Privacy Policy - Waterloo Carpet Cleaners

Effective for all Waterloo Carpet Cleaners customers in the Waterloo area. This Privacy Policy explains how Waterloo Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in connection with our carpet cleaning and related services. We are committed to handling personal information lawfully, fairly, and transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to all customers, prospective customers, and service users of Waterloo Carpet Cleaners in the Waterloo area, including individuals who request a quotation, book a cleaning service, communicate with us, or receive services on behalf of a household, landlord, business, or property manager. It also applies to website or phone inquiries where personal data is provided to us for service-related purposes.

2. Information we collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for legitimate business and service purposes. The categories of information we may collect include:

Identity data such as your name and title.
Contact data such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service data such as details of the cleaning work requested, property access instructions, cleaning preferences, and appointment history.
Billing and payment data such as invoice details, payment status, and transaction records. We do not store full card details where payment is processed by a secure third-party provider.
Communication data such as messages, complaints, feedback, and notes relating to customer service interactions.
Technical data where applicable, such as basic device or usage information collected through booking or enquiry systems.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to disclose it to us for a specific reason, and where that happens we will treat it with extra care and only process it when permitted by law.

3. How we use your data

Waterloo Carpet Cleaners uses personal data to provide and manage our services effectively. The main purposes for processing include:

Responding to enquiries and providing quotations.
Scheduling, confirming, and delivering cleaning appointments.
Managing payments, invoices, and accounting records.
Handling customer support requests, complaints, and follow-up communication.
Maintaining service history and quality control.
Meeting legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations.
Protecting our business, staff, customers, and property.

We use personal data only for specified and limited purposes. We will not use your information in a way that is incompatible with the original reason it was collected unless we have a valid legal basis to do so.

4. Lawful basis for processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. Depending on the situation, Waterloo Carpet Cleaners may rely on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process your personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, delivering cleaning services, issuing invoices, and communicating about appointments.

Legitimate interests

We may process your data where it is reasonably necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. This may include improving our services, managing customer relationships, preventing fraud, maintaining security, and keeping internal business records. We always consider whether the processing is proportionate and relevant.

Legal obligation

We may process and retain certain information to comply with legal requirements, such as accounting, tax, insurance, or record-keeping obligations.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where we need permission for a particular optional communication or data use. If we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing your data and processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to operate our business and deliver our services. These third parties act either as independent controllers or as processors on our behalf. We require appropriate safeguards to protect your data and only share the minimum information needed.

Processors we may use

Booking and scheduling providers who help manage appointments and reminders.
Payment processors who handle secure payment transactions.
Accounting and invoicing providers who support financial administration.
IT, cloud storage, and communications providers who help store data and maintain systems.
Customer service or administration support providers where applicable.

These processors are only permitted to process personal data on our instructions and for the specific services they provide. They must also implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard the information they handle.

We may also share information if required by law, to respond to lawful requests by public authorities, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Waterloo Carpet Cleaners, our customers, or others.

6. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as it is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, unless a longer retention period is required by law. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and the reason it is held.

Customer service and booking records are retained for the period needed to manage the relationship and any follow-up issues.
Invoice, payment, and accounting records are retained for the period required by tax and financial regulations.
Complaint or dispute records may be retained for longer where needed to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
Technical or operational records are kept only as long as needed for security, troubleshooting, and service improvement.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention practices. We aim to ensure retention is proportionate and limited to what is necessary.

7. Data security

We take the security of personal data seriously. Waterloo Carpet Cleaners uses reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect information from unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and review of third-party systems. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to minimise risks and handle data responsibly.

8. Your rights

As a data subject under the UK GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to legal limitations, you may have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you.
Rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Erasure of your data in certain circumstances.
Restriction of processing in certain situations.
Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
Data portability for data processed by automated means and based on consent or contract, where applicable.
Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to be informed about how your data is used and to raise a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed. We encourage you to raise concerns directly with us first so that we can address them promptly and fairly.

9. Third-party links and external services

Where we use external platforms for administration, payments, or communications, those services may have their own privacy policies and terms. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites or services outside our control. We recommend that you review their policies before providing personal data to them.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any updates will take effect when published in the revised version. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data. Continued use of our services after updates means you accept the revised policy, where permitted by law.

11. Summary of our commitment

Waterloo Carpet Cleaners is committed to processing personal data in a lawful, transparent, and respectful manner. We collect only the information needed to provide our services, use it for clear and legitimate purposes, limit retention, and apply appropriate safeguards when using processors. We also respect the rights of every customer in the Waterloo area and aim to ensure that your personal information is handled with care at all times.