Dulwich Carpet Cleaners Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Dulwich Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores and shares personal data when you use our carpet cleaning and related services. It also describes your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and related data protection laws. This Privacy Policy applies to all Dulwich Carpet Cleaners customers and prospective customers in our service area.
Who We Are and Scope of This Policy
Dulwich Carpet Cleaners is a provider of carpet, upholstery and related cleaning services. When we refer to we, us or our in this Privacy Policy, we mean Dulwich Carpet Cleaners as the data controller responsible for determining how and why your personal data is processed.
This Privacy Policy applies to personal data we collect from customers, prospective customers and individuals who contact us or interact with us in any way in connection with our services within our operating area.
Personal Data We Collect
We may collect and process the following categories of personal data about you:
Identification and contact details such as your name, address, and other contact details you provide when enquiring about or booking our services.
Service and booking information such as details of the property or premises to be cleaned, types of carpets or upholstery, access instructions, preferred dates and times, and any notes you choose to provide.
Communication records such as information contained in enquiries, feedback, complaints or other communications you send to us, and our responses to you.
Billing and payment details such as information necessary to process your payments and to issue invoices and receipts. Card details are generally handled by our payment processors and are not stored by us beyond what is required for accounting records.
Usage and technical data such as information about how you interact with our website or online booking tools, which may include IP address, device information, browser type and pages viewed, where such data is collected through standard analytics tools or server logs.
How We Collect Your Data
We collect personal data from you in several ways, including:
Directly from you when you contact us by phone, complete a form, make a booking, request a quotation, or speak with our staff in person.
Automatically when you browse or use our website or online tools, through the use of cookies and similar technologies where applicable.
From third parties such as payment processors, advertising platforms or referral partners who may provide us with information about leads, bookings or completed transactions.
Lawful Bases for Processing
We only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so. Depending on the context, we may rely on the following lawful bases:
Performance of a contract: We use your data to provide our services, manage bookings, confirm appointments, carry out cleaning work at the correct property, handle payments and communicate with you about your service.
Legitimate interests: We may process your data for our legitimate business interests, such as managing our relationship with you, improving our services, keeping records of completed work, preventing fraud, or operating and securing our website, provided that these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
Legal obligations: We may process certain information to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, for example, maintaining accounting records and tax documentation.
Consent: In some cases we may ask for your consent, for example, to send you certain types of marketing communications. When we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
How We Use Your Personal Data
We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:
To provide and manage our services including processing enquiries, preparing quotations, confirming bookings, attending your premises, and completing cleaning work.
To communicate with you such as responding to questions, sending booking confirmations, updates or reminders, and handling any issues or complaints.
To manage billing and payments including issuing invoices, processing transactions through our payment processors, and maintaining financial records.
To operate, maintain and improve our business including analysing service usage, training staff, improving the quality of our services and enhancing customer experience.
To send marketing communications where permitted such as information about promotions, new services or service reminders, in accordance with applicable law and your communication preferences.
To meet legal and regulatory requirements including accounting, taxation, and responding to lawful requests from authorities where required.
Data Retention
We keep your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, or as required by law.
Customer and booking records are typically retained for a period that allows us to manage repeat services, deal with queries or complaints, and maintain accurate tax and accounting records. This may generally be several years after your last interaction with us, in line with statutory limitation periods.
Where data is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to securely delete or anonymise it so that you can no longer be identified from it.
Sharing Your Personal Data
We do not sell your personal data. We may share your personal data with:
Service providers and processors who act on our behalf to support our operations, such as IT providers, website hosting, analytics tools, booking systems, payment processors, accountants and other professional advisers. These third parties are required to handle your data securely and only according to our instructions.
Our staff and contractors who need the information to provide services to you, such as technicians attending your property, customer service staff, or operational management.
Authorities or other third parties where required by law or where we believe it is necessary to protect our rights, safety, customers or the public, such as for fraud prevention, security or regulatory reasons.
Potential buyers or successors in the event of a business sale, restructuring or transfer of assets, in which case personal data may be transferred as part of the transaction, subject to appropriate safeguards.
International Transfers
Where we use service providers or systems located outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area, personal data may be transferred internationally. In such cases we take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as using standard contractual clauses or relying on countries that have been recognised as providing an adequate level of data protection.
Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect your personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures may include access controls, staff training, secure storage, and the careful selection of third party providers.
While we take reasonable steps to protect your data, no system can be completely secure. You are responsible for keeping any passwords or access details confidential and notifying us promptly of any suspected misuse.
Your Data Protection Rights
Under data protection law, you have certain rights in relation to your personal data, subject to some limitations. These include:
Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, together with information about how we use it.
Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
Right to erasure: In some circumstances, you can ask us to delete your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected, or where you withdraw consent and there is no other legal basis for processing.
Right to restrict processing: You may ask us to limit the way we use your data in certain situations, such as while we are considering a request for rectification.
Right to data portability: In some cases, you can request that we provide your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format, and transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.
Right to object: You can object to certain processing based on our legitimate interests, and you can always object to direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided to you separately on our website or other communications. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling your request.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data. In the United Kingdom, this is typically the Information Commissioner's Office.
Marketing Preferences
We may use your contact details to send you information about our services, offers or promotions where permitted by law. You can ask us to stop sending marketing communications at any time by following the instructions in the communication or by contacting us directly. Even if you opt out of marketing, we may still send you service messages relating to bookings or essential information.
Cookies and Similar Technologies
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to make the site function properly, to improve user experience and to analyse how visitors use the site. Where required by law, we will seek your consent before placing non essential cookies on your device, and you can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements or the services we offer. Any updated version will be made available through our usual communication channels and will take effect from the date of publication.
We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we protect your personal data.
