Privacy Policy - Finsbury Park Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Finsbury Park Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data belonging to our customers and prospective customers in the Finsbury Park area. It applies to all Finsbury Park Carpet Cleaners customers in area, including anyone who requests a quote, books a service, communicates with us, or otherwise uses our services. We are committed to handling personal information 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. This policy is designed to help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and what rights you have over your data. By engaging our services or interacting with us, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described below.

1. Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for providing carpet cleaning and related services, managing enquiries, and meeting legal obligations. The type of information we may collect includes:

Identity information such as your name and, where needed, business name.
Contact information including telephone number, email address, and service address.
Service details such as booking dates, job notes, access instructions, cleaning preferences, and property information relevant to the work.
Payment-related information such as transaction records and billing details. We do not store more payment data than is necessary.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, and complaints or feedback.
Technical information if you interact with our digital systems, such as device type, approximate location, and usage data, where applicable.

We generally do not seek to collect special category data. However, in limited cases, such information may be shared with us unintentionally, for example if it is included in correspondence. Where this occurs, we will only process it where lawful and necessary, and we will apply appropriate safeguards.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To arrange, deliver, and manage carpet cleaning and related services.
To communicate about bookings, changes, cancellations, or aftercare.
To issue invoices, record payments, and manage accounts.
To deal with complaints, disputes, and service issues.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements.
To improve our services, processes, and customer experience.
To maintain internal records and business administration.

We do not sell your personal data. We also do not use your information for unrelated purposes unless we have informed you and have a lawful basis to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract or to perform a contract with you. This includes handling booking requests, providing services, and managing payments.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information to comply with tax law, accounting requirements, insurance obligations, and other legal duties.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This may include maintaining records, improving service quality, preventing fraud, and resolving service disputes. We always consider whether our interests are balanced against your privacy rights.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, such as for certain optional communications or specific data processing activities. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties when necessary to operate our business and deliver services. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers, depending on the nature of the service.

Processors may include:

Payment service providers who handle card or electronic payments.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who help with financial records and tax compliance.
IT and cloud service providers who store or support business data systems.
Communication providers who assist with email, messaging, or telephone systems.
Administrative tools and scheduling systems used to manage bookings and service records.

We require processors to process personal data only on our instructions, to keep it secure, and to use it only for agreed purposes. Where data is shared with independent professional advisers, such as accountants or legal advisers, they will process it in accordance with their own professional duties and data protection obligations.

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

5. Data Retention

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

Customer and booking records are retained for a period necessary to manage service history, resolve disputes, and support business administration.
Financial and tax records are kept for the period required by applicable accounting and tax laws.
Communication records may be retained for a reasonable period to support customer service and complaint handling.
Inactive or unnecessary data is securely deleted or anonymised when it is no longer needed.

When personal data is no longer required, we will take appropriate steps to ensure it is securely erased or permanently anonymised.

6. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality expectations, and data minimisation practices.

Although we work hard to protect your information, no system is completely secure. If a personal data breach occurs, we will assess the risk and, where required by law, notify the relevant authority and affected individuals.

7. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have several rights under UK GDPR in relation to your personal data. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, these rights 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 how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to raise concerns about how we process your personal data and to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your rights have been infringed. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any issue promptly and fairly.

8. International Transfers

Where service providers store or process data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections. These safeguards are intended to ensure your personal data receives a level of protection consistent with UK data protection law.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect legal, operational, or service changes. Any revised 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 personal data is handled.

10. Fair and Transparent Processing

We aim to process personal data in a way that is lawful, fair, and transparent. That means we only collect what we need, we use it for clear purposes, and we retain it for no longer than necessary. We are committed to respecting your privacy and protecting the personal information entrusted to us.

This policy applies to all Finsbury Park Carpet Cleaners customers in area. If you choose to use our services, you agree that your personal data will be processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable data protection laws.