Hounslow Cleaners Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Hounslow Cleaners collects, uses, stores and protects your personal data when you use our cleaning services in the Hounslow area. It also explains your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and related data protection laws.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Hounslow Cleaners customers and prospective customers in our service area, including individuals, tenants, landlords, letting agents and businesses who contact us or use our services.

Who we are and scope of this policy

Hounslow Cleaners is a cleaning services provider operating in the Hounslow area. In this Privacy Policy, references to we, us or our refer to Hounslow Cleaners as the controller of your personal data. As a controller, we decide how and why your personal data is processed and we are responsible for ensuring that it is handled in compliance with data protection laws.

This Privacy Policy covers personal data that we collect through our website, by telephone, in person, through messaging services, and during the provision of our cleaning services at your home or business premises.

Personal data we collect

We collect and process different types of personal data depending on how you interact with us and which services you use. The main categories of information we may collect are:

Contact details such as your name, address, service address, billing address and any alternative contact details you choose to provide.

Communication information such as the content of enquiries, messages, feedback, complaints and any correspondence between you and us.

Service details such as the type of cleaning service requested, property type and size, access instructions, preferred dates and times, frequency of service and any special requirements you tell us about.

Payment and billing information such as payment confirmations, billing history and information necessary to manage invoices and refunds. We do not store full payment card details; where card payments are used, these are processed securely by our chosen payment processors.

Technical and usage information such as information about how you use our website and services, which may include IP address, browser type, device identifiers, pages visited and the date and time of visits, collected through standard logging or similar technologies.

Employment and contractor information if you apply to work with us or provide services to us, such as your name, contact details, work history and references.

We generally do not seek to collect special category data, such as information about your health. However, if you choose to share such information with us, for example in relation to allergies, medical conditions or accessibility needs so that we can adapt our services, we will process it only where necessary and with appropriate safeguards.

How and why we use your data

We use your personal data only where we have a lawful basis to do so under data protection laws. The main purposes and legal bases for processing your data are:

To provide our cleaning services: We use your contact details, service details and relevant instructions to schedule, manage and deliver cleaning services at your property. Our lawful basis is performance of a contract or taking steps at your request before entering into a contract.

To communicate with you: We use your contact and communication information to respond to enquiries, provide quotes, confirm bookings, send service updates and handle feedback or complaints. Our lawful basis is performance of a contract and our legitimate interests in managing our customer relationships.

To manage payments and billing: We process payment and billing information to issue invoices, process payments, handle refunds and keep financial records. Our lawful basis is performance of a contract and compliance with our legal obligations in relation to accounting and taxation.

To improve our services and business: We may use technical and usage information and service history to monitor service quality, optimise scheduling, improve our website and develop our business. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interests in operating and improving our services.

To comply with legal and regulatory obligations: We may process personal data where needed to comply with laws, respond to lawful requests from authorities or protect our legal rights. Our lawful basis is compliance with a legal obligation or our legitimate interests in protecting our business.

Marketing communications: We may use your contact details to send you information about our services or offers that may be of interest to you. Where required by law, we will obtain your consent before sending such communications and you can opt out at any time.

Data sharing and processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

We may share personal data with service providers who act as processors on our behalf. These may include providers of payment processing, booking or scheduling software, customer relationship management systems, accounting services, information technology and website hosting. These processors are only permitted to use your personal data in accordance with our instructions and for the purposes we specify. They are required to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data.

We may also share your personal data with professional advisers such as accountants, auditors, insurers and legal advisers where this is necessary for the provision of their services to us and is in our legitimate interests.

In certain circumstances we may need to share your data with public authorities, law enforcement agencies or regulators when required by law or to protect our legal rights, property or safety or that of our staff, customers or others.

Where any transfer of personal data involves countries outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with data protection laws.

Data retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements.

In general, we retain basic customer and service records for as long as you remain a customer and for a reasonable period after the end of the relationship, typically up to six years, to enable us to respond to queries and to comply with legal obligations.

Financial and transaction records may be kept for longer periods where required by law. Technical data used for analytics or website security is retained for shorter periods, usually only as long as needed for those purposes.

When we no longer need your personal data, we will securely delete it or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked back to you.

How we protect your data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures include access controls, password protections, staff training, physical security at our premises and regular review of our security arrangements and data handling procedures.

While we take reasonable steps to protect your personal data, no system can be completely secure. You also have a role in keeping your information safe by keeping any communication channels with us secure and notifying us promptly if you suspect any misuse of your data connected to our services.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights apply to all Hounslow Cleaners customers in our service area, subject to certain conditions and legal exceptions. Your rights include:

Right of access: You have the right to request confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

Right to rectification: You have the right to ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.

Right to erasure: You may have the right to ask us to delete your personal data where there is no good reason for us to continue processing it, for example where it is no longer needed for the original purpose.

Right to restriction of processing: You may have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances, such as while we check its accuracy or consider an objection you have raised.

Right to object: You have the right to object to processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis. You also have the right to object to the use of your data for direct marketing at any time.

Right to data portability: In some cases, you have the right to receive personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and to request that we transfer that data to another controller.

Where we rely on your consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before the withdrawal.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using our usual contact channels. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. We aim to respond within one month, or within any extended period allowed by law for complex or multiple requests.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, our practices or applicable laws. Any revised version will be made available through our usual channels. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.