Privacy Policy - Bowes Park Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Bowes Park Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data relating to our customers in the Bowes Park area. It applies to all Bowes Park Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and individuals who have previously used our services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, 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

Bowes Park Carpet Cleaners provides carpet cleaning and related cleaning services to households and businesses in Bowes Park and the surrounding area. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller in relation to the personal data we collect and use about our customers and service users.

2. Personal data we collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary to provide our services, manage our business, and meet our legal obligations. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of data:

Identity details such as your name, title, and, where relevant, business name.
Contact details such as address, telephone number, and email address.
Service information such as cleaning requirements, property access details, preferred appointment times, and service history.
Payment information such as payment status, transaction references, and billing records. We do not intentionally store full card details unless this is necessary and handled securely through a payment provider.
Communication records such as enquiries, complaints, feedback, and correspondence.
Technical information if you interact with our digital systems, including basic device or usage information where necessary for security or performance.

We do not seek to collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it to us voluntarily, for example where it is relevant to access arrangements, safety, or a specific service request. If such information is provided, we will handle it with extra care and only for the purpose for which it was shared.

3. How we use personal data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To arrange, deliver, and manage cleaning services.
To communicate with you about bookings, updates, and service changes.
To process payments, issue invoices, and maintain financial records.
To handle complaints, disputes, and customer support matters.
To improve our services, train staff, and manage quality.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
To prevent fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity and maintain security.

We will only use your data for the purposes described above or for a closely related purpose that would reasonably be expected. We will not sell your personal data.

4. Lawful basis for processing

We rely on one or more lawful bases under the UK GDPR depending on the type of data and the purpose for processing. These lawful bases are:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes handling bookings, carrying out cleaning services, and managing billing and service communication.

Legal obligation

We process some data where required by law, such as for tax records, accounting, or responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing customer relationships, improving service quality, record keeping, and protecting our business from fraud or misuse.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, particularly if we process optional information or use data for purposes not covered by another lawful basis. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Where special category data is processed, we will only do so where an additional condition under data protection law applies, such as your explicit consent or another lawful ground that is permitted in the circumstances.

5. Sharing personal data and processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business. These third parties act as processors when they process data on our instructions. They are only permitted to use the information for the services they provide to us and must keep it secure and confidential.

Examples of processors may include:

Booking and administration providers that help manage appointments and service records.
Payment processors that handle secure financial transactions.
IT and cloud storage providers that host our systems, files, and backups.
Communication service providers that support email, messaging, or telephone systems.
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, legal advisers, or auditors, where needed.

We may also share personal data with independent controllers where necessary, for example with law enforcement, tax authorities, or other public bodies if required by law. If our business is sold, merged, or reorganised, personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to appropriate safeguards.

6. Data retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the purpose of processing.

Customer service records are normally kept for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and accounting records are typically kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Correspondence and complaint records may be retained for a period needed to resolve issues and maintain evidence of decisions.
Information held on the basis of consent will generally be retained until consent is withdrawn or the data is no longer needed.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you. Retention is reviewed regularly to ensure we do not keep data for longer than necessary.

7. Data security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of our procedures. While we do our best to safeguard your information, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

8. Your rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply in full or in part 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 certain circumstances, you may ask us to delete your personal data.
Right to restriction - you may ask us to limit how we use your data in specific situations.
Right to object - you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability - in some cases, you may request that data provided by you be transferred to you or another controller in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent - where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so that we can try to resolve the issue promptly and fairly.

9. Automated decision-making

We do not usually make decisions about customers based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes, we will provide clear information about the logic involved and your rights in relation to such processing.

10. Children's data

Our services are generally intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with a service request and is provided by an adult customer or lawful guardian. If we become aware that we have collected information from a child without appropriate authority, we will take steps to delete it promptly.

11. 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. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We recommend reviewing the policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we use your data.

12. Summary of our commitment

Bowes Park Carpet Cleaners is committed to treating personal data with respect, care, and transparency. We collect only what we need, use it only for legitimate purposes, retain it only for as long as necessary, and share it only with trusted processors or where the law requires. Our goal is to protect the privacy of every customer in the Bowes Park area while delivering a reliable and professional service.