Privacy Policy - Hackney Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Hackney Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Hackney Carpet Cleaners customers in the Hackney area, including anyone who requests a quote, books a service, receives a service, or otherwise interacts with us in relation to carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, stain treatment, rug care, and related domestic or commercial 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. This policy should be read carefully so that you understand your rights and how your information is managed.

1. Who We Are

Hackney Carpet Cleaners acts as the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal information when you use our services, contact us, or engage with us as a customer, prospective customer, supplier contact, or website visitor where relevant.

We only collect and use information that is necessary for delivering our services, managing business operations, maintaining records, meeting legal obligations, and improving our service quality.

2. Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity data such as your name, title, and any details needed to identify you.
Contact data such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details such as the type of cleaning requested, property access requirements, preferred service dates, and special instructions.
Payment data such as billing information and transaction records, where required for payment processing and accounting.
Communications data such as messages, call notes, complaints, feedback, and correspondence with us.
Technical data such as limited device or usage information if you communicate with us electronically, where applicable.
Legal and administrative data such as records required for compliance, dispute handling, insurance, or bookkeeping.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you voluntarily provide it and it is necessary for providing a service, such as information about allergies, health conditions, or access needs. Where such information is provided, we will process it only with appropriate safeguards and only where a lawful basis applies.

3. How We Collect Personal Data

We collect data directly from you when you:

Request a quotation or make an enquiry
Book or use our cleaning services
Communicate with us by phone, message, or email
Submit feedback, a complaint, or a review
Make a payment or request an invoice

We may also receive personal data indirectly from:

Property managers, letting agents, landlords, or business clients arranging services on your behalf
Payment providers or accounting systems
Referral partners or third parties lawfully sharing your details with your permission

4. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotations, schedule appointments, and deliver cleaning services
To communicate with you before, during, and after a service
To manage billing, payments, invoices, and refunds
To maintain internal records and service histories
To handle complaints, disputes, and service issues
To improve our service quality, customer experience, and operational efficiency
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements
To protect against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity

We only use personal data where there is a valid reason to do so and where the processing is necessary, proportionate, and limited to the stated purpose.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following bases:

Performance of a contract

We process your data where it is necessary to take steps before entering into a contract or to perform our contract with you. This includes managing bookings, delivering cleaning services, issuing invoices, and responding to service-related requests.

Legal obligation

We may process personal data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, business recordkeeping, insurance, and lawful requests from public authorities.

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 can include maintaining records, improving services, managing customer relationships, handling complaints, and protecting our business from fraud or misuse.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily provide optional information or agree to certain communications. You can withdraw consent at any time where consent is the lawful basis for processing.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, and reporting obligations. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data and the reason it is held.

Customer service and booking records are generally retained for as long as needed to manage the customer relationship and service history.
Financial and accounting records are usually retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Complaint and dispute records may be kept longer where needed to resolve issues or defend legal claims.
Communication records are retained for a reasonable period to support service administration and continuity.

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted, anonymised, or destroyed in a safe and appropriate manner.

7. Data Processors and Sharing

We may share personal data with trusted third-party service providers who process data on our behalf as processors. These processors may include:

Payment processing providers
Accounting and invoicing software providers
IT, cloud storage, and data backup service providers
Customer communication and scheduling tools
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers

Where we use processors, they are required to act only on our instructions, protect the confidentiality and security of personal data, and comply with applicable data protection law. We do not sell personal data.

We may also disclose data where required by law, to respond to lawful requests, to protect our rights or property, or to prevent fraud or serious harm. If a business reorganisation occurs, customer data may be transferred as part of that process subject to appropriate safeguards.

8. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of our data handling practices.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to reduce risks and to ensure personal data is handled responsibly throughout its lifecycle.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to conditions or legal limitations, but we will always respond appropriately and within the required timeframe.

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 we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests.
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 lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

10. Children’s Data

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

11. Changes to This Policy

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

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Hackney Carpet Cleaners is committed to processing personal data lawfully, transparently, and securely. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and legitimate purposes, retain it only as long as necessary, and respect your rights under GDPR. This policy applies to all customers in the Hackney area who engage with our services.