Privacy Policy - Richmond Carpet Cleaners

Effective Date: This Privacy Policy applies to all Richmond Carpet Cleaners customers in the Richmond area and explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data in line with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Richmond Carpet Cleaners provides carpet, upholstery, rug, and related cleaning services to customers in Richmond and the surrounding area. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller when we determine why and how your personal data is processed.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data that is necessary to provide our services, manage our business, and meet our legal obligations. The types of information we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, company name.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and phone number.
Service information such as booking details, property access instructions, cleaning preferences, and notes about the requested service.
Payment information such as payment status, billing records, and transaction references. We do not store full card details if payments are processed by a secure third-party payment provider.
Communication records such as emails, call notes, messages, complaints, and feedback.
Technical data where you interact with our digital systems, such as device information or basic usage logs, if applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is voluntarily provided and necessary for a specific service request or legal reason. If this occurs, we will handle it with additional care and only where a lawful basis applies.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

request a quote or make a booking;
communicate with us by phone, email, or message;
provide access or service instructions;
make a payment or request an invoice;
submit feedback, complaints, or enquiries.

We may also receive data from third parties where necessary, such as:

payment processors;
referral partners or booking platforms;
professional advisers;
public sources where required for verification or legal compliance.

4. Why We Use Your Data and Our Lawful Basis

We only process personal data where permitted by law. The lawful bases we rely on are:

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing bookings, delivering cleaning services, issuing invoices, and handling service-related communication.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is reasonably necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and interests do not override those interests. Examples include improving our services, managing customer relationships, preventing fraud, and maintaining business records. We always consider the impact on your privacy before relying on this basis.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain data where required to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, insurance, or regulatory requirements.

Consent

In limited situations, we may ask for your consent, for example for optional marketing communications. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

5. How We Use Personal Data

We may use your personal data to:

provide quotes and schedule services;
complete cleaning services safely and effectively;
manage payments, refunds, and invoicing;
respond to enquiries, complaints, and customer support requests;
maintain service records and internal administration;
improve our operations, service quality, and customer experience;
meet tax, accounting, and legal duties;
protect our business, staff, and customers from misuse or fraud.

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties that act as processors on our behalf. These processors only handle data according to our instructions and are required to protect it appropriately.

Examples of processors may include:

Payment service providers who securely process card or online payments;
Booking and scheduling software providers that help manage appointments;
IT and cloud hosting providers that store or support our systems;
Accountants and professional advisers who support finance, tax, or legal compliance;
Communication service providers used for sending messages or emails;
Insurance providers where data is needed for claims or risk management.

We may also disclose data where required by law, court order, or lawful request from public authorities.

We do not sell your personal data.

7. International Transfers

If any processor stores or accesses data outside the UK, we will ensure that suitable safeguards are in place before any transfer occurs. These may include approved contractual protections or other legally recognised safeguards.

8. Data Retention

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

Customer and booking records are generally retained for as long as needed to manage the customer relationship and service history.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law and accounting rules.
Communication records may be retained for a reasonable period to resolve disputes, improve service, or maintain evidence of instructions.
Marketing records are retained until you opt out or consent is withdrawn.

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

9. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or alteration. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and system safeguards.

While no system is completely secure, we take reasonable steps to protect your information.

10. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These 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 restrict processing - to ask us to limit how your data is used in certain situations.
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.
Right to withdraw consent - where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to make a complaint to the UK Information Commissioner's Office if you believe your data protection rights have been breached.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is provided by a parent, guardian, or authorised adult in connection with a service request.

12. 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 processing practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated to customers.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

We value privacy and handle personal data responsibly. Our approach is based on fairness, transparency, security, and data minimisation. We only collect what we need, use it for clear purposes, share it with trusted processors when necessary, and keep it only for as long as required.

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