Privacy Policy - Longlands Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Longlands Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data. It applies to all Longlands Carpet Cleaners customers in area and to anyone who contacts us, requests a quote, books a service, or otherwise engages with our carpet cleaning services.

1. Introduction

Longlands Carpet Cleaners is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner. This Privacy Policy is designed to comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We only collect the information we need to provide our services, manage our business, and meet legal obligations.

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

2. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to all Longlands Carpet Cleaners customers in area, including residential customers, commercial clients, prospective customers, and any person whose data we obtain in connection with our services. It also applies where you browse, submit an enquiry, communicate with us, or otherwise interact with us in relation to our carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, stain removal, or related services.

3. Data we collect

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

Identity information: your name and, where relevant, business name.
Contact information: address, telephone number, and email address.
Service information: property access details, cleaning instructions, appointment times, and details of the services requested.
Billing and payment information: records relating to invoices, payments, and transaction history.
Communication records: emails, messages, call notes, and other correspondence.
Technical information: limited information collected when you interact with our digital systems, such as device details or basic usage logs, where applicable.
Special instructions: any preferences or notes relevant to carrying out cleaning safely and effectively, including access or scheduling requirements.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it and it is necessary for a specific service need. If such information is provided, we will handle it with additional care and only where there is a lawful basis to do so.

4. How we collect your data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

request a quote or make an enquiry;
book or receive a cleaning service;
communicate with us by phone, email, or other means;
complete forms or provide information for service arrangements;
make a payment or request an invoice;
leave feedback or make a complaint.

We may also receive data indirectly from:

referring customers or business partners;
property owners, tenants, landlords, or managing agents where relevant to the service;
payment providers or accounting systems;
publicly available sources where necessary and lawful.

5. Lawful basis for processing

We only process personal data where we have a valid lawful basis under UK GDPR. Depending on the situation, we may rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes quoting, scheduling, carrying out cleaning services, invoicing, and managing service-related communications.

Legal obligation

We may process personal data where we are required to do so by law, including for accounting, tax, record-keeping, fraud prevention, and compliance purposes.

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 managing customer relationships, improving our services, preventing misuse, maintaining business records, and handling routine business administration.

Consent

Where required, we will seek your consent before processing your personal data. If we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect processing carried out before it was withdrawn.

6. How we use your data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide carpet cleaning and related services;
to communicate with you about bookings, quotes, and service updates;
to prepare invoices and process payments;
to manage customer records and service history;
to deal with complaints, queries, and after-service support;
to meet legal, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
to protect our business from fraud, abuse, or unlawful activity;
to improve the quality, efficiency, and safety of our services.

We do not sell your personal data.

7. Data sharing and processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors or independent controllers, where necessary to run our business and provide our services. Any third party that processes data on our behalf is required to do so securely and only on our instructions.

Typical processors and recipients may include:

IT and cloud service providers: for secure storage, email, and business systems;
accounting and bookkeeping providers: for financial administration and tax compliance;
payment service providers: to process payments and reduce transaction risk;
customer management or scheduling software providers: to organise appointments and service records;
professional advisers: such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where needed;
public authorities: where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect rights and safety.

Where processors are used, we take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate data protection safeguards are in place, including contractual obligations where required.

8. Data retention

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

In general, we may retain:

customer and service records: for the duration of the relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards;
financial and invoice records: for the period required by tax and accounting laws;
communications and complaint records: for as long as needed to manage service issues and demonstrate compliance;
consent records: for as long as necessary to show when and how consent was obtained.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to an identifiable person.

9. Data security

We use 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 awareness, and limiting data access to authorised persons only.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take reasonable steps to protect your information and review our safeguards where appropriate.

10. Your rights under data protection law

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal data, subject to certain legal conditions and exemptions. These rights include:

Right of access: you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
Right to rectification: you may request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data;
Right to erasure: you may ask us to delete your personal data where there is no lawful reason to keep it;
Right to restriction: you may request limited processing in certain circumstances;
Right to object: you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing, where applicable;
Right to data portability: you may request that certain data be provided to you or another controller in a structured format;
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

If you exercise any of these rights, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We will respond within the time limits required by law.

11. Cookies and similar technologies

If we use cookies or similar technologies in connection with our online systems, they will be used only where necessary or permitted by law. Such technologies may help with basic functionality, security, or service improvement. Where consent is required, we will request it before placing non-essential cookies.

12. International transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will only do so where appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in line with data protection law. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations or standard contractual protections.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services, or how we process personal data. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we protect your data.

14. Contact and complaints

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, your personal data, or how we process information, you may raise a concern with us. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been violated.

Longlands Carpet Cleaners is committed to respecting your privacy, keeping your information secure, and only processing personal data where we have a lawful reason to do so.