Privacy Policy - Ratcliff Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Ratcliff Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when we provide our services. It applies to all Ratcliff Carpet Cleaners customers in area, including current, former, and prospective customers, as well as individuals who enquire about our services or interact with us in connection with a booking, quotation, or complaint.

We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy is intended to be clear, fair, and transparent about what information we process and why. We only process personal data where we have a valid legal basis to do so.

1. Who We Are

Ratcliff Carpet Cleaners provides carpet and upholstery cleaning and related services. In the course of delivering these services, we may need to collect and use personal data from customers, property occupants, and other individuals connected to a booking or service request.

This policy applies to personal data processed by Ratcliff Carpet Cleaners in connection with our services in area.

2. Data We Collect

We may collect the following categories of personal data:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as address, telephone number, and email address.
Service information including booking details, job history, preferences, and instructions relating to the work requested.
Property information such as access notes, room details, and information relevant to completing the service safely and effectively.
Payment information such as billing records, transaction references, and partial payment details where relevant.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, complaints, and feedback.
Technical information if you interact with us online, such as device or browser details and basic usage data, where applicable.

We generally do not seek to collect special category data. However, in limited circumstances, you may choose to share information that reveals health-related or access-related needs, for example where this is necessary to arrange service delivery. If such information is provided, we will handle it carefully and only use it where necessary and lawful.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To manage bookings, scheduling, and service delivery.
To communicate about appointments, changes, or aftercare.
To process payments, invoices, and refunds where applicable.
To maintain customer records and service history.
To handle complaints, disputes, and service issues.
To meet legal, regulatory, insurance, and accounting obligations.
To improve our services, training, and customer experience.
To prevent fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We do not sell personal data. We only use information in ways that are relevant, proportionate, and necessary for our business and legal responsibilities.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. Depending on the context, Ratcliff Carpet Cleaners relies 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 arranging a cleaning service, providing a quote you requested, or managing payment.

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 maintaining records, improving service quality, managing customer relationships, and preventing fraud or misuse. We always consider whether this processing is fair and necessary.

Legal Obligation

We may keep or share information where required to comply with legal duties, such as accounting, tax, insurance, consumer protection, or law enforcement obligations.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily provide optional information or agree to a particular type of communication that is not necessary for service delivery. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors or independent controllers, only where necessary and appropriate. These may include:

Payment service providers for processing transactions.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers for financial administration.
IT, software, and cloud storage providers that support our business systems.
Communication service providers used to send messages or manage customer interactions.
Insurers, legal advisers, and professional advisers where necessary for claims, disputes, or compliance.
Public authorities if we are legally required to disclose information.

Where a third party acts as a processor, they are permitted to use the data only on our instructions and must protect it appropriately. We require processors to take reasonable technical and organisational measures to keep data secure and to process it in accordance with data protection law.

We do not allow processors to use your personal data for their own unrelated purposes.

6. International Transfers

If any of our service providers store or access data outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place before any transfer occurs. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legally recognised protections.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, and reporting obligations. The exact period depends on the type of record and the reason it is held.

Customer and service records are generally kept for the duration needed to manage our relationship and any subsequent queries or disputes.
Financial and invoicing records are kept for the period required by tax and accounting law.
Complaint, claim, and correspondence records may be kept for a reasonable period after the matter is resolved.

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or archive it in accordance with our retention practices. We review records periodically to ensure we do not keep information longer than necessary.

8. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff awareness, and limiting access to those who need it for legitimate business purposes.

Although we work to protect your information, no system can be guaranteed completely secure. If a data breach occurs that is likely to risk your rights and freedoms, we will handle it in line with applicable legal requirements.

9. Your Rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the following rights under data protection law:

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 data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain situations.
Right to restrict processing – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to data portability – to receive data you provided to us in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing where relevant.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond in line with legal timeframes and requirements. In some cases, we may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental or necessary in connection with a household service request. If we learn that we have collected data from a child without an appropriate lawful basis, we will take reasonable steps to address the issue.

11. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle personal data, you may raise them with us so we can investigate and respond appropriately. 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.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data handling practices. Any updates will apply from the date they are published or otherwise communicated. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.

13. Summary of Key Commitments

We collect only the information needed to provide and manage our services.
We process data on lawful grounds including contract, legitimate interests, consent, and legal obligation.
We share data only with trusted processors and other recipients where necessary.
We keep data only as long as needed and delete it securely when no longer required.
We respect your data protection rights and handle requests carefully.

Ratcliff Carpet Cleaners is committed to responsible, lawful, and transparent data handling for all customers in area.