Twickenham Carpet Cleaners Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Twickenham Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data relating to customers in our service area. It is intended to comply with the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation and all applicable data protection laws. This Privacy Policy applies to all Twickenham Carpet Cleaners customers in our local service area, including anyone who makes an enquiry, books a service, or otherwise interacts with us as a customer.

Who We Are

Twickenham Carpet Cleaners is a local carpet and upholstery cleaning service provider. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller for the personal data that we collect and process about our customers. This means that we decide how and why your personal data is processed and we are responsible for ensuring that this processing is carried out in a lawful and transparent manner.

Personal Data We Collect

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

Identity and contact details, such as your name, title, home address, service address, and any other contact details you choose to provide, for example a postal address or online contact details. Booking and service information, including details of the services you request, property access instructions you choose to provide, preferred dates and times, and records of your appointments with us. Communication records, such as enquiries, messages, feedback, and any complaints that you submit to us, together with our responses and any follow up correspondence. Payment-related information, such as the date and time of payment, the amount paid, and the payment method used. We do not store full card details; where card payments are taken, they are processed through external payment service providers. Technical and usage information, where relevant, such as how you interact with our website or online booking tools, including basic device and browser details and pages visited, collected through cookies or similar technologies where these are used. Marketing preferences, for example whether you wish to receive updates about offers, reminders, or other communications from us and your choices about how we contact you.

How We Collect Your Data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us, request a quote, make a booking, or communicate with us by phone, online form, or other methods. We may also collect information automatically when you visit our website, through cookies or similar technologies, subject to your consent where required by law. In some cases, we may receive personal data about you from third parties, such as comparison platforms or referral partners that you have chosen to use. In these cases we only receive the information that is necessary to provide our services and we use it in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Lawful Bases for Processing

We only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on the following lawful bases:

Contract: we use your personal data to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, and to provide and manage the carpet cleaning services we have agreed to deliver to you. This includes processing your booking, communicating with you about your appointment, and handling payments. Legal obligation: we may process certain personal data as required to meet our legal and regulatory obligations, such as maintaining accurate tax, accounting, and transaction records. Legitimate interests: we may process your data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This can include improving our services, managing our business operations, protecting our property and staff, handling customer queries and complaints, and preventing fraud or abuse. Consent: in some circumstances we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of marketing communications or where we use optional cookies that are not strictly necessary. When we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage our carpet and upholstery cleaning services, including processing bookings, providing quotes, attending at your premises, and carrying out the services you request. To communicate with you about your enquiries, bookings, service updates, cancellations, or rescheduling, and to respond to any questions or complaints. To process payments and issue invoices or receipts, and to maintain financial records for accounting and tax purposes. To improve and develop our services, including monitoring performance, training staff, and reviewing customer feedback or service history. To send you service-related messages and, where you have permitted it or where the law allows, information about promotions, offers, or updates about our services. To protect our legal rights and interests, for example to resolve disputes, enforce our terms, or prevent fraud or misuse of our services. To comply with applicable laws, regulatory requirements, and requests from public authorities where we are required to do so.

Data Sharing and Processors

We may share your personal data with carefully selected third parties who assist us in providing our services. These third parties act as data processors and only process your information on our documented instructions. Categories of processors we may use include:

Payment service providers, who process your payments securely on our behalf. Information technology and hosting providers, who supply and maintain our website, scheduling, and communication systems. Customer management and communication tools, which help us to handle bookings, reminders, and customer messages efficiently. Professional advisers, such as accountants or legal advisers, to the extent that this is necessary for our business and compliance obligations.

We ensure that appropriate contracts and safeguards are in place with all of our processors, requiring them to keep your data secure, to use it only for the agreed purposes, and to delete or return it at the end of the provision of their services. We do not sell your personal data to third parties. Where we are required by law, we may disclose personal data to public authorities, regulators, or law enforcement agencies.

Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. When deciding how long to keep data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process it, and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means.

In general, customer and booking records are kept for a period that allows us to manage ongoing services, handle any complaints or queries, and comply with statutory retention obligations. Payment records and financial data are typically retained for periods required by tax and accounting rules. At the end of the relevant retention period, personal data is securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise disposed of in a safe manner.

International Transfers

Where our service providers or their systems are located outside the United Kingdom, your personal data may be transferred to and processed in other countries. In such cases, we take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data, such as using standard contractual clauses or relying on other lawful transfer mechanisms in line with data protection law.

Data Security

We take the security of your personal data seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, or unauthorised disclosure or access. These measures include limiting access to personal data to staff and processors who need to know it for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, using secure systems and tools, and regularly reviewing our processes and safeguards. While we strive to protect your personal data, no method of transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure, but we work to reduce risks as far as reasonably possible.

Your Data Protection Rights

As a customer of Twickenham Carpet Cleaners in our service area, you have a number of rights under data protection law in relation to your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, these may include:

The right of access, which allows you to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and information about how we use it. The right to rectification, which allows you to ask us to correct or complete any inaccurate or incomplete personal data. The right to erasure, sometimes called the right to be forgotten, in certain situations where there is no good reason for us to continue processing your data. The right to restrict processing, which allows you to ask us to limit the way we use your data in specific circumstances. The right to data portability, which allows you, in some cases, to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to have it transmitted to another controller where this is technically feasible. The right to object, which allows you to object to certain types of processing, including processing based on legitimate interests and processing for direct marketing purposes. The right to withdraw consent, where we rely on your consent to process your personal data, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

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

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. When we make changes, we will revise the date of the policy and, where appropriate, inform you through our usual communication channels. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.