Privacy Policy - Longford Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Longford Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable data protection laws. It applies to all Longford Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including prospective customers, current customers, and anyone who contacts us regarding carpet cleaning or related services.

We are committed to handling personal data in a fair, lawful, transparent, and secure manner. We only collect data that is necessary for the services we provide, and we do not use personal information for purposes that are incompatible with the reason it was collected.

1. Who We Are

Longford Carpet Cleaners provides professional cleaning services for residential and commercial customers. For the purpose of data protection law, we act as the data controller for the personal data we collect and process in the course of our business operations. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing personal data.

2. Information We Collect

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

Identity details: name, title, and any relevant household or business contact name.
Contact details: address, telephone number, and email address.
Service details: service type requested, property access information, cleaning preferences, appointment history, and job notes.
Payment information: transaction records, invoice details, and limited payment-related information required to process or record payments.
Communication records: messages, complaints, feedback, and correspondence relating to our services.
Technical data: basic website or device information if you interact with our online services, such as IP address or browser type, where applicable.
Special category data: we do not normally seek to collect sensitive personal data. If such data is incidentally shared with us, we will only process it where strictly necessary and with an appropriate lawful basis.

We generally collect personal data directly from you when you make an enquiry, book a service, provide instructions, make a payment, or communicate with us. In some cases, information may be supplied by another person acting on your behalf, such as a family member, property manager, or business representative.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide carpet cleaning and related services;
to manage bookings, quotes, and service appointments;
to process payments and maintain financial records;
to communicate about service delivery, changes, or follow-up;
to handle complaints, queries, and customer support;
to improve our services, processes, and customer experience;
to comply with legal, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
to protect our business against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We only process personal data where there is a lawful basis to do so under GDPR. Our lawful bases may include the following:

Contract: where processing is necessary to enter into or perform a service agreement with you.
Legal obligation: where we must retain or disclose information to meet tax, accounting, consumer protection, or other legal requirements.
Legitimate interests: where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as service administration, record-keeping, customer support, and business protection, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
Consent: where we rely on your clear permission, for example for certain optional communications or specific processing activities. You may withdraw consent at any time.

4. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf. These processors are only permitted to use personal data according to our instructions and must apply appropriate security and confidentiality measures. Typical categories of processors may include:

Payment service providers who handle transaction processing or payment verification;
Accounting and bookkeeping providers who assist with financial administration and tax compliance;
IT and cloud service providers who support data storage, email, scheduling, or secure business systems;
Customer management or administration platforms that help us record bookings and service information;
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where necessary;
Authorities or regulators where disclosure is required by law or needed to protect rights, safety, or lawful interests.

We do not sell personal data. We also do not share more information than is necessary for the relevant purpose. Where processors are used, we take reasonable steps to ensure they meet GDPR requirements and only process data for authorised purposes.

5. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy decisions, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms recognised under data protection law. We take steps to ensure that your personal data remains protected wherever it is processed.

6. Data Retention

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

Customer service records: retained for a period necessary to manage the customer relationship and any follow-up issues.
Invoices and payment records: retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Communication records: retained for a reasonable period to deal with disputes, complaints, or service history.
Technical or administrative data: retained only as long as needed for operational and security purposes.

When data is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise disposed of in a safe and lawful manner. We regularly review retention needs to avoid keeping personal information longer than necessary.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or alteration. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of data handling practices. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection appropriate to the nature of the data we hold.

8. Your Rights

Under GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply in different circumstances and may be subject to legal limits. They include:

Right of access: you can ask for confirmation of whether we process your data and request a copy of that data.
Right to rectification: you can request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure: you can ask for your data to be deleted where there is a lawful basis to do so.
Right to restriction: you can ask us to limit 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 request that certain data be provided to you or another controller 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 relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe your rights have been infringed. We encourage you to raise any concerns directly so that we can address them promptly and fairly.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adult customers and business users. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary for a service request made by a parent, guardian, or authorised adult. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without appropriate authority, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

10. Automated Decision-Making

We do not normally use automated decision-making or profiling that has legal or similarly significant effects on individuals. If this changes in the future, we will update this policy and ensure that any such processing complies with applicable law and appropriate safeguards.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data processing practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how personal data is handled.

Summary of Our Approach

Longford Carpet Cleaners processes personal data only where necessary, lawfully, and transparently. We collect limited information to provide services, manage customer relationships, meet legal obligations, and protect our business. We use trusted processors, apply retention controls, and respect your GDPR rights at all times.

Last reviewed: This Privacy Policy is intended to provide a clear and GDPR-compliant overview of how we handle personal data for customers in the area served by Longford Carpet Cleaners.