Privacy Policy - Hook Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Hook Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing carpet cleaning and related services. It applies to all Hook Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including people who enquire about our services, receive quotations, make bookings, or otherwise interact with us in connection with residential or commercial cleaning work.

1. Who We Are

Hook Carpet Cleaners acts as the data controller for the personal information processed in the course of delivering our services. This means we determine why and how personal data is used. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in line with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for managing enquiries, appointments, payments, and service delivery. Depending on the nature of your interaction with us, we may collect the following categories of information:

Identity details, such as your name.
Contact details, such as telephone number, email address, and service address.
Booking and service details, including requested service type, preferred dates, cleaning requirements, and property access notes.
Payment information, such as transaction records and billing details, although we do not retain full card details where payment processing is handled by a secure third-party provider.
Communication records, including emails, messages, call notes, and complaint or feedback records.
Technical and usage data where applicable, such as basic information obtained from cookies or website logs if you interact with our online services.

We do not seek to collect more information than is necessary. We do not intentionally collect special category data unless it is provided by you and required to address a specific service issue, such as a relevant access or safety consideration.

3. How We Use Your Data

Hook Carpet Cleaners uses personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
To manage bookings and carry out carpet cleaning services.
To communicate with you about service arrangements, changes, or follow-up matters.
To process payments and manage invoices or receipts.
To handle complaints, resolve disputes, and maintain service quality.
To comply with legal and regulatory obligations.
To maintain business records and protect against fraud or misuse.

We use your information only where we have a valid legal reason to do so and only for the purposes described in this notice.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each type of processing. Hook Carpet Cleaners relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process your personal data where it is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, or to perform a contract with you. This includes booking services, delivering cleaning work, issuing invoices, and communicating about your appointment.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This may include keeping internal records, improving our service, managing customer communication, and protecting our business from fraud or misuse. When relying on this basis, we consider the impact on your privacy and ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain data where required to comply with applicable laws, such as tax, accounting, record-keeping, and lawful disclosure obligations.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may ask for your consent, for example where specific optional communications or non-essential processing requires it. If we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Sharing Your Information and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties only where necessary and appropriate for running our business and delivering services. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the nature of the service provided.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

Payment processors that securely handle card or electronic payments.
IT and hosting providers that support data storage, email, and system functionality.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers that assist with financial records and compliance.
Scheduling or administrative tools used to manage bookings and customer records.

Where processors are used, they are required to act only on our instructions, keep data secure, and implement suitable technical and organisational measures. We do not sell your personal data.

We may also disclose information where necessary to:

Comply with a legal requirement or lawful request from public authorities.
Protect the rights, property, or safety of Hook Carpet Cleaners, our customers, or others.
Investigate or prevent suspected unlawful activity.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the nature of our relationship with you.

In general:

Customer and booking records are retained for the duration needed to manage the service and any aftercare or dispute resolution.
Financial and tax-related records are retained for the period required by law.
Communication records may be kept for a reasonable period to help with service history, complaints, and business administration.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so it can no longer identify you. Retention is reviewed periodically to ensure data is not kept longer than necessary.

7. Your Rights

As a customer or data subject, you have rights under data protection law. Subject to legal limits and exemptions, you may have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you.
Rectify inaccurate or incomplete information.
Erase your data in certain circumstances.
Restrict how we process your data in certain situations.
Object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Data portability for information you have provided to us, where applicable.
Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to raise concerns about how we handle your personal data. If you believe your rights are not being respected, you may complain to the relevant data protection authority in the UK.

8. Data Security

Hook Carpet Cleaners takes appropriate security measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include restricted access, secure passwords, device protection, and careful handling of paper and digital records. While no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, we take reasonable steps to reduce risk and protect your information.

9. Children's Data

Our services are generally aimed at adults and business customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data directly from children unless it is incidentally provided in connection with a property service request. Where this occurs, we limit use to what is necessary and appropriate for service delivery and compliance purposes.

10. International Transfers

If any service provider processes data outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place so that your personal data remains protected to a standard consistent with applicable law. Such safeguards may include approved contractual protections or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

11. Changes to This Privacy 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. We encourage customers to review this notice periodically so they remain informed about how their data is used.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Hook Carpet Cleaners is committed to processing personal data responsibly, transparently, and only for legitimate business purposes. We collect only the information needed to provide our services, rely on appropriate lawful bases, retain records for no longer than necessary, use trusted processors, and respect your data protection rights. This policy is intended to apply to all Hook Carpet Cleaners customers in area and to provide clear information about how your personal data is handled.