Privacy Policy - St James Carpet Cleaners

Effective date: This Privacy Policy explains how St James Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all St James Carpet Cleaners customers in area, including anyone who requests a quote, books a service, receives a service, or communicates with us in relation to our carpet cleaning and related services.

1. Introduction

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner. This Privacy Policy is designed to meet the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We only collect and use personal information where we have a valid reason to do so, and we take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it.

For the purposes of this policy, personal data means any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual. This may include details such as names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, service records, payment information, and communication history.

2. Data We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide our services, manage our business, and meet legal obligations. The types of data we may collect include:

Identity details: name and title.
Contact details: address, phone number, and email address.
Service information: property access details, cleaning instructions, appointments, quotations, service preferences, and notes about the work requested or completed.
Billing and payment information: records of payments, invoices, and transaction references. We do not store full card details where payment processing is handled by a third party.
Communication records: emails, messages, call notes, complaint records, and any other correspondence relating to our services.
Technical information: limited data such as IP address or device information if captured by website or email systems used for security and performance purposes.
Special instructions: any information you choose to provide that helps us carry out the cleaning service safely or effectively, such as access arrangements or allergy considerations.

We do not intentionally collect more information than is needed for our normal business operations.

3. How We Collect Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

request a quote or estimate;
book or amend a service;
communicate with us by phone, email, text, or other channels;
make a payment;
provide feedback or raise a complaint;
interact with service-related forms, invoices, or documentation.

We may also receive data from third parties where necessary to complete a booking, process a payment, or manage a business service on your behalf, such as from payment processors or administrative systems.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

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

Contract

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

Legal obligation

We may process and retain certain records to comply with tax, accounting, insurance, or other legal requirements.

Legitimate interests

We may use personal data for legitimate business interests where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing appointments, improving service delivery, preventing fraud, maintaining business records, and responding to customer queries.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you agree to receive certain optional communications. You can withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing.

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

5. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data to:

provide and manage carpet cleaning and related services;
issue quotations, invoices, and service records;
confirm and schedule appointments;
respond to enquiries and customer support requests;
maintain accurate business and financial records;
improve our service quality and customer experience;
protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud or misuse;
comply with legal and regulatory duties.

We will not sell your personal data.

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties known as processors who act on our instructions and help us deliver our services. These may include:

Payment processors: to process transactions securely.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers: to maintain financial records and support tax compliance.
IT and cloud service providers: to store data, manage email, support systems, and protect information security.
Scheduling or administrative tools: to manage bookings and customer records.
Professional advisers: such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where necessary.

We require processors to handle personal data securely, use it only for the services they provide to us, and comply with applicable data protection law. Where required, we also put contractual safeguards in place to protect personal data.

We may disclose information where necessary to comply with the law, enforce our terms, or protect the rights, property, or safety of St James Carpet Cleaners, our customers, staff, or others.

7. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including any legal, accounting, or reporting obligations. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the reason it is held.

Customer and service records: retained for a period necessary to manage the relationship, handle follow-up matters, and maintain service history.
Financial and tax records: retained for the period required by law.
Complaint or dispute records: retained until the matter is resolved and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Marketing or consent-based records: retained until you withdraw consent or opt out, where applicable.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so it can no longer identify you.

8. Data Security

We take reasonable and appropriate measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, password protection, secure storage, staff awareness, and limiting access to those who need it for business purposes.

However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. While we work hard to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These include:

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 request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction: you can ask us to limit how we use your data in some 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 where applicable.
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 exceptions or limitations. If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will assess your request in line with applicable law and respond within the required timeframe.

10. International Transfers

Where personal data is stored or processed outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure an adequate level of protection in line with data protection law. This may include using providers with appropriate safeguards or approved transfer mechanisms.

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 handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

At St James Carpet Cleaners, we respect the privacy of our customers and handle personal data responsibly. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, retain it for appropriate periods, and work with processors who help us protect it. We also recognise your rights and aim to make it easy for you to understand how your information is used.

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