Privacy Policy - Blackwall Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Blackwall Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data relating to our customers in the area. It applies to all Blackwall Carpet Cleaners customers in area, including anyone who requests a quote, books a service, receives a service, or otherwise communicates with us about our carpet cleaning services.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We take privacy seriously and only process data where we have a valid legal reason to do so.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of a business or property manager.
Contact details such as your phone number, email address, and service address.
Service information including details of the carpets, upholstery, or related cleaning services requested, appointment dates, access instructions, and special requirements.
Payment information such as payment status, billing records, and transaction references. We do not knowingly store full card details unless required by a payment provider’s secure system.
Communications such as emails, text messages, call notes, complaint records, survey responses, and other correspondence.
Technical and usage information if you interact with our digital systems, including basic device, browser, and log information used for security, administration, and service improvement.

We generally collect this information directly from you when you make an enquiry, request a quote, book a cleaning appointment, provide instructions, or contact us about our services. In some cases, we may receive data from third parties, such as a landlord, letting agent, or property manager acting on your behalf, where this is appropriate and lawful.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide carpet cleaning and related services.
To manage bookings, quotations, scheduling, and service delivery.
To communicate with you about appointments, access, invoices, and service updates.
To process payments and maintain accounting records.
To respond to enquiries, feedback, and complaints.
To improve our services, customer experience, and internal operations.
To comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, and consumer law requirements.
To protect against fraud, misuse, and security incidents.

We only use personal data for the purpose for which it was collected, unless we reasonably determine that we need to use it for another compatible purpose or where the law allows or requires us to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Depending on the context, Blackwall Carpet Cleaners may rely on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes, confirming bookings, carrying out cleaning services, and managing payment arrangements.

Legal Obligation

We process certain information to comply with legal obligations, such as maintaining financial records, handling tax matters, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

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. Examples include improving our services, managing customer relationships, preventing fraud, ensuring system security, and keeping accurate internal records.

Consent

Where required by law, we will rely on your consent. For example, if we need to use your data for specific optional marketing or similar activities, we will only do so if you have clearly agreed. You may withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing.

Special category data is not usually required for carpet cleaning services. If such data is ever provided to us, we will only process it where a valid legal condition applies and where necessary for the limited purpose for which it was provided.

4. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including to meet legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason it is held.

Customer service and booking records are generally retained for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to deal with follow-up queries, disputes, or repeat services.
Financial and accounting records are retained for the period required by law.
Complaint and communication records are retained for as long as needed to resolve the matter and protect our legal position.
Technical and security logs are retained for a limited period unless a longer retention period is needed for security or legal reasons.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention practices.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to operate our business and provide services. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the circumstances.

Processors may include:

Payment service providers that handle secure transaction processing.
Booking, scheduling, or customer management systems used to organise appointments and service records.
IT support, cloud storage, and security providers that help us operate and protect our systems.
Accountants or professional advisers who assist with legal, financial, or compliance matters.

Where we use processors, we require them to handle personal data only on our instructions, to keep it secure, and to comply with data protection obligations. We do not sell personal data.

We may also share information if required by law, to respond to lawful requests, to protect our rights, or to prevent harm, fraud, or misuse.

6. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures include access controls, secure systems, and staff awareness of data protection responsibilities. However, no system can be guaranteed completely secure, and we encourage customers to take care when sharing information by email or other channels.

7. Your Rights

You have a number of rights under data protection law in relation to your personal data. Subject to legal conditions and exemptions, these may include:

The right to be informed about how your data is used.
The right of access to receive 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, sometimes called the right to be forgotten.
The right to restrict processing where specific conditions apply.
The right to data portability for information you provided to us, where applicable.
The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Rights related to automated decision-making, if such processing is ever used.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in accordance with our legal obligations. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers arranging cleaning services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is unavoidably included in routine household communication and only to the extent necessary to deliver the service safely and appropriately.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

10. Summary of Our Commitment

Blackwall Carpet Cleaners is committed to treating personal data with care, respect, and confidentiality. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, keep it only as long as necessary, and share it only where required to deliver our services or meet legal obligations. We aim to ensure that every customer in the area can rely on a privacy approach that is transparent, proportionate, and secure.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Blackwall Carpet Cleaners customers in area.