Privacy Policy - Cleaners Hampstead

This Privacy Policy explains how Cleaners Hampstead collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Cleaners Hampstead customers in the Hampstead area, including individuals who enquire about our services, receive quotations, make bookings, or otherwise interact with us. 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.

By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this Privacy Policy. We only collect information that is necessary for providing our services, managing our customer relationships, meeting legal obligations, and improving the quality and safety of our work.

1. Information We Collect

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

Identity details: name, title, and any relevant account or booking reference information.
Contact details: address, email address, telephone number, and preferred communication method.
Service information: details about the cleaning services requested, property access instructions, service preferences, and feedback.
Transaction data: payment status, invoices, receipts, and billing history.
Communication data: messages, complaints, enquiries, and notes relating to service delivery.
Technical data: limited information such as device type or browsing activity if you interact with our online systems, where applicable.

We do not seek to collect special category data unless it is strictly necessary and you have provided it knowingly, or unless a lawful basis permits such processing. We encourage you to avoid sharing sensitive information unless it is relevant to the services requested.

2. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and manage bookings;
to deliver cleaning services requested by you;
to communicate with you about appointments, changes, or service updates;
to process payments and maintain accounting records;
to respond to enquiries, complaints, or disputes;
to maintain service quality, safety, and internal records;
to comply with legal and regulatory requirements;
to protect our business against fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access.

We process personal data only to the extent needed for these purposes and do not use it in ways that are incompatible with the original reason for collection.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. The lawful bases we rely on are:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes handling booking details, service delivery information, and payment-related processing.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information where required by law, including tax, accounting, and record-keeping obligations.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights do not override those interests. This may include managing customer relationships, improving service efficiency, preventing fraud, and ensuring operational security. We apply an appropriate balance test before relying on this basis.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you choose to receive certain optional communications. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

4. Data Retention

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

Customer and booking records: retained for the period needed to manage services and resolve any queries or disputes.
Financial and tax records: retained for the period required by applicable law.
Communication records: retained for a reasonable period to support service quality and customer support.
Data no longer needed: securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise disposed of in a safe manner.

When data is no longer necessary, we take reasonable steps to ensure it is removed from active systems and handled securely. Retention is limited to what is proportionate and lawful.

5. Processors and Third Parties

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf or, in limited cases, as independent controllers. These parties are only used where necessary and are expected to handle your information securely and lawfully.

Examples of processors may include:

payment service providers;
accounting or bookkeeping software providers;
IT and cloud storage service providers;
communication and scheduling tools;
professional advisers, such as legal or financial advisers, where necessary.

Where processors are used, we ensure that appropriate contractual safeguards are in place. These include obligations relating to confidentiality, security, limited use of data, and compliance with data protection law. We do not sell your personal data.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, court order, or a valid request from a public authority. Any such disclosure will be limited to what is necessary and proportionate.

6. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of our procedures.

Although no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take data protection seriously and work to maintain a level of security appropriate to the nature of the information we process.

7. Your Rights

As a data subject under UK GDPR, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to legal limitations or exemptions, depending on the circumstances.

Right of access: you may request confirmation of whether we hold personal data about you and obtain a copy of that data.
Right to rectification: you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
Right to erasure: in some circumstances, you may request deletion of your personal data.
Right to restriction: you may request that we limit processing in certain situations.
Right to object: you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing, where applicable.
Right to data portability: where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you may request transfer of certain data in a structured format.
Right to withdraw consent: where processing relies 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 legal requirements. We may need to verify your identity before taking action to protect your information.

8. Complaints and Supervisory Authority

If you are concerned about how we handle your personal data, you may raise the matter with us so that we can review it. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

We encourage you to contact us first so that we can address any issues promptly and fairly. Our aim is to resolve concerns in a transparent and respectful way.

9. 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 processing practices. Any revised version will apply from the date it is made available. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we process personal data.

10. Summary of Our Commitments

In summary, Cleaners Hampstead only processes personal data where there is a valid lawful basis, keeps information only for as long as necessary, uses trusted processors under appropriate safeguards, and respects your rights under data protection law. We aim to ensure that all personal data relating to customers in Hampstead is handled responsibly, securely, and with full respect for privacy.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Cleaners Hampstead customers in the area and is intended to provide a clear explanation of how we manage personal data throughout the course of our services.