Privacy Policy - Seven Sisters Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Seven Sisters Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Seven Sisters Carpet Cleaners customers in area, including prospective customers, current customers, and people who enquire about our services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Seven Sisters Carpet Cleaners provides carpet cleaning and related cleaning services. In this policy, the terms “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Seven Sisters Carpet Cleaners. The terms “you” and “your” refer to customers, prospective customers, website visitors, and anyone else whose personal data we process in connection with our services.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for providing our services, managing our business, and meeting our legal obligations. The information we may collect includes the following:

Identity details: your name and, where relevant, the name of a business or property occupier.
Contact details: address, phone number, and email address.
Service details: information about the carpets, rugs, upholstery, or other items to be cleaned, including stain types, room layout, and access requirements.
Booking and payment information: service history, appointment dates, payment status, and transaction records.
Communication records: messages, enquiries, complaints, feedback, and notes from calls or written correspondence.
Technical data: limited information such as IP address, browser type, and device information if you interact with our online systems.
Security information: data required to safeguard our staff, property, and customer premises, where applicable.

We generally do not intentionally collect special category data. If such data is provided to us accidentally, for example in a message or note, we will handle it carefully and only process it where a lawful basis applies.

3. How We Collect Personal Data

We collect data directly from you when you:

request a quote or make an enquiry;
book or amend a cleaning appointment;
pay for a service;
communicate with us by phone, email, or message;
provide feedback or make a complaint.

We may also collect data from third parties where necessary, such as from payment providers, booking platforms, or a property manager who is arranging services on your behalf. Where we receive data from another source, we will ensure this is done lawfully and with appropriate safeguards.

4. Why We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotes;
to manage bookings and deliver cleaning services;
to process payments and issue receipts or invoices;
to keep records of services provided;
to deal with complaints, disputes, or service issues;
to improve our services, operations, and customer experience;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
to protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud, misuse, or other unlawful activity.

We use your information only where it is necessary and proportionate to do so. We do not sell personal data.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only where we have a valid lawful basis under GDPR. Depending on the purpose, we may rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process personal 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 managing bookings, delivering cleaning services, and handling payments.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information where it is required by law, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, and compliance obligations.

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 responding to customer enquiries, improving our services, preventing fraud, securing our systems, and maintaining business records.

Consent

In some cases, we may rely on your consent, especially for optional communications or specific processing activities where consent is the most appropriate basis. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf. These processors only use your data according to our instructions and under contractual obligations to keep it secure and confidential. Processors may include:

Payment processors: to handle card or online payments securely.
Booking or scheduling providers: to manage appointments and service records.
IT and cloud service providers: to store data, maintain systems, and support communications.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers: to assist with financial records and compliance.
Customer communication tools: to send messages related to appointments or service updates.

We may also share data with professional advisers, insurers, law enforcement, regulators, or other authorities where required by law or where necessary to protect our legal rights. We do not permit processors to use personal data for their own unrelated purposes.

7. International Transfers

If any of our service providers store or access personal data outside the UK, we will take appropriate steps to ensure a suitable level of protection. This may include the use of approved contractual safeguards and assessment of the data protection standards in the relevant country. We remain committed to keeping your data secure wherever it is processed.

8. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, tax, and reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the nature of the data and the reason for processing. In general:

booking and service records are retained for a period needed to manage customer relationships and business administration;
financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law;
communication records are retained for as long as needed to resolve queries, complaints, or disputes;
data no longer required is securely deleted or anonymised.

When data is no longer needed, we will take reasonable steps to ensure it is disposed of securely and permanently.

9. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include restricted access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and system security practices. 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 GDPR

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to legal limits and exemptions, these rights include:

Right of access: you can request confirmation of whether we process your data and obtain a copy of it.
Right to rectification: you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure: you can request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restrict processing: you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability: you can request that certain data be provided in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to object: you can 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 with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

11. Cookies and Similar Technologies

If we use online tools that place cookies or similar technologies, these may be used to support site functionality, security, and basic analytics. Where consent is required, we will seek it before using non-essential cookies. You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings or any available consent controls.

12. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults or for individuals acting on behalf of a property or household. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children for marketing or service purposes. If we become aware that we have collected a child’s personal data without appropriate authority, we will take steps to delete it where required.

13. Changes to This Privacy 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 you remain informed about how we protect your personal data.

14. Summary of Our Commitment

Seven Sisters Carpet Cleaners is committed to handling personal data with care, transparency, and respect. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, retain it only as long as necessary, and ensure that any processors we use are bound by appropriate data protection obligations. Most importantly, we recognise and respect your rights under GDPR and aim to respond to any request promptly and fairly.

By using our services, you acknowledge that this Privacy Policy applies to the processing of your personal data by Seven Sisters Carpet Cleaners in area.