Privacy Policy - Cleaners Balham

This Privacy Policy explains how Cleaners Balham collects, uses, shares, stores, and protects personal data. It applies to all Cleaners Balham customers in the area, including individuals who enquire about services, make bookings, receive cleaning services, or otherwise interact with us. We are committed to handling personal information in a way that is lawful, fair, transparent, and consistent with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services, you acknowledge that this policy describes how we process personal data in connection with our cleaning services. We aim to keep data handling to a minimum and only collect information that is necessary for providing services, managing customer relationships, meeting legal obligations, and improving operations.

1. Data We Collect

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

Identity data such as your name and title.
Contact data such as telephone number and email address.
Service address data such as the property address where cleaning services are provided.
Booking and service details such as appointment dates, service preferences, special instructions, and notes about access requirements.
Payment-related data such as billing information, payment confirmation, and transaction references. We do not store more payment data than is necessary.
Communication data such as messages, complaints, feedback, and other correspondence.
Technical data if you contact us through digital channels, such as device or browser information, where applicable.

We generally collect personal data directly from you when you make an enquiry, request a quote, book a service, or communicate with us. In some cases, data may be provided by third parties, for example where someone arranges services on your behalf or where we receive information needed to complete a booking.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

to provide cleaning services and manage bookings;
to communicate with customers about appointments, changes, or service updates;
to issue invoices, process payments, and keep financial records;
to respond to enquiries, complaints, and feedback;
to maintain service quality, staff coordination, and operational planning;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations;
to protect our business from fraud, misuse, or security threats;
to improve our services and customer experience.

We will only use personal information for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably believe another compatible purpose applies and we have a lawful basis to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for every processing activity. Depending on the context, we rely on the following bases:

Performance of a Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to provide cleaning services, manage bookings, arrange access, send service updates, and process payments under our agreement with you.

Legal Obligation

We may need to process and retain certain data to comply with tax law, accounting rules, record-keeping obligations, consumer law, and other legal requirements.

Legitimate Interests

We may process 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 improvement, internal administration, complaint handling, fraud prevention, and operational security. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we assess the impact on your privacy and ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain optional communications or non-essential processing. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time, and this will not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

4. Sharing Personal Data and Processors

We do not sell personal data. However, we may share personal information with trusted third parties who help us operate our business. These third parties act as data processors or, in some cases, independent controllers.

Processors may include:

Payment service providers who process transactions securely.
Booking and scheduling software providers who help manage appointments and service records.
IT and cloud storage providers who host data and support our systems.
Email and communications providers who facilitate customer correspondence.
Professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where necessary.

We only share personal data with processors where necessary, and we require them to protect your data through appropriate contractual and security obligations. They may not use your personal information for their own purposes unless they are acting as an independent controller and have a lawful basis to do so.

We may also disclose information where required by law, court order, regulatory authority, or to protect our rights, customers, staff, or property.

5. International Transfers

Some processors may store or access data outside the United Kingdom. If personal data is transferred internationally, we take steps to ensure an adequate level of protection in accordance with applicable data protection law. This may include using approved contractual safeguards or relying on adequacy regulations where available.

6. Retention of Personal Data

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

In general:

Customer and booking records are kept for the period necessary to manage the service relationship and address any follow-up issues.
Financial and invoicing records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Communication records may be retained for a reasonable period to resolve disputes, maintain service quality, and keep accurate records.
Complaint and incident records may be retained longer where necessary for legal claims or insurance purposes.

When data is no longer needed, we securely delete, anonymise, or otherwise dispose of it in accordance with our retention practices.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, alteration, or disclosure. 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 take reasonable steps to reduce risk and respond promptly to suspected incidents.

8. Your Rights

As a data subject under the UK 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 exemptions.

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

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a rights request. We aim to deal with requests promptly and within the legal time limits.

9. Marketing and Communications

We do not send marketing communications unless permitted by law or where consent has been provided where required. If you receive any optional communications from us, you may opt out at any time. Service-related messages, such as booking confirmations or appointment updates, are not marketing and may still be sent when necessary to deliver services.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, operational practices, or our services. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to remain informed about how their data is handled.

11. Scope of This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all Cleaners Balham customers in the area, including one-off service users, recurring clients, and individuals who contact us on behalf of a property owner, tenant, landlord, or business. It is intended to explain our data practices clearly and transparently so that you understand how your personal information is used and protected.

We are committed to respecting your privacy and handling your personal data responsibly. If we process special category data or additional information in exceptional circumstances, we will do so only where permitted by law and with suitable safeguards. Your trust matters to us, and we aim to keep your information secure, accurate, and limited to what is necessary.