Privacy Policy - Motspur Park Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Motspur Park Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Motspur Park Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including anyone who requests a quotation, books a service, receives a service, or communicates with us in connection with carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, stain removal, rug care, or related domestic and commercial cleaning services.

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. This policy is intended to help you understand your rights and our responsibilities.

1. Who We Are

Motspur Park Carpet Cleaners provides professional cleaning services to customers in and around Motspur Park. In the context of data protection law, we act as a data controller when we decide why and how personal data is processed. This means we are responsible for ensuring that your personal information is used appropriately and in line with legal requirements.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data needed to provide our services effectively, manage our business, and meet our legal obligations. The type of information we may collect includes:

Identity details, such as your name and, where relevant, business name.
Contact details, such as address, email address, and phone number.
Service information, such as property access instructions, cleaning preferences, room details, stain or fabric notes, and booking history.
Payment information, such as invoice details, payment status, and limited transaction records.
Communication records, including messages, call notes, complaint details, and service requests.
Technical data, if you interact with our digital systems, such as device information or usage logs collected for security and performance purposes.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is provided by you and is necessary for a specific service requirement or legal obligation. Special category data includes information such as health details, racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, or similar sensitive data. If such information is shared, we will only process it where a valid legal basis exists and only to the extent necessary.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To schedule, deliver, and manage cleaning services.
To confirm appointments, provide service updates, and handle customer requests.
To issue invoices, record payments, and manage accounts.
To maintain service quality, resolve complaints, and support customer care.
To comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations.
To protect our business, staff, and customers against fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably determine that we need to use it for a compatible purpose that is permitted by law.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis before processing personal data. Depending on the context, Motspur Park Carpet Cleaners may rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing bookings, carrying out cleaning services, sending service-related updates, and processing payments.

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 improving our services, preventing fraud, maintaining records, and handling customer communications efficiently.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain data where required to comply with legal duties, including accounting, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example for specific marketing communications where consent is required by law. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell personal data. However, we may share limited information with trusted third parties, known as processors, who help us operate our business. These processors are only allowed to act on our instructions and must protect your data appropriately.

Examples of processors may include:

Payment service providers who process transactions securely.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who assist with financial records and tax compliance.
IT and hosting providers who support secure storage, communications, and system maintenance.
Customer management or scheduling tools used to organise appointments and service records.
Professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, or auditors where necessary.

We may also disclose information where required by law, court order, or regulatory authority, or where disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, staff, customers, or property. Where possible and appropriate, we limit the amount of information shared to the minimum necessary.

6. Data Retention

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

Quotation and enquiry records may be kept for a limited period to manage follow-up communication and service history.
Service and customer records may be retained to support future bookings, resolve disputes, and maintain an accurate business history.
Financial and accounting records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Complaint or incident records may be kept longer where necessary to demonstrate how we handled a matter or to defend legal claims.

When data is no longer needed, we will take steps to securely delete, anonymise, or destroy it.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access restrictions, secure storage, staff confidentiality requirements, and regular review of our procedures.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to ensure that personal data is handled in a responsible and protected way.

8. International Transfers

Where data is stored or processed outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect it in accordance with data protection law. This may include using approved contractual protections or relying on adequacy decisions where applicable.

9. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have rights under UK GDPR in relation to your personal data. These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal conditions or exceptions. Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you.
Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data.
Erase your data in certain circumstances.
Restrict the processing of your data in certain situations.
Object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Data portability for data you provided to us, where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.
Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data has been handled improperly.

If you wish to exercise your rights, we will respond in accordance with legal timeframes and may need to verify your identity before taking action.

10. Marketing Communications

We may send limited service-related communications where permitted by law. If we ever send marketing communications requiring consent, you can opt out at any time. We will respect your preferences and ensure that any direct marketing is handled in a lawful manner.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally provided by a parent, guardian, or responsible adult in connection with a service booking. If we learn that we have collected data from a child inappropriately, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

12. 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 updates will take effect when published in the revised version. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their information is used.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Motspur Park Carpet Cleaners is committed to treating personal data with care, confidentiality, and respect. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, retain it for no longer than necessary, and work with processors that help us maintain secure and reliable services. Most importantly, we recognise your rights and aim to handle all customer information in a way that is transparent, accountable, and compliant with data protection law.