Privacy Policy - Surrey Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Surrey Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Surrey Carpet Cleaners customers in the Surrey area, including residential and commercial clients, as well as individuals who enquire about our services, request quotations, make bookings, or otherwise interact with us. 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.

1. Who We Are

Surrey Carpet Cleaners provides carpet cleaning and related cleaning services to customers in Surrey and surrounding local areas. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller for the personal data we collect and use in connection with our business operations. This means we decide why and how your personal data is processed.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect information that is relevant and necessary for providing our services, managing customer relationships, and complying with legal obligations. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identity information such as your name and title.
Contact information such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details such as property access instructions, cleaning requirements, appointment preferences, and service history.
Billing and payment information needed to process invoices, payments, and refunds.
Communication records including enquiries, complaints, feedback, and correspondence.
Technical data such as basic website or device information if you interact with our online services.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you choose to provide it, for example if a customer tells us something relevant to access, health, or safety. Where this occurs, we apply additional safeguards and only process such information when permitted by law.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To schedule, deliver, and manage cleaning services.
To process payments, refunds, and accounting records.
To communicate with customers about bookings, updates, or service issues.
To maintain accurate records of work completed.
To handle complaints, disputes, or customer service requests.
To meet legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations.
To improve our services, operational efficiency, and customer experience.

We do not sell personal data. We also do not use customer information for unrelated purposes that would be unexpected or unfair.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. Surrey Carpet Cleaners relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes providing quotations, booking services, carrying out cleaning work, taking payment, and handling post-service matters.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include maintaining records, improving service delivery, preventing fraud, managing business operations, and responding to customer queries.

Legal Obligation

We process certain information when required to comply with legal obligations, including accounting, tax, insurance, consumer protection, and record-keeping requirements.

Consent

Where consent is needed, we will ask for it clearly and separately. For example, if we ever request permission to send optional marketing messages, you can withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect any processing already carried out before it was withdrawn.

5. Sharing Your Data with Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties that act as processors on our behalf. These processors only handle data according to our instructions and must keep it secure and confidential. They may include:

IT and cloud storage providers.
Booking and scheduling software providers.
Payment processing services.
Accounting and invoicing platforms.
Customer communication tools.
Professional advisers, such as accountants or legal advisers, where necessary.

We may also share data with public authorities, regulators, insurers, or law enforcement where required by law or where necessary to protect our rights, property, customers, or staff.

Where processors are used, we take appropriate steps to ensure that data protection standards are met, including contractual safeguards, confidentiality duties, and security controls.

6. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including for legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the context in which it is used.

Customer service records are kept for a reasonable period to manage future enquiries, complaints, and service history.
Financial records are retained in line with tax and accounting requirements.
Communications may be kept for customer service, quality assurance, and dispute resolution.
Marketing-related data is retained until you unsubscribe or withdraw consent, where applicable.

When data is no longer required, we will delete it or anonymise it securely. We do not keep personal data longer than necessary.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of systems and practices. Although no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take data security seriously and continually work to reduce risks.

8. Your Rights

Under the UK GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and legal basis for processing:

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 information.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in some situations.
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.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed. We encourage you to raise any concerns with us first so we can try to resolve them promptly.

9. Cookies and Similar Technologies

If you use any online services associated with Surrey Carpet Cleaners, we may use cookies or similar technologies to support basic website functionality, improve performance, and understand how the site is used. Where legally required, we will request consent before placing non-essential cookies. You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings or through any cookie controls that may be provided.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and businesses. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental to providing a service requested by an adult customer, such as household access information. If we become aware that we have collected children’s data inappropriately, we will take steps to delete it.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or business operations. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Surrey Carpet Cleaners is committed to respecting privacy, protecting personal data, and using information responsibly. We collect only what we need, process it for clear and lawful purposes, keep it secure, share it only with appropriate processors or authorities where necessary, and retain it only as long as needed. This policy applies to all Surrey Carpet Cleaners customers in the Surrey area.