Privacy Policy

Petts Wood Carpet Cleaners is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers in the Petts Wood area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information when we provide carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Petts Wood Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including anyone who requests a quote, books a service, makes an enquiry, or receives any form of cleaning service from us.

This policy is designed to meet the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We aim to ensure that personal data is handled lawfully, fairly, and transparently.

1. Who We Are

Petts Wood Carpet Cleaners provides professional carpet cleaning and related domestic and commercial cleaning services. In providing those services, we may collect and process personal data about customers, prospective customers, and other individuals connected with an enquiry or booking. We act as a data controller for the personal data we collect and determine how and why that data is used.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect data that is necessary for legitimate business purposes, service delivery, and legal compliance. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name and title
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number
Service information such as property access notes, cleaning preferences, stain details, and service history
Billing and payment information such as records of payments made and amounts due
Communication records including emails, messages, and notes of calls or service-related correspondence
Technical data where relevant, such as basic website or device information if you interact with us online
Special instructions you provide to help us complete a service safely and effectively

We do not intentionally collect more data than is needed for the service requested. We do not seek to collect special category data unless you voluntarily disclose it and it is necessary for a specific service or legal obligation.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We process personal data for specific and limited purposes related to our business operations. These purposes include:

Providing quotes and handling enquiries
Scheduling and delivering cleaning services
Managing customer accounts and records
Processing payments and maintaining financial records
Responding to complaints, requests, or follow-up queries
Maintaining service quality and training standards
Meeting legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations
Protecting our business, staff, and customers from fraud or misuse

We only use your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so. We do not sell personal data to third parties.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Performance of a Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, confirming bookings, carrying out cleaning services, and handling payment-related matters.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. Examples include improving customer service, keeping accurate operational records, handling routine communications, and managing our business efficiently.

Legal Obligation

We may be required to process and retain certain data to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, and record-keeping requirements.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where it is required for a specific optional communication or marketing activity. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties, known as processors, who help us operate our business and deliver services. These processors only act on our instructions and are required to protect your data appropriately.

Examples of processors may include:

Payment processors that handle transactions securely
Booking and scheduling systems used to manage appointments
IT and cloud service providers that store or support our records
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that help us maintain financial records
Communication service providers used for email or telephone systems

We may also share personal data where necessary with professional advisers, insurers, legal bodies, or public authorities if required by law or to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims. We take steps to ensure that any third party with access to personal data has appropriate safeguards in place.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or as long as required by law. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data and the purpose of processing.

As a general approach:

Customer service records are kept for as long as needed to manage the relationship and service history
Financial and accounting records are usually retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws
Communication records are retained for a reasonable time to support service administration, dispute resolution, or evidence of instructions
Consent-based records are kept until consent is withdrawn or the purpose is no longer valid

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, destroy, or anonymise it.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality practices, and careful selection of processors. While no system can guarantee complete security, we work to reduce risks and handle data responsibly.

8. Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. These rights may be subject to certain conditions and exemptions. They include:

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

You also have the right to raise concerns with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your data has been handled unlawfully. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any issue promptly and fairly.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers arranging cleaning services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children as part of our normal operations. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without an appropriate legal basis, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

10. International Transfers

Where personal data is processed or stored using third-party systems, it may occasionally be transferred outside the UK. If this occurs, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place so that the data continues to receive a level of protection consistent with UK data protection law.

11. 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 updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

12. Our Commitment to Privacy

At Petts Wood Carpet Cleaners, we take privacy seriously. We only use personal data where necessary, keep it secure, and aim to be transparent about how it is handled. Our approach is based on the principles of lawfulness, fairness, transparency, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, and confidentiality.

If you use our services in the Petts Wood area, this Privacy Policy applies to you. By engaging with us, you acknowledge that your data may be processed in accordance with the terms set out above. We will always aim to treat your information with care, respect, and compliance with applicable data protection laws.