Privacy Policy - Marylebone Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Marylebone Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data relating to its customers in the Marylebone area. It applies to all Marylebone Carpet Cleaners customers in area, including individuals who request quotations, book services, receive cleaning services, make payments, or otherwise interact with us in connection with our carpet cleaning and related services.

We are committed to handling personal information fairly, lawfully, and transparently in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy explains what data we collect, why we collect it, the lawful basis we rely on, how long we keep it, who may process it on our behalf, and the rights available to you.

1. Information We Collect

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

Identity details such as your name, title, and any business or household name you provide.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service details such as property access instructions, cleaning preferences, stain information, carpet or fabric type, and appointment notes.
Transaction information such as invoices, payment status, and records of services purchased.
Communication records such as correspondence, complaints, feedback, and service updates.
Technical information if you interact with digital systems used to manage bookings, such as IP address, device information, and basic usage logs where relevant.
Special category data only where necessary and provided voluntarily, for example if you disclose accessibility requirements that may relate to health or mobility. We minimise such data and handle it with additional safeguards.

We do not seek to collect unnecessary personal data. Where possible, we keep our requests limited to what is needed to provide quotes, schedule and deliver services, administer accounts, and maintain proper records.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide carpet cleaning and related services;
to prepare quotations and confirm bookings;
to manage customer accounts and service records;
to process payments and issue invoices;
to communicate about appointments, changes, or service issues;
to respond to enquiries and complaints;
to improve service quality, staff training, and operational planning;
to maintain business records and comply with legal obligations;
to protect against fraud, misuse, or security incidents;
to exercise or defend legal claims where necessary.

We only use your personal data where we have a valid legal reason to do so. We aim to keep our use of data proportionate and limited to the purpose for which it was collected.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis before processing personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes handling quotations, bookings, cleaning services, payments, and post-service administration.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided that your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. Examples include record-keeping, service improvement, fraud prevention, customer communication, and operational management. We consider the impact on privacy before relying on this basis.

Legal Obligation

We process certain information to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including tax, accounting, insurance, and record-keeping duties.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where you choose to provide optional information that is not required for service delivery. Where consent is used, you can withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests

In rare situations, we may process data to protect someone’s vital interests, such as where urgent safety concerns arise at a property.

4. 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 with independent controllers where required by law or necessary to deliver our services.

Processors may include:

IT and system providers that host booking, email, storage, or communication tools;
payment processors that handle card or electronic payments;
accounting and bookkeeping providers who assist with invoicing and financial records;
customer service or administrative support providers who help manage correspondence;
professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where necessary;
public authorities or regulators where disclosure is required by law.

Where a processor handles personal data on our behalf, we require them to act only on our instructions, keep the data secure, and use appropriate technical and organisational measures. We enter into data processing terms with relevant providers to protect your information.

Some service providers may store data outside the United Kingdom. If this happens, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections, so that your information remains protected to a standard consistent with UK GDPR.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, tax, and insurance requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of information and the reason it is held.

Quotation and booking records are generally kept for a reasonable period in case of follow-up service, dispute resolution, or customer history needs.
Invoices and financial records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Communication and complaint records are retained for as long as needed to manage the issue and support audit or defence of claims.
Optional or consent-based information is kept only until it is no longer needed or consent is withdrawn.

When data is no longer needed, we securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in line with our retention practices.

6. Your Rights

As a data subject under UK GDPR, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may be subject to legal limits and exemptions in some situations.

Right of access – you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – you can ask us to delete personal data in certain circumstances.
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 – where applicable, you can request your data in a structured, commonly used format.
Right to withdraw consent – if processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you are concerned about how your personal data is handled. We encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve the issue promptly and fairly.

7. Security of Your Data

We take the security of personal data seriously and use appropriate safeguards to protect it from unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or disclosure. Measures may include access controls, staff confidentiality expectations, secure storage, and limited access on a need-to-know basis.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to reduce risks and review our practices periodically. Where required by law, we will notify affected individuals and relevant authorities of personal data breaches.

8. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, technology, or our business practices. When we do so, the revised version will apply from the date of publication or as otherwise stated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how personal data is handled.

9. Summary of Our Commitment

Marylebone Carpet Cleaners is committed to processing personal data responsibly, securely, and only where necessary. We aim to be transparent about the information we collect, the reasons for collecting it, and the rights available to every customer in the Marylebone area. Our approach is based on lawfulness, fairness, transparency, and data minimisation, ensuring that your information is treated with care throughout the customer relationship.