Merton Carpet Cleaning Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Merton Carpet Cleaning collects, uses, stores and shares personal data about its customers and prospective customers. It applies to all Merton Carpet Cleaning customers and enquiries in our service area, regardless of how you contact us or use our services.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a lawful, fair and transparent way, in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Data Controller

Merton Carpet Cleaning is the controller of the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means we decide how and why your personal data is used, and we are responsible for ensuring that it is processed in accordance with data protection law.

Personal Data We Collect

We collect and process different categories of personal data depending on how you interact with us. The main types of data we collect are:

Identification and contact details: name, address, service address, billing address, and preferred contact method.

Communication details: information you provide when you contact us by phone, through online forms, or in writing, including enquiries, feedback and any complaint information.

Service details: details of the cleaning services you request or receive, such as property type, areas to be cleaned, access instructions, booking dates and times, and any relevant notes about the service.

Billing and payment information: information necessary to issue invoices and record payments, such as invoice history, payment status and payment method. We do not store full payment card details if you pay by card via a secure payment processor.

Technical and usage information: limited information arising from your use of our website, such as pages visited, time and date of visit, and basic device information, which may be collected through cookies or similar technologies where permitted by law and your browser settings.

Sensitive personal data such as health information is not routinely collected. If you choose to share any such information in the context of an enquiry or service, we will only use it where strictly necessary to provide the service you have requested, for example where you inform us of allergies or particular safety concerns.

How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data in the following ways:

Directly from you when you contact us to request a quote, make a booking, ask a question, provide feedback, or otherwise communicate with us.

During the provision of services when our staff attend your home or premises and record details necessary to complete the job and manage our relationship with you.

Automatically through our website where basic technical and usage data is logged when you visit our site, subject to your browser settings and any applicable cookie controls.

From third parties only where necessary and lawful, for example where a landlord, letting agent or property manager provides your contact details to arrange cleaning services at a property you occupy, or where a payment provider confirms whether a transaction has been authorised or declined.

Lawful Bases for Processing

We rely on different lawful bases for different activities, as permitted by the UK GDPR:

Contract: we process your personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking steps at your request before a contract is made, such as providing quotes and booking appointments, and carrying out carpet cleaning and related services.

Legitimate interests: we process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This includes managing our customer records, scheduling staff, improving our services, handling general business administration, preventing misuse of our services and protecting our rights.

Legal obligation: we process personal data where we are required to do so by law, for example to comply with tax and accounting rules, respond to lawful requests from public authorities, or keep certain business records for a statutory period.

Consent: in limited cases we may rely on your consent, for example where required for specific types of direct marketing or optional cookie technologies. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time, and this will not affect the lawfulness of processing before you withdrew consent.

How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotes, respond to enquiries and arrange appointments.

To deliver carpet cleaning and related services at your home or premises.

To manage our relationship with you, including handling queries, complaints and service updates.

To issue invoices, record payments and maintain accurate financial records.

To plan and optimise our staff scheduling, routes and service quality.

To maintain the security and integrity of our systems, prevent fraud and protect our legal rights.

To comply with legal and regulatory requirements.

We do not sell your personal data and we do not use automated decision making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you.

Data Sharing and Processors

We may share your personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf. These processors only handle your data following our instructions and in accordance with data protection law. Typical processors include:

Information technology and hosting providers that support our websites, booking tools or data storage.

Payment processors that handle card transactions or other electronic payments securely.

Professional advisers such as accountants who assist with financial record keeping and compliance.

In addition, we may share personal data with:

Public authorities, regulators or law enforcement where required by law or to protect our legal rights.

Other parties involved in a business sale, merger or reorganisation, in which case we will seek to ensure your data continues to be protected and you are informed of any material changes.

We require all processors and recipients to handle your data securely and only for the purposes we specify.

International Data Transfers

If we use services that store or process data outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or standard contractual clauses, so that your personal data remains protected to standards equivalent to those required under UK data protection law.

Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting and reporting requirements.

Customer and service records are generally retained for a period consistent with relevant limitation periods and tax rules, after which they are securely deleted or anonymised. Enquiry records that do not lead to bookings are kept for a shorter period where reasonably necessary to respond to your query and manage our business records.

The specific retention period may vary depending on the type of data, the nature of our relationship with you, and any legal obligations that apply.

Your Data Protection Rights

You have a number of rights regarding your personal data under the UK GDPR. These rights apply to all Merton Carpet Cleaning customers in our service area, subject to certain conditions and exemptions in the law.

Right of access: you can request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and ask for a copy of that data, together with information about how we use it.

Right to rectification: you can ask us to correct or complete personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete.

Right to erasure: in some circumstances, you can request that we delete your personal data. This right is not absolute, and we may need to retain certain information where we have a legal obligation or a compelling legitimate interest.

Right to restriction: you can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we review a concern you have raised about its accuracy or our use of it.

Right to object: where we rely on legitimate interests to process your personal data, you can object to this processing. We will stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms, or where we need the data to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Right to data portability: in certain circumstances, you can ask us to provide you with personal data you have given us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and to transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.

Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on your consent, you are free to withdraw it at any time. This will not affect processing carried out before the withdrawal.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner if you are concerned about how we handle your personal data. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve your concerns directly.

Security of Your Data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration or disclosure. These measures include access controls, staff training, secure storage and the use of reputable service providers. While we take reasonable steps to safeguard your information, no system can be completely secure, and you share information with us at your own risk.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements or data protection practices. Any changes will be posted in the latest version of this policy. Your continued use of our services after any update will constitute your acknowledgment of the updated policy.