Privacy Policy - Botany Bay Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Botany Bay Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Botany Bay Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including anyone who makes an enquiry, books a service, receives a quotation, or otherwise interacts with us in connection with our cleaning services.

1. Introduction

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. We respect your privacy and only process personal data where we have a valid legal basis to do so. This policy is intended to explain, in clear terms, what information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and what rights you have.

Please read this policy carefully so that you understand how your information is handled when you use our services.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity information such as your name or business name.
Contact information such as your telephone number, email address, and service address.
Booking and service details including service dates, cleaning requirements, property access notes, and customer preferences.
Payment information such as partial payment details, billing records, and transaction history, where applicable.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, complaints, feedback, and customer service correspondence.
Technical information if you interact with us online, such as device data, browser type, and basic usage information.
Special category data only where strictly necessary and usually not intentionally collected. If provided to us incidentally, for example in notes relating to health, access needs, or vulnerability considerations, we will process it carefully and only where a lawful basis applies.

We aim to collect only the personal data that is relevant and necessary for delivering our services properly.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To schedule, confirm, deliver, and manage cleaning services.
To process payments, issue invoices, and maintain financial records.
To communicate about appointments, service updates, and customer support.
To manage complaints, disputes, or claims.
To improve our services, customer experience, and internal operations.
To meet legal, regulatory, tax, and accounting obligations.
To prevent fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the original reason it was collected unless we have a lawful basis to do so.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. Depending on the circumstance, we rely on the following bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes handling bookings, delivering services, taking payment, and communicating about the service you requested.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include record keeping, service improvement, responding to customer issues, and fraud prevention.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain data to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, health and safety, and record-keeping requirements.

Consent

Where consent is required, we will ask for it clearly and separately. If we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before it was withdrawn.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

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

Examples of processors may include:

Payment service providers who handle transactions securely.
Accounting and bookkeeping processors who assist with financial administration.
IT, email, and cloud storage providers who support our business systems.
Customer management or scheduling tools used to organise bookings and communications.
Professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, or auditors where necessary.

Where processors act on our behalf, they are required to protect your data and only use it according to our instructions and applicable law. We do not sell your personal data.

We may also disclose data where required by law, court order, or regulatory authority, or where necessary to protect our rights, property, staff, or customers.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason it is held.

Customer and booking records are generally kept for a reasonable period after the service ends so we can manage follow-up queries, disputes, and service history.
Financial and invoice records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Communication records may be retained for a shorter or longer period depending on the nature of the correspondence and any ongoing issues.
Marketing-related data, where applicable, is kept until you withdraw consent or object, or until it is no longer needed.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete it, anonymise it, or archive it in a restricted format where lawful and appropriate. We do not keep data indefinitely.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limited access to personal data based on need.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take data protection seriously and review our practices to maintain a suitable level of protection.

8. Your Rights Under Data Protection Law

You have several rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the legal basis for processing.

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 information.
Right to erasure – you can ask us to delete your data in certain situations.
Right to restrict processing – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
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 we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We will respond within the timeframe required by law, unless an extension is permitted due to the complexity or number of requests.

9. Cookies and Online Information

If we use online systems that collect cookies or similar technologies, they may gather basic technical information to help the site function, improve performance, or understand usage patterns. Where consent is required for non-essential cookies, it will be requested appropriately. You can control cookies through your browser settings.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers arranging cleaning services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected such data without proper consent or lawful basis, we will take appropriate steps to delete or protect it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data protection practices. Any updated version will replace the previous one and will apply from the date it is published or otherwise made available.

12. Summary of Key Points

Botany Bay Carpet Cleaners collects only the personal data needed to provide and manage services, uses it on lawful grounds such as contract, legitimate interests, consent, and legal obligation, and shares it only with trusted processors when necessary. We retain data only for as long as required and respect your rights under data protection law.

By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy.