Privacy Policy - Wennington Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Wennington Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Wennington Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and individuals who enquire about our services. We are committed to handling personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable privacy laws.

We believe privacy should be clear, fair, and transparent. This policy describes what information we may collect, why we collect it, the legal bases we rely on, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and the rights you have over your data.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the personal data that is necessary to provide and manage our services, respond to enquiries, and meet legal or operational requirements. The information we may collect includes:

Identity details such as your name.
Contact details such as your address, phone number, and email address.
Service information such as the type of cleaning requested, property access details, preferred appointment times, and service history.
Payment-related details such as billing records and transaction references. We do not store full payment card details where a third-party payment provider handles the transaction.
Communication records such as emails, messages, call notes, complaints, and feedback.
Technical information if you visit any digital service associated with our business, such as basic device or usage information where applicable.

We generally collect information directly from you when you request a quotation, make a booking, communicate with us, or use our services. In some cases, we may receive details from third parties acting on your behalf, such as landlords, letting agents, property managers, or family members arranging services for you.

2. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide carpet cleaning and related services.
To manage enquiries, bookings, quotations, and appointments.
To communicate with you about your service request.
To process payments, invoices, and refunds where applicable.
To maintain records of services provided.
To handle complaints, aftercare, and customer support.
To comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, and record-keeping duties.
To protect our business, customers, and staff from fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We do not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with those listed above without first ensuring we have a valid lawful basis to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. The lawful bases we rely on may include:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, delivering services, managing appointments, and handling payment arrangements.

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 may include maintaining customer records, improving service quality, responding to complaints, and protecting against fraud or misuse.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information to comply with laws and regulations, such as tax, accounting, and business record requirements.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you agree to receive certain optional communications. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

We only collect and use personal data where there is a valid reason to do so, and we take care to ensure the information is relevant and proportionate.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who process information on our behalf. These parties act as processors and are only permitted to use your data in accordance with our instructions and applicable law.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

Booking and administration systems.
Payment processing providers.
Accounting or bookkeeping services.
IT, data storage, and communication providers.
Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers, where necessary.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, regulation, court order, or where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

Where a processor is used, we take appropriate steps to ensure that data is protected by suitable contractual and technical safeguards. We do not sell personal data.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, and reporting obligations.

Customer and service records are generally retained for a period that allows us to manage service history, queries, and business administration.
Financial and tax records are kept for the period required by law.
Correspondence and complaints may be retained for as long as needed to resolve the matter and maintain accurate business records.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete it or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you. Retention periods may vary depending on the nature of the data and the legal obligations that apply.

6. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to safeguard personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff awareness, and limited data access on a need-to-know basis.

While we take privacy seriously and work to protect your information, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If a personal data breach occurs and is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will act in accordance with our legal duties.

7. Your Rights

You have a number of rights under data protection law. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the legal basis for processing.

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

Exercising your rights will not usually affect your ability to use our services, although some requests may limit our ability to provide certain services or maintain records required by law.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults arranging cleaning services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children for marketing or service administration purposes unless it is necessary in connection with a customer request or property access arrangement and is provided by an adult with authority to do so.

9. International Transfers

Where personal data is processed by service providers outside the United Kingdom, we will take steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place in line with applicable data protection requirements.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. The latest version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

11. Summary of Our Approach

At Wennington Carpet Cleaners, we aim to keep personal data handling simple, secure, and proportionate. We only collect what we need, use it for clear purposes, retain it for no longer than necessary, and limit access to trusted processors and advisers. We also respect your rights and will respond appropriately to valid data protection requests.

If you are a Wennington Carpet Cleaners customer in the area, this policy applies to you and explains how we protect your personal information.