Privacy Policy - Clapham Cleaners

Clapham Cleaners is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all customers in the Clapham area. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose, and protect personal information when you use our services. It applies to all Clapham Cleaners customers in the area, including one-off and recurring customers, prospective customers, and anyone who contacts us regarding our cleaning services.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of data protection law, Clapham Cleaners acts as the data controller for the personal data we process in connection with our services. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your information and are responsible for ensuring that it is handled in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. Information We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide and manage our cleaning services, respond to enquiries, and meet our legal obligations. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of personal data:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your address, telephone number, and email address.
Service information including booking details, property access instructions, preferences, and service history.
Payment-related information such as billing details and transaction records, where relevant.
Communication records including emails, messages, complaint correspondence, and feedback.
Technical information if you interact with us digitally, such as device or usage data, where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category personal data unless it is provided by you and is necessary for a specific purpose, such as access or safety instructions. If such data is shared, we will only process it where a lawful basis exists and appropriate safeguards are in place.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for a number of legitimate business and service-related purposes, including:

Providing cleaning services and managing appointments.
Processing enquiries, quotations, and customer requests.
Maintaining service records and quality control.
Handling payments, invoicing, and financial administration.
Communicating service updates, schedule changes, and important notices.
Responding to complaints, disputes, or feedback.
Meeting legal, regulatory, accounting, and tax obligations.
Improving our services, internal processes, and customer experience.

We only use your information for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose. If we need to use your data for an unrelated purpose, we will explain the legal basis that allows us to do so.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only where we have a valid lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the circumstance, the lawful basis may include:

Contract

We process your personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging cleaning services, managing bookings, and communicating service-related information.

Legal Obligation

We may process your data where necessary to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, record-keeping, or responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include service administration, customer relationship management, business improvement, fraud prevention, and defending legal claims.

Consent

Where required, we will rely on your consent, for example for certain types of optional communication. If we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before it was withdrawn.

Vital Interests

In rare cases, we may process personal data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as in an emergency affecting health or safety.

5. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to provide our services, manage our business, or comply with law. We ensure that any third party acting on our behalf does so under appropriate contractual and security safeguards.

These third parties may include processors such as:

Payment service providers who handle transactions securely.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers for financial administration.
IT, cloud storage, and software providers used to manage bookings, records, and communications.
Professional advisers, such as legal or insurance advisers, where necessary.
Regulatory, tax, or law enforcement authorities when required by law.

Processors are only allowed to process your data on our instructions and for specified purposes. We do not sell personal data. If data is transferred outside the UK or the European Economic Area, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information.

6. Data Retention

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

Customer service records are retained for a period reasonably necessary to manage the relationship and address any follow-up issues.
Financial and invoicing records are retained for the period required under tax and accounting laws.
Complaint or dispute records may be retained longer where needed to resolve claims or protect legal interests.

When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention practices. We review retention regularly to ensure we do not keep information longer than necessary.

7. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limited access to personal data on a need-to-know basis.

While we take appropriate steps to protect your information, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If we become aware of a personal data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will take appropriate action in line with applicable law.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you may have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to legal conditions and exemptions, these rights may include:

Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in accordance with applicable data protection law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request. In some cases, we may be unable to comply fully where retention or disclosure is required by law.

9. Marketing Communications

We may send service-related communications that are necessary for the delivery of our services. Where we send optional marketing communications, we will do so only where permitted by law. You may object to direct marketing at any time, and we will respect your choice.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults arranging cleaning services. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children for marketing or service administration. If information relating to a child is incidentally provided in connection with access or safety arrangements, we will only process it where necessary and appropriate.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data processing practices. Any updates will take effect when published in an appropriate manner. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect personal data.

12. Summary of Our Commitments

In summary, Clapham Cleaners processes personal data fairly, lawfully, and transparently. We collect only the information needed to provide cleaning services and run our business responsibly. We use data under recognised lawful bases, retain it only as long as necessary, and share it only with trusted processors or where required by law. We also respect and support the rights of our customers in the Clapham area to access and control their personal information.

By using Clapham Cleaners services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.