Privacy Policy - Wormwood Scrubs Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Wormwood Scrubs Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, shares, stores, and protects personal data. It applies to all customers of Wormwood Scrubs Carpet Cleaners in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and individuals who enquire about our services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Wormwood Scrubs Carpet Cleaners provides carpet, upholstery, and related cleaning services. In the course of delivering these services, we may process personal data about customers, property occupiers, service recipients, and other individuals connected to a booking or enquiry. We act as a data controller for the personal data we determine the purposes and means of processing.

2. Personal Data We Collect

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

• Identity data: name, title, and any relevant account or booking reference.
• Contact data: address, email address, telephone number, and service location details.
• Booking and service data: details of requested services, appointment times, special instructions, property access information, and service history.
• Payment data: payment status, transaction records, and limited billing information necessary to process payments and maintain accounts.
• Communication data: records of enquiries, complaints, feedback, and correspondence.
• Technical data: basic device or usage information if you interact with us through digital systems, where applicable.
• Legal and compliance data: information needed to meet regulatory, tax, insurance, or dispute-resolution obligations.

We do not intentionally collect special category personal data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it voluntarily, or we are otherwise permitted or required to process it under data protection law. If such information is ever provided, we will treat it with enhanced care and only use it where a lawful basis applies.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

• to respond to enquiries and provide quotes;
• to manage bookings and deliver cleaning services;
• to communicate about appointments, changes, and service updates;
• to process payments, invoices, refunds, and account administration;
• to handle complaints, claims, and customer support issues;
• to maintain accurate business records;
• to protect against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity;
• to comply with legal and regulatory requirements;
• to improve our services, internal processes, and customer experience.

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

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only when we have a lawful basis under UK GDPR. Depending on the context, our lawful bases may include:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as managing bookings, delivering cleaning services, taking payment, or communicating about service arrangements.

Legal Obligation

We may process data where needed to comply with legal duties, including tax, accounting, insurance, safeguarding, and record-keeping obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is in our legitimate interests to operate and improve our business, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include maintaining service records, preventing fraud, handling disputes, and improving our customer service. When relying on this basis, we consider the impact on your privacy and ensure the processing is proportionate.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, particularly where the law requires it or where you have clearly agreed to a specific use of your data. You may withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing.

5. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Policy, including to satisfy legal, accounting, tax, and insurance requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the nature of the data and the purpose for which it was collected.

In general:

• Customer and booking records are retained for a period necessary to manage services, resolve disputes, and maintain business records.
• Payment and invoice records are kept for the period required by financial and tax law.
• Complaints and correspondence may be retained until the matter is resolved and for a further period where needed to defend legal claims or improve service quality.
• Marketing preferences are retained until you tell us otherwise or until they are no longer needed.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in a way that prevents unnecessary access.

6. Sharing Personal Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to run our business and provide our services. These third parties may act as processors or independent controllers depending on the service they provide.

Examples of processors may include:

• IT and cloud service providers that store or support our booking, email, or record systems;
• Payment service providers that process transactions securely;
• Administrative support providers that help with scheduling, invoicing, or document management;
• Customer relationship or communication tools used to manage service-related messages;
• Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where necessary.

Where processors act on our behalf, they are required to process personal data only on our instructions, keep it confidential, and implement appropriate security measures. We do not sell personal data.

We may also disclose data if required by law, court order, regulatory request, or to protect our rights, customers, or staff. If a business restructuring or transfer occurs, personal data may be transferred as part of that process, subject to legal safeguards.

7. International Transfers

If any of our processors or service providers store or access personal data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms designed to protect your data to a standard equivalent to UK requirements.

8. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful selection of processors. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection appropriate to the risk.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to certain limitations and exemptions.

• 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 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 is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You are also entitled to raise concerns about how your data is handled. If you believe your rights have been infringed, you may seek advice or lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adult customers and property contacts. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is incidental and necessary for service delivery in a domestic setting. Where such data is encountered, we will process it only when lawful and proportionate.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal duties, or data protection practices. Any revised 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 used.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Wormwood Scrubs Carpet Cleaners is committed to protecting personal data and using it responsibly. We aim to keep information accurate, secure, and only as long as needed. We process data on lawful grounds, use trusted processors with appropriate safeguards, and respect the rights of all customers in the area. Our approach is based on transparency, accountability, and privacy by design wherever practical.

This Policy forms part of our commitment to fair and lawful processing of personal data.