow our instructions, protect your data, and use it only for the agreed purpose. We do not sell personal data.

7. International Transfers

If any of our service providers store or access data outside the UK, we will ensure that suitable safeguards are in place to protect your personal information. This may include standard contractual clauses or other lawful transfer mechanisms recognised under data protection law.

8. Data Security

We take the security of personal data seriously and use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or loss. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful management of data sharing. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work hard to keep your information safe and to reduce risks where possible.

9. Your Rights

Under the UK GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These may include:

The right of access – you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
The right to rectification – you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
The right to erasure – in some cases, you can ask us to delete your personal data.
The right to restriction – you can ask us to limit the way we use your data in certain circumstances.
The right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
The right to data portability – you can request your data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
The right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will consider your request in line with data protection law. Some rights may only apply in particular circumstances, and we may need to verify your identity before responding. We will not unlawfully discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

10. Complaints and Supervisory Authority

If you are unhappy with the way we handle your personal data, you have the right to raise a complaint with the relevant data protection authority in the UK. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue promptly and fairly. However, you are entitled to contact the supervisory authority directly if you prefer.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business or household customers arranging cleaning services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is provided incidentally in the course of a service booking or property visit. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child without appropriate justification, we will take steps to delete it where required.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our business operations, or how we process personal data. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so you remain informed about how we protect your information.

13. Summary of Your Data Protection Rights

In short: we collect only the information needed to provide and manage our services, use it under recognised lawful bases, retain it only as long as necessary, and share it carefully with trusted processors. You have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, object, and in some cases port your data. We aim to keep all Dulwich Carpet Cleaners customers informed, respected, and protected.

This policy is designed to be clear, lawful, and proportionate for our customers in the Dulwich area.