Privacy Policy - Deep Cleaning Acton

Deep Cleaning Acton is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data relating to our customers, prospective customers, and website or service users in the Acton area. This policy applies to all Deep Cleaning Acton customers in the area, including individuals who enquire about, book, receive, or pay for our cleaning services.

By using our services or providing your personal data to us, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy and understand how your information may be processed. We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or service arrangements. Any updates will apply from the date they are published.

1. Who We Are

Deep Cleaning Acton provides professional cleaning services to households, landlords, tenants, property managers, and businesses in and around Acton. For the purposes of the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, we act as a data controller in respect of the personal information we collect and decide how to use. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data when you interact with us as a customer or prospective customer.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data that is necessary to provide and manage our services, respond to enquiries, fulfil contractual obligations, and comply with the law. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identity information, such as your name and title.
Contact details, such as your phone number, email address, and service address.
Service information, such as property access instructions, cleaning preferences, appointment history, and notes relevant to the work requested.
Billing and payment information, such as payment status, invoicing details, and transaction records.
Communication records, including messages, complaints, feedback, and service-related correspondence.
Technical data, where applicable, such as basic website usage information, device details, and cookie-related data.
Special category data, only where you voluntarily disclose it and only if it is necessary for a specific lawful purpose. We do not intentionally seek this type of data unless required for a legitimate service-related reason or legal obligation.

We generally collect data directly from you when you request a quote, make a booking, communicate with us, or use our services. In some cases, we may receive information from third parties acting on your behalf, such as landlords, managing agents, or family members who arrange services for you.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data only for legitimate business and legal purposes. These may include:

Providing quotations and confirming bookings.
Delivering cleaning services at the requested property.
Managing appointments, access arrangements, and service changes.
Issuing invoices, processing payments, and maintaining financial records.
Responding to enquiries, complaints, and customer support requests.
Improving service quality, training staff, and monitoring performance.
Maintaining records for tax, accounting, and compliance purposes.
Preventing fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.
Meeting legal or regulatory obligations.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected unless we have a lawful basis to do so.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the context, Deep Cleaning Acton may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes preparing quotes, scheduling services, carrying out cleaning work, handling payments, and managing after-service communication.

Legal obligation

We process data where needed to comply with legal obligations, such as tax, accounting, record-keeping, consumer protection, and regulatory requirements.

Legitimate interests

We may process data for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights do not override those interests. These interests may include maintaining business records, improving services, handling routine communication, preventing fraud, and ensuring the safety and efficiency of our operations.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where this is required for certain optional communications or the processing of any non-essential information. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data only when necessary and only with trusted third parties who support our operations. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the circumstances.

Examples of processors may include:

Payment processing providers.
Accounting and invoicing service providers.
IT hosting, cloud storage, and backup providers.
Customer communication and scheduling tools.
Professional advisers who support business compliance.

We require processors to handle personal data securely, to act only on our instructions where applicable, and to comply with data protection law. We do not sell your personal data. We do not allow processors to use your data for their own marketing purposes unless you have separately agreed to that with them.

We may also disclose data where required by law, by a court order, or to protect our rights, property, employees, customers, or the public. If a business transfer, restructuring, or acquisition takes place, personal data may be transferred as part of that process, subject to applicable legal safeguards.

6. International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms designed to protect your data to an equivalent standard.

7. Data Retention

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

As a general approach:

Customer and booking records are kept for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and tax records are retained for the periods required by law.
Communication records may be kept for as long as needed to resolve disputes, maintain service history, or demonstrate compliance.
Technical data is retained according to operational need and applicable legal requirements.

When data is no longer required, we will delete, anonymise, or securely destroy it.

8. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure systems, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful management of third-party providers. While we do our best to protect your information, no method of transmission or storage is entirely risk-free.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights regarding your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you.
Rectify inaccurate or incomplete information.
Erase your data, where legally permitted.
Restrict certain processing activities.
Object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Data portability, where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
Withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis for processing.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data rights have been infringed. We encourage you to contact us first so we can attempt to resolve any concerns promptly and fairly.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where necessary for a service arrangement made by an adult customer and only to the extent required for that arrangement. If we learn that we have collected data inappropriately, we will take steps to delete it where appropriate.

11. Automated Decision-Making

We do not generally use automated decision-making or profiling in a way that produces legal or similarly significant effects on individuals. If this changes, we will update this policy and provide the information required by law.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. The latest version will apply to all personal data we process. We encourage customers in Acton to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how we protect their information.

13. Summary of Key Points

Deep Cleaning Acton processes personal data only when it is necessary and lawful. We collect information to provide quotations, deliver cleaning services, manage payments, support customers, and meet legal obligations. We rely on lawful bases such as contract, legal obligation, legitimate interests, and, in limited cases, consent. We may share data with trusted processors who help us run our business, and we retain data only as long as needed. You have meaningful rights over your personal data, and we are committed to respecting them.

By using our services, you confirm that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.