Privacy Policy - Cleaners Earlscourt

This Privacy Policy explains how Cleaners Earlscourt collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Cleaners Earlscourt customers in the area, including individuals who request, receive, or enquire about our cleaning services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Cleaners Earlscourt provides cleaning services to households and businesses in the local area. In the course of delivering these services, we may process personal data relating to customers, billing contacts, property occupants, and other individuals connected with a service booking. We act as a data controller for the personal data we determine the purposes and means of processing.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect data that is necessary for our services, administration, and legal obligations. The type of data we collect may include:

Identity data such as your name, title, and any service-related identifiers.
Contact data such as address details, telephone numbers, and email addresses.
Service data such as booking details, requested service type, property access instructions, and cleaning preferences.
Payment and transaction data such as payment status, invoice records, and billing information.
Communication data such as messages, complaints, feedback, and correspondence relating to service delivery.
Technical data such as basic website or device information if you interact with us through digital systems.
Special category data only where strictly necessary and where you have provided explicit consent or another legal condition applies, for example information needed to accommodate health or access requirements.

We do not collect more information than is reasonably required for the purposes described in this policy.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to manage enquiries and bookings;
to provide cleaning services and related customer support;
to process payments, invoices, refunds, and account administration;
to communicate service updates, changes, reminders, and complaints handling;
to maintain service records and business records;
to improve service quality and customer experience;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements;
to protect against fraud, misuse, or security incidents;
to enforce agreements and resolve disputes.

We process personal data only where there is a valid legal basis to do so.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, delivering cleaning services, processing payments, and communicating about appointments.

Legal Obligation

We process certain data to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, record-keeping, and lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where your rights and interests do not override those interests. This may include service administration, business improvement, fraud prevention, and internal record management. We always consider the impact on your privacy before relying on this basis.

Consent

Where required, we rely on your consent, for example for any optional communications or the processing of special category data when no other lawful basis applies. You may withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing already carried out lawfully.

Vital Interests

In rare situations, we may process data where necessary to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in an emergency involving a customer or occupant.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell personal data. However, we may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to operate our business and deliver services. These third parties may act as processors on our behalf or as independent controllers in their own right.

Examples of processors may include:

payment service providers that process transactions securely;
accounting and bookkeeping providers;
IT, cloud storage, or system hosting providers;
customer management or scheduling software providers;
communications service providers that help manage messaging or email delivery;
professional advisers such as lawyers, auditors, or insurers, where necessary.

Where we use processors, we ensure they are contractually required to protect personal data, act only on our instructions, and maintain appropriate security measures. We may also disclose data where required by law, to defend legal claims, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Cleaners Earlscourt, our customers, or others.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, tax, and reporting requirements. The retention period depends on the type of data and the reason it was collected.

As a general approach:

booking and service records are retained for a reasonable period to support service history and customer care;
financial records are retained for the period required by law;
complaints and correspondence are retained for as long as needed to resolve issues and protect our legal position;
data no longer needed is securely deleted, anonymised, or archived in line with our retention practices.

When deciding retention periods, we consider the volume, nature, and sensitivity of the data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure, and legal obligations that apply to us.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, password protection, restricted permissions, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful selection of processors. While no system is completely secure, we work to ensure that data is handled responsibly and in line with data protection principles.

8. International Transfers

If personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or standard contractual clauses where relevant. We only transfer data when necessary and when suitable protections are available.

9. Your Rights

As a data subject under the UK GDPR, you have several rights concerning your personal data. These rights are subject to certain conditions and exceptions.

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 request limits on how we use your data in certain cases.
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 format.
Right to withdraw consent - where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any concern promptly and fairly.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are generally intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary in connection with a service request and is provided by an adult with appropriate authority. If we become aware that we have collected data improperly, we will take steps to delete it where appropriate.

11. Automated Decision-Making

We do not use personal data for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes in the future, we will update this policy and provide any required information and safeguards.

12. 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 handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published. We encourage customers in the Cleaners Earlscourt area to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their personal data is handled.

13. Our Commitment to Privacy

Protecting your privacy is important to us. We aim to process personal data fairly, transparently, and only when necessary for legitimate business purposes, customer service, and compliance with the law. If you use Cleaners Earlscourt services, we will handle your information with care and in line with the principles of data minimisation, purpose limitation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, and confidentiality.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Cleaners Earlscourt customers in the area.