Privacy Policy - Cleaners W4

Effective date: This Privacy Policy applies to all Cleaners W4 customers in the W4 area and explains how personal data is collected, used, stored, shared, and protected. By using our cleaning services, you acknowledge that your information may be processed in accordance with this policy and applicable data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Cleaners W4 provides domestic and related cleaning services for customers in the W4 area. For the purposes of data protection law, Cleaners W4 acts as the data controller for the personal data described in this policy, meaning we determine why and how your information is processed.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide our services, manage bookings, communicate with customers, and meet legal obligations. The categories of personal data we may collect include:

Identity details: name, title, and any details you provide when arranging a service.
Contact details: telephone number, email address, and service address.
Service information: booking history, cleaning preferences, access instructions, and service notes.
Payment and billing information: payment records, invoices, and transaction details. We do not intentionally store full card details where payment is handled by a secure third-party processor.
Communication records: messages, complaints, feedback, and records of customer support interactions.
Technical and usage data: limited information collected when you interact with our digital systems, such as device details or basic analytics where applicable.
Special category data: we do not ordinarily seek to collect special category data. If you voluntarily provide information that may reveal health, access, or vulnerability-related needs, we will process it only where necessary and with appropriate safeguards.

We ask that you only provide information that is relevant to your booking or service request. Where you share details about property access, security preferences, or special cleaning requirements, we use that information solely to deliver the service safely and effectively.

3. How We Collect Personal Data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

request a quote or make a booking;
communicate with us by phone, email, or message;
complete forms or provide instructions;
make a payment;
give feedback or raise a complaint.

We may also receive limited information from third parties, such as payment providers, booking systems, or service partners who help us operate efficiently. If someone books on your behalf, we may process the details they provide to fulfil the request.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal data only where we have a valid lawful basis under the UK GDPR. Depending on the context, our lawful bases may include:

Contract: to provide cleaning services, manage bookings, issue invoices, and carry out customer requests.
Legitimate interests: to run and improve our business, maintain records, manage communications, prevent fraud, and ensure service quality, provided these interests do not override your rights and freedoms.
Legal obligation: to comply with tax, accounting, and other regulatory requirements.
Consent: where required, for example for certain optional communications or specific processing activities. You may withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing already carried out lawfully before withdrawal.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we assess whether the processing is necessary and proportionate. We always aim to keep the impact on your privacy to a minimum.

5. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

to provide and manage cleaning services;
to confirm bookings and service details;
to communicate with you about appointments, changes, or issues;
to process payments and maintain financial records;
to respond to enquiries, complaints, and support requests;
to maintain service quality and internal business records;
to comply with legal and regulatory obligations;
to protect our customers, staff, and business from misuse or unlawful activity.

We do not use your data for decisions that produce legal effects based solely on automated processing, unless you are specifically informed and required safeguards are in place.

6. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties that support the delivery of our services. These recipients act either as independent controllers or as processors processing data on our instructions. Processors may include:

Payment service providers: to process secure payments and reduce payment fraud.
Booking and scheduling systems: to manage appointments and customer records.
IT and cloud service providers: to store data securely and maintain business systems.
Communication tools: to send service-related messages and updates.
Professional advisers: such as accountants, auditors, insurers, or legal advisers where necessary.
Public authorities: where disclosure is required by law, court order, or lawful request.

We require processors to handle personal data securely, use it only for authorised purposes, and apply appropriate technical and organisational measures. We do not sell your personal data.

7. International Transfers

Where a processor or service provider stores or accesses data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal mechanisms, as required by data protection law.

8. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, and reporting obligations. In general:

booking and service records are kept for a reasonable period after service completion;
financial and tax-related records are kept for the period required by law;
complaints and communications may be retained for a period needed to resolve the issue and protect our legitimate interests;
data no longer needed is securely deleted, anonymised, or archived where appropriate.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the reason it was collected. We apply the principle of storage limitation, meaning we do not keep data longer than necessary.

9. Data Security

We take appropriate steps to protect personal data against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, loss, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and review of our service providers’ safeguards. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to ensure a level of protection that is appropriate to the risks involved.

10. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, these may include:

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 where there is no good reason for us to continue processing it.
Right to restriction: to ask us to limit processing in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability: to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format or ask for transfer to another controller where applicable.
Right to object: to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority if you believe your data protection rights have been breached. We encourage you to raise concerns promptly so we can address them.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adult customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental and necessary for service delivery, such as an address where a family lives. If we become aware that we have collected information from a child in a way that is not appropriate, we will take steps to delete it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, our services, or how we handle personal data. Any updated version will apply from the date of publication. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how your information is protected.

13. Summary of Our Commitments

We are committed to processing customer information lawfully, fairly, and transparently. Our approach is guided by the principles of data minimisation, purpose limitation, accuracy, storage limitation, and integrity and confidentiality. Cleaners W4 will only process personal data where necessary for service delivery, legal compliance, and legitimate business operations, and we will respect your rights throughout.

Key Principles

Privacy by default: we collect only what we need.
Transparency: we explain how and why data is used.
Control: you can exercise your rights at any time.

This policy applies to all Cleaners W4 customers in the W4 area. By continuing to use our services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described above, subject always to applicable law.