Privacy Policy - Bankside Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Bankside Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Bankside Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including individuals who enquire about our services, request quotes, make bookings, receive cleaning services, or communicate with us in any way.

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. We only collect and use personal data where we have a valid legal basis and only for purposes that are necessary for delivering our services, managing our business, and meeting legal obligations.

1. Who We Are

Bankside Carpet Cleaners provides carpet cleaning and associated cleaning services to residential and commercial customers in the local area. In this policy, references to “we”, “us”, and “our” mean Bankside Carpet Cleaners. References to “you” mean the person whose personal data we process, including customers, prospective customers, and service recipients.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information needed to provide and manage our services. The personal data we may collect includes:

Identity information, such as your name.
Contact information, such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details, including property access notes, service preferences, carpet or fabric care instructions, and booking information.
Billing and payment information, where needed to process payments, issue invoices, or manage refunds.
Communication records, such as messages, phone call notes, complaints, and feedback.
Technical data, if you interact with us online, such as device and browser information, depending on the systems used.
Incident-related information, if you report damage, a complaint, or an insurance-related matter.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is necessary and lawful to do so. If such data is ever provided to us incidentally, we will handle it with extra care and only where there is a lawful reason to process it.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotes and respond to enquiries.
To arrange, confirm, and deliver cleaning services.
To manage customer accounts, bookings, and service records.
To take payment, issue invoices, and maintain financial records.
To communicate about appointments, service updates, or any issues relating to the work.
To handle complaints, disputes, insurance claims, or service investigations.
To improve our services, processes, and customer experience.
To comply with legal and regulatory obligations.

We only use your data in ways that are compatible with the purpose for which it was collected, unless we have a valid lawful basis to use it for a different purpose.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We rely on one or more of the following lawful bases under the UK GDPR:

Contract – when processing is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as providing a quote, booking a service, or completing a cleaning job.
Legitimate interests – when processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as managing customer records, improving our services, preventing fraud, or resolving disputes, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests.
Legal obligation – when we must process data to comply with tax, accounting, consumer, or other legal requirements.
Consent – in limited cases where you have given clear permission, such as for optional marketing communications. You may withdraw consent at any time.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the necessity of the processing and the impact on your privacy before proceeding.

5. Sharing and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share data only when necessary and only with trusted third parties acting on our behalf or where required by law.

Examples of processors and recipients may include:

Payment processors, to securely process card or electronic payments.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers, to manage invoices, records, and tax obligations.
IT and cloud service providers, to store data securely and support business systems.
Communication service providers, to send booking confirmations or service updates.
Insurance providers or loss adjusters, where a claim or incident report requires investigation.
Professional advisers, such as legal or financial advisers, where necessary.
Public authorities, where disclosure is required by law or a lawful request.

All processors are required to protect your data, use it only for the agreed purposes, and implement appropriate security measures. We aim to select processors that provide adequate safeguards for personal data.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the context in which it is used.

Typical retention approach

Quotes and enquiry records: retained for a limited period after the enquiry, unless they lead to a booking or an ongoing issue.
Customer and service records: retained for as long as needed to provide services and manage related matters.
Financial and tax records: retained for the period required by law.
Complaint or incident records: retained until the matter is resolved and for a reasonable period afterward.

When personal data is no longer required, it is securely deleted, anonymised, or archived in a way that prevents unnecessary access.

7. 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 limiting access to only those who need the information for legitimate business purposes.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to ensure that any personal data we hold is protected to a reasonable and appropriate standard.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

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 information.
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 data portability – to request a copy of 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 may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. Some rights may not apply in all situations, and legal exceptions may prevent us from fulfilling a request in full.

9. Marketing Preferences

We may send marketing communications only where permitted by law. If you have given consent or where another lawful basis applies, we may occasionally inform you about our services, special offers, or service updates. You may opt out of marketing communications at any time. We will respect your preferences and stop sending such messages where required.

10. International Transfers

If any personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place so that your information remains protected in line with applicable data protection law. This may include use of approved contractual safeguards or transfers to countries recognised as providing adequate protection.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary for a specific service arrangement and lawful to do so. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without proper authority or basis, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we use personal data.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Bankside Carpet Cleaners is committed to processing personal data fairly, securely, and lawfully. We collect only what is needed, use it for clear business purposes, share it responsibly with trusted processors, and retain it only for as long as necessary. We also respect your rights and aim to handle all requests in a transparent and timely manner.

This Privacy Policy is designed to apply to all Bankside Carpet Cleaners customers in the area and to support GDPR-compliant data handling practices.