Privacy Policy - Kennington Carpetcleaning

Effective date: This Privacy Policy applies to all Kennington Carpetcleaning customers in the area.

Kennington Carpetcleaning is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, how we use it, the legal reasons we rely on, how long we keep it, who we share it with, and the rights you have under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who we are

Kennington Carpetcleaning provides carpet and related cleaning services to domestic and commercial customers in the area. For the purposes of data protection law, we are the data controller of the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means we decide why and how your personal data is used.

2. Personal data we collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary to provide our services, manage our customer relationships, and meet legal obligations. The data we may collect includes:

Identity information such as your name, title, and business name where applicable.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details such as your booking requests, service preferences, cleaning requirements, and instructions relevant to the work.
Payment information such as payment status, billing records, and transaction references. We do not intentionally store full card details unless this is needed for a specific payment process handled securely by a third party.
Communication records such as messages, call notes, complaints, feedback, and any correspondence with us.
Property and access information where needed for service delivery, including entry instructions or relevant site notes.
Technical information if you interact with our digital systems, such as device data, IP address, or usage information, where this is collected through standard security or analytics tools.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is provided by you and is necessary for a specific lawful purpose, such as health information relevant to access arrangements or safety. Where such data is involved, we will only process it where the law allows us to do so and with appropriate safeguards.

3. How we use your personal data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide carpet cleaning and related services.
To manage bookings, quotations, invoices, and payments.
To communicate with you about appointments, service changes, and customer support.
To maintain internal records and service history.
To respond to complaints, queries, or requests.
To improve our services, quality control, and customer experience.
To comply with legal, accounting, and tax obligations.
To protect our business, customers, staff, and property from fraud, misuse, or security risks.

We only process your personal data for the purposes that are relevant and necessary. We do not sell your personal data.

4. Lawful basis for processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process your data when it is needed to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, carrying out services, issuing invoices, and handling related customer support.

Legal obligation

We process some data because we are required to do so by law, including for tax, accounting, record-keeping, and compliance purposes.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This can include managing our customer records, improving services, preventing fraud, securing systems, and handling complaints. When we rely on legitimate interests, we assess the impact on your privacy and apply appropriate safeguards.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain optional communications or specific processing activities. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing your personal data

We may share personal data only when necessary and only with trusted third parties who help us deliver our services or meet legal obligations. These may include:

Payment processors that handle secure transactions.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that assist with financial records and tax compliance.
IT and system providers that support secure data storage, email, scheduling, or customer management.
Insurance providers where a claim or incident requires disclosure.
Professional advisers such as legal or financial advisers.
Public authorities where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect rights, safety, or property.

All processors are required to handle personal data securely, use it only on our instructions, and comply with applicable data protection law. We do not allow them to use your data for their own independent purposes.

6. International transfers

If any of our processors store or access data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy decisions, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal protections to keep your data secure and protected.

7. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected, unless a longer period is required by law. Retention periods may depend on the type of record and the reason for processing.

Customer and service records are generally kept for the duration of the relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards for support, dispute resolution, and business records.
Financial and tax records are kept for the period required by applicable accounting and tax laws.
Correspondence and complaints are retained long enough to resolve issues and maintain accurate records.
Security or incident records may be retained where needed to investigate, defend, or establish legal claims.

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or destroy it.

8. Your rights

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

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 – you can ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances.
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 – you can ask for certain data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal limits. We will respond to valid requests in line with data protection law. We may need to verify your identity before actioning a request.

9. Security of your data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limited access to data on a need-to-know basis. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we take reasonable steps to protect your information.

10. Data minimisation and accuracy

We aim to collect only the data that is necessary and keep it accurate and up to date. If your personal information changes, please let us know so we can maintain correct records. Accurate records help us deliver services efficiently and comply with our legal obligations.

11. Cookies and similar technologies

If we use online tools that rely on cookies or similar technologies, they may be used for security, functionality, and basic performance measurement. Where required, we will provide appropriate information and obtain consent for non-essential cookies. Any such use will be limited to what is necessary and lawful.

12. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. The most recent version will apply from the date it is published or communicated. We encourage you to review it periodically to stay informed.

13. How to exercise your rights

If you want to exercise any of your rights, or if you have concerns about how your personal data is handled, please contact us using the details provided through our usual customer channels. We may ask for information to confirm your identity and help us locate the relevant records.

14. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you have the right to raise a complaint with the relevant data protection authority. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue promptly and fairly. We take privacy concerns seriously and will review them carefully.

In summary: Kennington Carpetcleaning processes personal data responsibly, only for lawful purposes, and with safeguards designed to protect all customers in the area.