Privacy Policy - Maida Vale Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Maida Vale Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data relating to customers and prospective customers in the Maida Vale area. It applies to all Maida Vale Carpet Cleaners customers in area and to anyone who requests, receives, or enquires about our carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, rug cleaning, stain removal, and related services. We are committed to handling personal data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Maida Vale Carpet Cleaners provides professional cleaning services to homes and businesses in and around Maida Vale. In the course of delivering our services, we may need to collect and use personal information about customers, property occupants, site contacts, and other individuals involved in arranging or receiving our services. This policy sets out how that information is managed.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for legitimate business and service purposes. The types of information we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as telephone number, email address, and service address.
Service information including details of the cleaning work requested, preferred dates, access instructions, and any special requirements.
Payment-related information such as billing records, payment status, and transaction references. We do not intentionally store full card details when payment processing is handled securely by a third party.
Communication records including emails, text messages, notes from calls, complaints, feedback, and service correspondence.
Technical data where relevant, such as basic website or device information if you make an enquiry through an online form or digital channel.
Property and service condition details if needed to assess the work, identify stains, fabric types, access issues, or potential risks.

We do not seek to collect unnecessary sensitive personal data. However, in limited cases, information may be shared with us incidentally, for example where a customer mentions medical needs, allergies, or mobility issues so that we can provide an appropriate service. Any such data is handled with extra care and only where relevant.

3. How We Collect Your Data

Personal data may be collected directly from you or from authorised representatives acting on your behalf. We may also receive information from:

booking and enquiry communications;
service visits and on-site assessments;
payment and invoice activity;
customer feedback or complaints;
third parties involved in arranging access or payment, where appropriate.

Where data is provided by someone other than you, we expect that person to have authority to do so. If that is not the case, we will use the information only as necessary for the requested service and in accordance with applicable law.

4. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
to arrange and deliver cleaning services;
to manage customer accounts, records, and service history;
to process payments and maintain accounting records;
to communicate about appointments, service changes, and aftercare;
to handle complaints, disputes, and requests;
to improve our services, systems, and customer experience;
to meet legal, regulatory, tax, and insurance obligations;
to prevent fraud, misuse, or security incidents.

We will only use personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably believe we need to use it for a compatible purpose or another lawful reason is available.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Maida Vale Carpet Cleaners relies on the following bases where appropriate:

Performance of a contract – when processing is necessary to provide a quotation, arrange a booking, carry out cleaning services, issue invoices, or manage payment.
Legitimate interests – when processing is necessary for running our business effectively, improving service quality, maintaining records, preventing fraud, and managing routine customer communication, provided that these interests do not override your rights.
Legal obligation – when we must keep or disclose information to comply with tax laws, accounting requirements, regulatory duties, or lawful requests from public authorities.
Consent – where required, for example in certain marketing situations or for specific optional processing activities. If we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

Where special category data is processed incidentally or exceptionally, we will only do so when a lawful condition under data protection law applies and additional safeguards are in place.

6. Sharing Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to operate our services. These third parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We require appropriate protections before sharing data.

Examples of processors may include:

IT and cloud service providers that store or support our records;
booking, scheduling, and communication systems;
payment processing providers;
accounting, bookkeeping, and tax software providers;
customer review, survey, or feedback platforms;
professional advisers, such as accountants or insurers, where necessary.

We may also disclose data where required by law, court order, or lawful request by a regulator or enforcement authority. Any data sharing is limited to what is necessary and proportionate.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to meet the purposes set out in this policy, including legal, accounting, tax, and insurance obligations. Retention periods depend on the nature of the data and the reason we hold it.

In general:

quotation and enquiry records may be kept for a limited period if no booking follows;
customer service records and invoices may be retained for several years to satisfy accounting and legal requirements;
communication records may be kept for as long as needed to resolve service issues or maintain business records;
data no longer required will be securely deleted, anonymised, or archived in line with our retention practices.

Where data is held under a legal obligation, we will keep it only for the period required by that obligation. When personal data is no longer needed, it will be disposed of securely.

8. Security of Your Data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and data minimisation practices. While no system can guarantee absolute security, we work to ensure that your information is handled carefully and responsibly.

9. Your Rights

Depending on the circumstances and the legal basis for processing, you may have the following rights under data protection law:

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 data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain situations.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. Some rights may not apply in every situation, for example where we must keep information to comply with a legal obligation or establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

10. Marketing Communications

If we send you marketing messages, we will do so only where permitted by law. You can opt out of direct marketing at any time. If you no longer wish to receive such communications, we will stop sending them after your request has been processed. Service-related messages, such as appointment confirmations or billing notices, are not marketing and may still be necessary to provide our services.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are directed to adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary to provide a service at a property and the information is supplied by an adult with authority to do so. If we become aware that we have collected data 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 legal, operational, or service changes. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Maida Vale Carpet Cleaners respects your privacy and handles personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner. We collect only the information needed to provide and improve our services, we use lawful bases for processing, we retain records only as long as necessary, and we work with trusted processors under appropriate safeguards. Customers in the Maida Vale area can expect their personal data to be treated carefully, securely, and in accordance with data protection law.