Privacy Policy - Waddon Carpet Cleaners

Waddon Carpet Cleaners is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data relating to our customers and website users. It applies to all Waddon Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including anyone who requests, books, receives, or enquires about our carpet cleaning and related services.

We process personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy describes the main categories of personal data we collect, the lawful bases we rely on, how long we keep personal data, the third parties that may process data on our behalf, and the rights available to individuals.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for us to provide our services, manage our business, and meet legal obligations. Depending on your interaction with us, the data we may collect includes:

• Identity information, such as your name and title.
• Contact details, including your address, phone number, and email address.
• Service information, such as the type of cleaning requested, booking dates, property access notes, special instructions, and service preferences.
• Billing and payment information, such as invoice details, payment status, and transaction references.
• Communication records, including emails, messages, call notes, and complaint or feedback details.
• Technical data, such as IP address, browser type, device information, and basic usage data if you interact with any online services we operate.

We generally do not seek to collect special category data. If such information is ever provided to us accidentally, for example in an instruction note or message, we will handle it with appropriate care and only use it where lawful and necessary.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data to operate our services efficiently and to communicate with customers. Our main purposes include:

• Managing enquiries and responding to requests.
• Providing quotations, bookings, and customer support.
• Delivering carpet cleaning and related services.
• Handling invoices, payments, and accounting records.
• Keeping service records and managing complaints or service issues.
• Meeting legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations.
• Maintaining the security and proper functioning of our operations.

We will only use personal data for the purposes explained in this policy or for compatible purposes that you would reasonably expect.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. The lawful bases we rely on are:

Performance of a Contract

We process your personal data where it is necessary to provide our services, prepare quotes, confirm bookings, carry out cleaning work, process payments, and manage customer accounts or service records connected to a contract.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing customer relationships, improving our services, preventing fraud, maintaining records, and ensuring network or information security.

Legal Obligation

Some information must be retained or processed to comply with legal duties, including tax, accounting, insurance, and regulatory requirements.

Consent

In limited situations, we may ask for your consent before processing certain personal data. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal will not affect processing already carried out lawfully before withdrawal.

4. Sharing Personal Data and Processors

We do not sell personal data. We may share data with trusted third parties where necessary to deliver our services or operate our business. These third parties act either as independent controllers or as processors acting on our instructions.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

• Payment processing providers.
• Accounting and bookkeeping services.
• IT, hosting, and email service providers.
• Customer management or booking systems.
• Professional advisers, such as insurers, auditors, or legal advisers, where necessary.

We require processors to keep personal data secure, to use it only for the agreed purpose, and to comply with data protection law. If personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.

5. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. The retention period may vary depending on the type of information and the reason it is held.

• Customer and booking records are normally retained for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterward for reference, dispute handling, and business administration.
• Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law and standard accounting practice.
• Communication records may be retained for as long as needed to respond to enquiries, resolve disputes, or maintain service history.
• Technical data is kept only as long as necessary for security, analytics, or operational purposes.

When personal data is no longer needed, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise destroyed.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or loss. These measures are designed to reflect the nature of the data we process and the risks involved. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to maintain reasonable safeguards and limit access to authorised personnel only.

7. Your Rights

Individuals whose personal data we process have rights under data protection law. These include:

• Right of access – you may request confirmation of whether we hold your personal data and obtain a copy of it.
• Right to rectification – you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure – in certain circumstances, you may request deletion of your personal data.
• Right to restriction – you may request that processing is restricted in certain situations.
• Right to object – you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
• Right to data portability – where applicable, you may request your data in a structured, commonly used format.
• Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed. We encourage you to raise any concerns with us first so we can try to resolve them promptly and fairly.

8. Third-Party Links and External Services

If you interact with external services or third-party platforms linked from our communications or systems, those services will process data according to their own policies. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third parties outside our control. We recommend reviewing their privacy notices before sharing personal data with them.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or operational needs. 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.

10. Summary of Our Commitment

Waddon Carpet Cleaners processes personal data responsibly, keeps it only for as long as needed, and uses it only for lawful business purposes. We aim to be transparent about what we collect, why we collect it, and how we protect it. We respect the rights of all customers in the area and are committed to maintaining trust through careful and compliant data handling.