Privacy Policy - Cleaners Battersea

This Privacy Policy explains how Cleaners Battersea collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data relating to customers and prospective customers in the Battersea area. It applies to all Cleaners Battersea customers in the area, including individuals who enquire about services, request quotations, book appointments, receive cleaning services, or otherwise interact with our business.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy is intended to help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and what rights you have in relation to your data.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity details: your name, title, and any business name you provide.
Contact details: your address, email address, telephone number, and preferred method of contact.
Service information: details about the cleaning services you request, service preferences, property access notes, and appointment history.
Billing and payment information: transaction records, payment status, and invoicing details. We do not intentionally store full payment card details if these are processed by a third-party payment provider.
Communication records: emails, text messages, call notes, complaint records, feedback, and correspondence related to our services.
Technical and usage data: if you interact with our digital systems, we may collect basic technical information such as device type, browser information, and system logs, where applicable.
Special category data: we do not normally seek to collect special category data. If you voluntarily provide information that may reveal health, access, or vulnerability-related needs, we will only process it where necessary and with appropriate safeguards.

We collect data directly from you where possible. In some cases, we may also receive information from third parties such as payment processors, booking platforms, or a person acting on your behalf.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries and provide quotations;
to arrange and deliver cleaning services;
to manage appointments, schedules, and access arrangements;
to process payments and issue invoices or receipts;
to maintain service records and handle complaints or service issues;
to improve our services, customer experience, and internal operations;
to meet legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
to detect and prevent fraud, misuse, or other unlawful activity; and
to communicate important updates relating to your booking or service.

We only use personal data where we have a valid legal ground to do so and where the use is compatible with the purpose for which the data was collected.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. The lawful bases we rely on are set out below:

Contract

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

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing customer relationships, improving our services, maintaining records, responding to disputes, and securing our systems and operations.

Legal Obligation

We process certain data to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, employment-related duties where relevant, and record-keeping requirements.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily provide optional information that is not necessary for the service. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing already carried out.

Vital Interests

In rare circumstances, we may process data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in an emergency where information must be shared to prevent serious harm.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. However, we may share it with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf or, where required, as separate controllers. These third parties may include:

Payment processors who handle card or online payment transactions;
Booking and scheduling systems used to manage appointments and service planning;
IT and cloud service providers who support data storage, communications, and system maintenance;
Accounting and invoicing providers who assist with financial administration;
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where necessary;
Public authorities or regulators where we are legally required to disclose data.

Where a processor acts on our behalf, they are only permitted to use your data under our instructions and must implement appropriate security measures. We take reasonable steps to ensure that processors provide sufficient guarantees of confidentiality, integrity, and data protection compliance.

If personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will take appropriate legal and technical safeguards to ensure that your information remains protected to a standard consistent with UK data protection requirements.

5. Data Retention

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

Customer service and booking records: typically retained for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterward to manage queries, disputes, or service continuity.
Financial and transaction records: retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Communication records: retained for as long as needed to deal with service issues, complaints, or record-keeping purposes.
Consent-based records: retained until consent is withdrawn or the information is no longer needed.

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

6. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, limited staff access, and supplier due diligence.

While we take data security seriously, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If a personal data breach occurs and it is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will take appropriate action in line with legal requirements.

7. Your Rights

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

Right of access: you may request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and obtain a copy of it.
Right to rectification: you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure: in certain circumstances, you may request that we delete your personal data.
Right to restrict processing: you may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object: you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing where applicable.
Right to data portability: you may request your data in a structured, commonly used format where the legal conditions are met.
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

To help protect your privacy, we may need to verify your identity before responding to a request. We will aim to respond within the time limits set out by law.

If you believe your data protection rights have been infringed, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) or the relevant supervisory authority.

8. Cookies and Similar Technologies

If we use online systems that involve cookies or similar technologies, they may be used to support site functionality, measure performance, or remember preferences. Where consent is required, we will obtain it before setting non-essential cookies. You can manage cookies through your browser settings.

9. Children’s Data

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

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or how we handle data. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers in Battersea to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how their information is protected.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Cleaners Battersea is committed to respecting your privacy and using personal data responsibly. We collect only the information needed to provide and manage our services, use it under a valid lawful basis, keep it only as long as necessary, and work with trusted processors under appropriate safeguards. You remain in control of your personal data and may exercise your rights under data protection law at any time.