Privacy Policy - Ruxley Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Ruxley Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Ruxley Carpet Cleaners customers in area, including individuals who request quotes, book services, receive cleaning services, or otherwise interact with us in connection with carpet cleaning and related services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

We understand that privacy matters. This policy is designed to help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and what rights you have over your personal data.

1. What Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data necessary for delivering our services, managing customer relationships, and meeting legal obligations. The type of information we collect may include:

Identity information: your name, title, and, where relevant, business or household details.
Contact information: address, email address, telephone number, and service location details.
Service and booking information: requested services, booking dates and times, access instructions, and service preferences.
Payment information: transaction details, payment status, and limited billing records. We do not store full card details where a third-party payment provider is used.
Communication records: enquiries, complaints, feedback, and correspondence with our team.
Technical information: basic website or device data, such as IP address or browser type, where relevant to site security or performance.
Marketing preferences: whether you have opted in or out of receiving marketing communications, where such communications are offered.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it for a specific reason, such as information relevant to an allergy, accessibility need, or health-related precaution connected to a cleaning appointment. If you provide such information, we will only process it where permitted by law and where necessary to protect your interests or provide an appropriate service.

2. How We Collect Personal Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

request a quote or make an enquiry;
book or reschedule a service;
communicate with us by phone, email, form, or message;
pay for services or request an invoice;
leave a review or provide feedback;
subsequently update your details.

We may also receive data from third parties where necessary, such as payment processors, booking tools, customer management systems, or referral partners acting on your behalf. Where a third party provides your details, we expect them to have a lawful basis for doing so.

3. Why We Use Your Data and Our Lawful Basis

We only process personal data when we have a valid lawful basis under data protection law. The lawful bases we rely on may include:

Performance of a contract

We process your data when it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, or to perform a contract once services have been agreed. This includes managing bookings, delivering cleaning services, confirming appointments, issuing invoices, and handling service-related communication.

Legitimate interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests and where your rights do not override those interests. This can include managing our business, improving services, preventing fraud, maintaining records, responding to enquiries, and ensuring the security of our systems and premises. When relying on legitimate interests, we consider whether the use of data is proportionate and whether it would reasonably be expected.

Legal obligation

We may process data to comply with legal or regulatory obligations, such as accounting, tax, insurance, health and safety, or responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain marketing communications or where you provide optional information that is not necessary for the service. If we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Vital interests

In exceptional circumstances, we may process information to protect someone’s vital interests, for example if emergency action is needed during a service appointment.

4. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data to:

provide quotes, book services, and carry out cleaning appointments;
communicate with customers about services, access, timing, and follow-up;
process payments and maintain accounts;
deal with complaints, queries, and service improvements;
maintain business, accounting, and legal records;
protect against misuse, fraud, or security incidents;
send marketing messages where permitted and where you have not opted out;
fulfil obligations under law, regulation, or insurance requirements.

We do not use your personal data for unrelated purposes without first identifying a lawful basis.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of record and the reason it was collected.

Customer service and booking records: kept for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards for administration, dispute handling, and continuity.
Financial and tax records: kept for the period required by law and standard accounting practices.
Complaints and correspondence: retained for as long as needed to resolve the matter and to evidence our response if required.
Marketing preference records: kept while your consent or legitimate objection status remains relevant.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in a way that prevents unnecessary use. Retention is reviewed periodically so that we do not keep data longer than necessary.

6. Processors and Third-Party Recipients

We may share personal data with trusted processors who act on our behalf and under our instructions. These processors are permitted to use data only for the purposes we specify and must protect it appropriately. They may include:

payment service providers;
booking and scheduling systems;
customer relationship management tools;
email and messaging service providers;
accounting and bookkeeping providers;
IT support, hosting, backup, and security providers;
professional advisers such as accountants, legal advisers, or insurers;
regulators, law enforcement, or public authorities where required by law.

Where we use processors, we take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate data processing agreements are in place and that data is handled securely. Some providers may process data outside the UK. If that happens, we will take appropriate safeguards required by law, such as approved contractual protections or adequacy arrangements.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and system protections. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to reduce risks to a reasonable and appropriate level.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may 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: in certain circumstances, you can ask us to delete your data.
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: where applicable, you can request your data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent: where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Some rights are subject to conditions and exceptions. For example, we may need to retain certain records to comply with legal obligations or to defend legal claims.

9. Cookies and Similar Technologies

If we operate an online presence, basic cookies or similar technologies may be used to support site functionality, remember preferences, and understand usage. Any such use will be limited to what is necessary or, where required, based on consent. You may control cookies through your browser settings.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service arrangements. The most recent version will apply to your use of our services and should be reviewed periodically. If changes are significant, we may take reasonable steps to make customers aware of them.

11. Contacting Us About Privacy

If you wish to exercise your rights, raise a concern, or ask a question about this Privacy Policy, you may contact us through the usual service channels provided to customers. We will respond in accordance with applicable data protection law and may need to verify your identity before taking action.

In summary: Ruxley Carpet Cleaners processes personal data fairly, uses it only for valid business and legal purposes, keeps it no longer than necessary, and works with trusted processors under appropriate safeguards. We respect your privacy rights and are committed to protecting the information entrusted to us.