Privacy Policy - Gallows Corner Carpet Cleaners

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This Privacy Policy explains how Gallows Corner Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. This policy applies to all Gallows Corner Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including residential and commercial clients, prospective customers, and anyone who interacts with us in connection with our services. 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.

1. Who We Are

Gallows Corner Carpet Cleaners is a service provider offering carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, stain treatment, and related cleaning services. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as a data controller for the personal data we collect and determine how and why it is processed.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for delivering our services, managing our relationship with you, and meeting legal obligations. The types of data we may collect include:

• Identity information: name, title, and business or household name where applicable.
• Contact information: postal address, email address, and telephone number.
• Service information: details of the cleaning services requested, appointment dates, access instructions, and service preferences.
• Payment information: billing details, payment status, and transaction records. We do not store full card details where payment processing is handled by a secure third-party provider.
• Communication data: records of emails, phone calls, messages, complaints, and feedback.
• Property-related information: details relevant to the service being carried out, such as room sizes, carpet condition, and any special cleaning requirements.
• Technical data: limited information such as device or browser details when you interact with our digital systems, where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it voluntarily, or unless another lawful basis applies. If such data is ever provided to us, we will treat it with heightened care and only process it where permitted by law.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

• to provide quotations, manage bookings, and deliver cleaning services;
• to communicate with you about appointments, changes, and service updates;
• to process payments, invoices, and refunds where applicable;
• to respond to enquiries, complaints, and aftercare requests;
• to maintain accurate business and accounting records;
• to improve our services, customer experience, and operational efficiency;
• to comply with legal, tax, insurance, and regulatory obligations;
• to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims where necessary.

We will only use your data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably determine that we need to use it for another compatible purpose and the law allows us to do so.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. Gallows Corner Carpet Cleaners may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as providing a quote, confirming a booking, completing a cleaning service, or handling payment.

Legal Obligation

We may process personal data where needed to comply with legal duties, including tax, accounting, recordkeeping, and other regulatory requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing customer relationships, preventing fraud, improving services, and maintaining internal records. When we rely on legitimate interests, we consider whether the processing is necessary and whether it is proportionate.

Consent

Where required, we will ask for your consent before using your data for specific purposes. If consent is used as the lawful basis, you can withdraw it at any time.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for business operations, service delivery, or legal compliance. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the nature of the relationship.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

• Payment processors that handle secure payment transactions;
• IT and cloud service providers that support data storage, email, and administrative systems;
• Accounting and bookkeeping providers that assist with financial administration;
• Customer communication tools used to send appointment confirmations or service updates;
• Professional advisers such as insurers, auditors, or legal advisers where necessary;
• Public authorities where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect our rights.

We require processors to handle personal data only on our instructions, to use appropriate security measures, and to process data only for the agreed purpose. We do not sell your personal data.

6. International Transfers

If any of our processors store or process data outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal mechanisms designed to protect your personal data.

7. Data Retention

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

• Customer and service records are generally retained for the duration of our business relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to manage follow-up, warranty issues, or disputes.
• Financial and accounting records are kept for the period required by law, typically in line with tax and accounting rules.
• Communication records may be retained for as long as needed to resolve queries or maintain service history.
• Legal claims or dispute-related data may be retained longer where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal rights.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in accordance with our retention practices. Retention schedules may be reviewed periodically to ensure ongoing compliance.

8. Security of Your Data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of our data-handling processes. While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work diligently to reduce risk and protect the information entrusted to us.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These 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 information;
• 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 we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time;
• Right to complain: to raise concerns with the relevant data protection authority if you believe your rights have been infringed.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a rights request. Some rights may not apply in all circumstances, and exemptions may exist under data protection law.

10. How We Handle Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental to a service request made by an adult customer. If we become aware that we have collected such data without an appropriate basis, we will take steps to delete it where required.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or how we process personal data. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Gallows Corner Carpet Cleaners is committed to responsible data handling, transparency, and respect for your privacy. We only collect personal data that is relevant to our services, use it for lawful and clearly stated purposes, share it only with appropriate processors or authorities when necessary, and retain it for no longer than required. We also aim to ensure that all Gallows Corner Carpet Cleaners customers in the area receive the same high standard of privacy protection and data governance.

In short, we process your personal data fairly, securely, and in compliance with applicable data protection laws. If you use our services, your privacy matters to us, and we will continue to handle your information with care, accountability, and integrity.