Privacy Policy - Bromley Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Bromley Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Bromley Carpet Cleaners customers in area, including prospective customers, existing customers, and anyone who contacts us for services, quotations, or support. 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.

1. Who We Are

Bromley Carpet Cleaners provides carpet cleaning and related cleaning services to customers in our service area. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller for the personal data we collect and use about our customers and website visitors where applicable. This means we decide why and how your personal data is processed.

2. Personal 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 types of personal data we may collect include:

Identity data such as your name and title.
Contact data such as your address, email address, and phone number.
Service information such as property details, cleaning requirements, appointment preferences, and notes about the work to be carried out.
Transaction data such as payment status, invoices, and records of services provided.
Communication data such as messages, feedback, complaints, and correspondence.
Technical data where relevant, such as basic device or usage information when you interact with digital services.
Marketing preferences such as whether you wish to receive service updates or promotional information.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it voluntarily, or unless another lawful condition applies. Special category data includes information about health, race, religion, political opinions, sexual orientation, or similar sensitive data.

3. How We Collect Your Data

We may collect personal data when you:

request a quote or make an enquiry;
book or receive a service;
communicate with us by phone, email, text, or other means;
provide feedback or make a complaint;
enter into a contract for cleaning services;
make a payment or receive an invoice;
interact with our customer service processes.

We may also receive data from third parties where necessary for service delivery, such as introducers, payment providers, or subcontractors acting on our instructions.

4. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data only for legitimate business and legal purposes. These purposes include:

providing quotations and responding to enquiries;
booking, managing, and delivering cleaning services;
confirming appointments and service details;
processing payments and maintaining financial records;
handling customer support, complaints, and follow-up communications;
meeting legal, accounting, and tax obligations;
improving our services, processes, and customer experience;
sending service-related updates where necessary;
sending marketing communications where permitted by law and where you have not opted out.

We will only use your data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for a compatible purpose or where another lawful basis applies.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for every use of personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes providing quotes, scheduling services, carrying out cleaning work, and managing payment arrangements.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where required to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, and record-keeping requirements.

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. Examples include improving our operations, handling customer enquiries, maintaining internal records, preventing fraud, and ensuring service quality.

Consent

Where required by law, we may rely on your consent, especially for certain marketing communications or optional processing. If we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests

In rare cases, we may process personal data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in an emergency situation.

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. However, we may share it with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf, or, where appropriate, as separate controllers. These third parties are only permitted to process data according to our instructions and for specific purposes.

Examples of processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers that support data storage, communication, and administration;
payment processors that handle card or electronic payments;
accounting and bookkeeping providers that assist with financial administration;
customer management or scheduling systems used for bookings and service records;
subcontractors who support service delivery under our instructions;
professional advisers such as lawyers, insurers, or accountants where necessary.

We may also disclose data if required by law, regulation, court order, or to protect our rights, customers, staff, or property.

7. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will take appropriate safeguards to ensure it remains protected. This may include using approved contractual safeguards or transferring data only to countries with adequate data protection standards. We will always aim to keep your information secure and treated in line with applicable law.

8. Data Retention

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

In general:

customer service and booking records are kept for a period necessary to manage the relationship and resolve queries;
financial and invoicing records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law;
communication records are kept for as long as needed to respond to issues or maintain business records;
marketing preferences are retained until you withdraw consent or opt out.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it where appropriate.

9. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful management of third-party processors. While no system can be guaranteed 100% secure, we work to maintain a level of security appropriate to the risks involved.

10. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. These rights may be subject to legal limitations, but we will always consider and respond to valid requests appropriately. Your rights include:

The right to be informed about how your data is used.
The right of access to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
The right to rectification to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
The right to erasure in certain circumstances, also known as the right to be forgotten.
The right to restrict processing in certain situations.
The right to data portability where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Rights in relation to automated decision-making, where applicable.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will review your request and respond within the time limits required by law.

11. Marketing Communications

We may send you service updates or marketing communications where permitted by law. You can object to direct marketing at any time. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw your consent whenever you choose. Any opt-out request will be respected promptly.

12. Children’s Data

Our services are directed to adults and households arranging cleaning services. We do not intentionally collect data from children, and our services are not aimed at minors. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without appropriate authority, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

13. 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 revised version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to remain informed about how we protect personal data.

14. Complaints

If you are concerned about how your personal data has been handled, you have the right to raise a complaint with the relevant data protection authority. You may also contact us to discuss any concerns so we can try to resolve them informally and promptly. We take privacy matters seriously and aim to respond in a fair and responsible manner.

Last updated: This policy is current as of the date of publication and applies to all Bromley Carpet Cleaners customers in area.