Privacy Policy - Colliers Wood Carpet Cleaners

Colliers Wood Carpet Cleaners is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information when you use our services. It applies to all Colliers Wood Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including anyone who requests a quotation, books a service, communicates with us, or receives cleaning services from us.

We follow the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy should help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and the rights you have over your personal data.

1. Information We Collect

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

• Identity details such as your name
• Contact details such as your address, telephone number, and email address
• Service details such as property access instructions, rooms or items to be cleaned, and service preferences
• Payment information needed to process transactions, issue invoices, or confirm payment status
• Communication records including messages, notes from calls, booking enquiries, complaints, and service updates
• Technical data such as limited website or device information if you interact with our online services
• Marketing preferences if you choose to receive offers or updates

We do not seek to collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it voluntarily or the law permits us to do so. Where possible, please avoid sharing sensitive personal information unless it is relevant to your request.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use personal data for the following purposes:

• To respond to enquiries and provide quotations
• To schedule, deliver, and manage carpet cleaning services
• To communicate about bookings, appointments, and changes to service
• To process payments and maintain accurate accounting records
• To handle complaints, disputes, and customer support requests
• To improve our services, customer experience, and operational efficiency
• To comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory requirements
• To send marketing communications where permitted and where you have not opted out

We only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose and we have a lawful basis to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Performance of a Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to provide a quote, confirm a booking, carry out cleaning services, take payment, or manage any agreement you have with us.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include business administration, service improvement, fraud prevention, internal record keeping, and responding to customer queries.

Legal Obligation

We may need to retain and process certain data to comply with legal or regulatory obligations, including tax, accounting, and insurance requirements.

Consent

In some situations, we may rely on your consent, especially for direct marketing or optional communications. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time.

4. Sharing Your Information and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business. These third parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We only share the minimum information necessary and require appropriate safeguards.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

• Payment providers that process card or online payments
• Accounting and bookkeeping services used for invoicing and financial records
• IT and software providers that store customer records, scheduling data, or communications
• Customer communication tools used to send booking updates or service notices
• Cloud storage and backup providers that securely store business data
• Professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, or auditors where needed

We may also disclose personal data if required to do so by law, court order, or to protect our rights, property, staff, or customers. We do not sell personal information.

5. International Transfers

Where any processor stores or accesses data outside the UK, we take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, contractual protections, and security measures designed to protect your information to a standard consistent with UK data protection law.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, and to meet legal, accounting, or reporting obligations. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data and the reason we hold it.

As a general approach:

• Quotation and enquiry records may be kept for a limited period to manage follow-up questions or future bookings
• Customer service and booking records may be retained while the service relationship is active and for a reasonable period afterwards
• Invoices, tax records, and payment-related records are kept for the period required by law
• Complaint and dispute records may be retained for as long as needed to resolve issues and defend legal claims
• Marketing preferences are kept until you opt out or withdraw consent

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention practices.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include restricted access, secure storage, password protection, and internal procedures for handling information safely.

Although we take care to protect your data, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. If a data breach occurs, we will act in accordance with our legal obligations, including notifying the relevant authorities and affected individuals where required.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. These include:

• Right of access - you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to rectification - you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Right to erasure - you can ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances
• Right to restriction - you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations
• Right to object - you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing
• Right to data portability - you can request certain data in a structured, commonly used format
• Right to withdraw consent - where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time

Some rights may be subject to legal exceptions. If this is the case, we will explain why we cannot fully comply with your request.

9. Marketing Choices

If we send you marketing communications, we will do so only in accordance with applicable law. You can choose not to receive marketing at any time by using the opt-out method provided in the communication or by contacting us through the usual business channels. Your choice will always be respected.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers arranging services for properties. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If we become aware that we have unintentionally collected data relating to a child without appropriate authority, we will take steps to delete it where required.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or our data handling practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how we protect personal data.

12. Summary of Your Data Protection Commitment

We are committed to handling your personal data responsibly and transparently. We collect only what we need, use it only for clear and lawful purposes, share it only with trusted processors where necessary, and retain it only for as long as required. If you are a customer of Colliers Wood Carpet Cleaners in the area, this policy explains how your information is protected and what rights you have over it.

In short: we aim to respect your privacy, minimise data collection, and maintain good data protection standards at every stage of our service.