Privacy Policy - St Lukes Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how St Lukes Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all St Lukes Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including prospective customers, existing customers, and anyone who enquires about our services. We are committed to handling personal data in a fair, lawful, transparent, and secure manner in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services, making an enquiry, or otherwise interacting with us, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this policy. We only collect information that is relevant and necessary for operating our services, managing customer relationships, meeting legal obligations, and improving service quality.

1. Data We Collect

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

• Identity data such as your name and, where relevant, the name of a business or property owner.
• Contact data such as address details, telephone number, and email address.
• Service and booking data including service type, appointment details, property access notes, cleaning preferences, and job history.
• Payment data such as payment status, transaction details, and billing records. We do not intentionally store full card details unless required by a secure third-party payment provider.
• Communication data including messages, feedback, complaints, and records of correspondence.
• Technical data where applicable, such as basic device, browser, or log information if you interact with us electronically.
• Special category data only where you voluntarily provide it and it is necessary for service delivery, for example information about allergies, sensitivities, or access requirements linked to the cleaning service.

We generally collect data directly from you when you make an enquiry, request a quote, book a service, pay for services, or communicate with us. We may also receive data from third parties where lawful and appropriate, for example from a property manager, landlord, tenant, or payment service provider acting on your behalf.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

• to respond to enquiries and provide quotes;
• to schedule, manage, and deliver carpet cleaning services;
• to communicate with customers about bookings, changes, or service-related matters;
• to process payments, refunds, and account records;
• to maintain service records and customer history;
• to handle complaints, disputes, and customer support requests;
• to improve service quality, operational efficiency, and customer experience;
• to comply with legal, accounting, and tax obligations;
• to protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We will only use personal data for the purposes for which it was collected unless we reasonably believe we need to use it for another compatible purpose and that use is lawful.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Depending on the situation, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing bookings, providing cleaning services, processing payments, and dealing with related customer service matters.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where necessary to comply with legal and regulatory duties, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, and responses to lawful requests from authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process certain personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms. This may include maintaining service records, improving operations, preventing fraud, and handling business administration. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we assess the impact on your privacy and only process data that is necessary and proportionate.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, particularly for optional communications or where special category data is provided and another lawful basis does not apply. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Vital Interests and Public Interest

These bases are unlikely to be used in routine carpet cleaning services, but may apply in exceptional cases where necessary to protect someone’s life or where required by law for public interest reasons.

4. 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, and reporting requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the nature of the data and the reason it is held.

• Customer and booking records are generally retained for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to manage queries, repeat work, and service history.
• Financial and tax records are typically retained for the period required by law.
• Communication records may be kept for as long as needed to resolve disputes, demonstrate customer instructions, or maintain business records.
• Job notes and operational records are retained only as long as necessary for service delivery and quality control.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or destroy it. In some cases, we may keep limited information in a secure archive if required for legal claims, compliance, or legitimate business record-keeping.

5. Processors and Third Parties

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as data processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. These parties only process personal data where necessary and under appropriate contractual and security safeguards.

• Payment service providers for handling card or electronic payments securely.
• Booking, scheduling, or administration providers that help manage appointments and business operations.
• IT and cloud service providers that store or support our data systems and communications.
• Accountants or professional advisers where needed for financial, tax, or legal purposes.
• Delivery, subcontract, or service partners if additional assistance is required to fulfil a booking.
• Authorities or regulators where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect rights, safety, or legal claims.

We do not sell personal data. Any third party that processes data on our behalf is expected to use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it and to act only on our instructions where they are a processor.

6. Data Security

We take reasonable and proportionate steps to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, password protection, secure storage, and limiting data access to people who need it for legitimate business purposes. While no system is completely secure, we review our safeguards periodically and update them where appropriate.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• 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 data.
• Right to erasure – to ask us to delete personal data in certain circumstances.
• Right to restriction – to request that we limit how we use your data in certain cases.
• Right to data portability – to request a copy of certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
• Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
• Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent 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 and will explain if any exemption applies.

8. International Transfers

If any service providers store or process data outside the United Kingdom, we will only allow this where appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal data in line with applicable data protection law. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal protections.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, operational practices, or the way we provide services. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain aware of how their information is handled.

10. Our Commitment to You

St Lukes Carpet Cleaners is committed to privacy by design and to handling personal data respectfully and responsibly. We will only process what we need, keep it only as long as necessary, and use strong safeguards to protect it. Where we rely on your information to provide a service, we do so because it is necessary, proportionate, and aligned with your expectations as a customer.

In summary: your personal data is used to provide and manage carpet cleaning services, meet legal requirements, and support our legitimate business operations. We aim to be transparent, secure, and fair in all data processing activities, and we recognise and respect your rights under data protection law.

This policy applies to all St Lukes Carpet Cleaners customers in the area.