Privacy Policy - Hornsey Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Hornsey Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Hornsey Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including individuals who request quotes, book services, receive cleaning services, or otherwise interact with us in connection with our carpet, upholstery, rug, and related cleaning services.

We are committed to handling personal information lawfully, fairly, and transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy is designed to help you understand what data we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and what rights you have over your information.

1. Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for providing our services, managing customer relationships, and meeting legal obligations. The information we may collect includes:

Identity details such as your name.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as booking requests, property access details, cleaning preferences, and any instructions you give us for carrying out work.
Transaction information such as invoices, payment status, and records of services provided.
Communication records such as messages, enquiries, complaints, feedback, and notes about our interactions with you.
Technical data if you contact us through digital means, such as basic device or usage information that may be logged by our systems.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it and it is strictly necessary for the service. If you share any sensitive information with us, we will only process it where there is a lawful basis to do so and where it is relevant to your request.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To book, manage, and deliver cleaning services.
To communicate with you about appointments, service updates, and customer support.
To issue invoices, record payments, and manage accounts.
To handle complaints, disputes, and service recovery matters.
To improve our services, processes, and customer experience.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.

We process personal data only where necessary and never use it in ways that are incompatible with the purposes for which it was collected.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a valid lawful basis for each use of your personal data. Hornsey Carpet Cleaners relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging cleaning services, confirming appointments, and completing work you have requested.

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. This includes managing our customer records, improving service quality, preventing misuse of our services, and defending legal claims.

Legal Obligation

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

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you actively agree to receive certain optional communications or where you provide optional sensitive information for a specific purpose. You may withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business. These third parties act as processors or independent service providers and may handle data only on our instructions and under appropriate safeguards.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

Payment processors who handle card or other payment transactions.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who help manage financial records.
IT and cloud storage providers who support secure data storage, email, and business systems.
Scheduling or administration tools used to manage bookings and service records.
Professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, or accountants where required for legitimate business purposes or legal compliance.

We require processors to take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information and to use it only for the purposes specified by us. We do not sell your personal data.

We may also disclose personal information if required by law, court order, regulatory request, or to protect our rights, property, staff, customers, or the public.

5. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and in line with applicable legal and operational requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the reason it was collected.

Customer and booking records are generally retained for a period reasonably necessary to manage services, follow up on enquiries, and resolve disputes.
Financial and transaction records are kept for the duration required by tax and accounting law.
Correspondence and complaint records may be retained for a period needed to evidence our dealings and manage any ongoing issues.
Data processed by consent is kept only until consent is withdrawn or the purpose ends.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

6. Security of Your Information

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, limited access on a need-to-know basis, and staff awareness of data protection responsibilities. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take reasonable steps to safeguard your information.

7. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have several 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 - you may request deletion of your data in certain situations.
Right to restriction - you may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
Right to object - you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability - you may request that certain data be provided to you or another controller in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent - where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in line with applicable data protection law. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and property-related customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is provided incidentally by an adult customer and is necessary for service delivery or legal compliance.

9. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it. This may include approved contractual protections or transfers to countries that have been recognised as providing adequate protection.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or how we process personal data. Any updated 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 handled.

Hornsey Carpet Cleaners is committed to respecting your privacy, using personal data responsibly, and maintaining trust in every customer relationship. Our approach is based on necessity, transparency, and accountability, so that your information is handled with care at every stage of our service.