Privacy Policy - Cleaners Hammersmith

This Privacy Policy explains how Cleaners Hammersmith collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing cleaning services. It applies to all Cleaners Hammersmith customers in the area, including prospective clients, current clients, and former clients whose information we process in connection with our services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Cleaners Hammersmith provides domestic and commercial cleaning services. In the course of arranging and delivering those services, we may process information about individuals, property access arrangements, service preferences, payments, and communications. This policy is designed to help you understand what data we collect, why we collect it, and what choices and rights you have.

2. Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for legitimate business and service purposes. The categories of information we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact information such as telephone number, email address, and service address.
Booking and service details including preferred dates, cleaning instructions, access notes, and service history.
Payment and billing information such as invoice details, payment status, and transaction records.
Communication records including messages, complaints, feedback, and service-related correspondence.
Technical data if you contact us electronically, such as basic device or message metadata.

In some cases, we may also process limited information about household or business preferences relevant to the cleaning service. We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it and it is necessary for a specific purpose, for example to accommodate a request related to access or safety. Where special category data is processed, we do so only with a valid lawful basis and appropriate safeguards.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data to provide and manage our services effectively. Typical uses include:

responding to enquiries and preparing quotations;
booking, scheduling, and delivering cleaning services;
managing customer accounts and service preferences;
issuing invoices, processing payments, and maintaining records;
handling complaints, incidents, or disputes;
improving service quality, training, and internal administration;
meeting legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
preventing fraud, misuse, or unauthorised access;
communicating important service updates or changes.

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

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Depending on the activity, we rely on one or more of the following:

Contract

We process data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging cleaning appointments, carrying out the work, and managing payments.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain data where required by law, such as for tax, accounting, insurance, or record-keeping purposes.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is in our legitimate interests to operate and improve our business, provided that those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include service administration, customer support, fraud prevention, and internal reporting.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily provide extra information or agree to receive specific marketing communications. If we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

5. Sharing Your Data and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties where necessary to deliver services or meet legal obligations. These third parties act as processors or, in some cases, independent controllers. We only share the minimum information required for the relevant purpose.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

payment processing providers;
accounting and bookkeeping services;
cloud storage and IT support providers;
customer communication and scheduling tools;
professional advisers such as lawyers or insurers, where necessary.

Where a processor acts on our behalf, we ensure that appropriate data processing terms are in place and that the processor only acts under our instructions and protects your data appropriately. We do not sell your personal data.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as 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 information and the reason it is held.

As a general approach:

customer service records are retained for the period needed to manage the relationship and resolve issues;
financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law;
communications and complaints may be retained for a reasonable period to support service quality and dispute resolution;
data no longer needed is securely deleted or anonymised.

Where possible, we aim to minimise the amount of data retained and regularly review records to determine whether they should be kept or removed.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. 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 to respond promptly if a data issue occurs. Access to personal data is limited to people who need it for legitimate business purposes.

8. International Transfers

If any service providers process data outside the UK, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal mechanisms recognised under data protection law.

9. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have rights regarding your personal data. These rights may be subject to conditions and exemptions, but we will always assess requests carefully. Your rights 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 in certain circumstances.
Right to restrict processing – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

You also have the right to raise concerns with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed. We encourage you to contact us first so we can address any concerns directly and promptly.

10. Marketing Communications

If we send promotional messages, we will do so in accordance with applicable law. You can opt out of marketing communications at any time. Even if you opt out of marketing, we may still send service-related messages that are necessary for appointments, invoices, or important operational updates.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adult customers and business clients. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary and provided by a parent, guardian, or authorised adult in connection with a service request. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child inappropriately, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our operations, legal obligations, or data protection practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how their data is handled.

13. Summary of Key Principles

In summary, Cleaners Hammersmith processes personal data only where necessary, and only on a valid lawful basis. We collect limited information needed to provide cleaning services, retain it for appropriate periods, use trusted processors under contract, and respect your rights under data protection law. This policy applies to all Cleaners Hammersmith customers in the area and reflects our commitment to protecting privacy, maintaining trust, and handling information responsibly.