Privacy Policy - Nags Head Carpet Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Nags Head Carpet Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Nags Head Carpet Cleaners customers in the area, including anyone who requests a quote, books a service, receives an inspection, makes an enquiry, or otherwise interacts with our business. We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Important: By using our services, you acknowledge that we may process personal data as described in this policy. We only process data where we have a lawful basis to do so and we take reasonable steps to keep information secure and limited to what is necessary.

1. Who We Are

Nags Head Carpet Cleaners provides carpet cleaning and related cleaning services to customers in the local area. In this policy, references to “we,” “our,” and “us” mean Nags Head Carpet Cleaners. References to “you” mean the customer, site visitor, enquiry contact, or any individual whose data we process.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only data that is relevant and necessary for providing our services, managing our business, and meeting legal or regulatory obligations. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identity data such as your name and, where relevant, business name.
Contact data such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service data such as details of the rooms, carpets, upholstery, stain types, cleaning requirements, and access information needed to carry out a job.
Transaction data such as booking details, invoices, payment status, and service history.
Communication data such as messages, enquiries, complaints, feedback, and records of correspondence.
Technical data such as basic information generated when you interact with our systems, including device or browser details if provided through a website form or similar digital service.
Marketing preferences such as your consent choices or opt-out requests, where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it to us. Special category data includes information such as health details, religious beliefs, or other sensitive personal information. If such information is provided by you and is necessary for a specific service request, we will only process it where a lawful basis applies and we have appropriate safeguards in place.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide quotes, estimates, and booking arrangements.
To deliver cleaning services safely and effectively.
To manage customer accounts, invoices, and payments.
To communicate with you about appointments, changes, or service updates.
To respond to questions, complaints, and requests for support.
To maintain records of services provided and business transactions.
To improve our services, training, and customer experience.
To comply with legal, tax, insurance, or accounting obligations.
To send marketing communications only where permitted by law and, where required, with your consent.

We do not sell personal data. We use personal data only to run our business, serve our customers, and satisfy legal obligations.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for each use of personal data. Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Performance of a Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes arranging quotes, confirming bookings, providing cleaning services, issuing invoices, and handling related service communication.

Legal Obligation

We process data when required to comply with the law. This may include maintaining tax records, accounting records, insurance records, or information needed to address legal claims or regulatory requests.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing appointments, improving service quality, preventing fraud, maintaining business records, and handling customer enquiries efficiently.

Consent

In some cases, we rely on your consent, for example for certain forms of electronic marketing where consent is required. If we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests and Public Task

These bases are unlikely to apply to most of our services, but we may process data in exceptional circumstances where necessary to protect someone’s vital interests or where required by law.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected, including for legal, accounting, insurance, and reporting requirements. The retention period may vary depending on the type of information and the reason it was collected.

Customer and service records are retained for as long as needed to manage the business relationship and handle any follow-up issues.
Invoice, tax, and accounting records are retained for the period required by law.
Correspondence and complaint records may be kept for a reasonable period to evidence communications and resolve disputes.
Marketing preferences are retained until you withdraw consent or opt out.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you. We do not keep data indefinitely.

6. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties that help us operate our business. These third parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the service they provide. When we use processors, they are required to handle data securely, only on our instructions, and in compliance with data protection law.

Examples of processors or service providers may include:

Payment processors who handle card or online payment transactions.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers who assist with invoicing, tax records, and financial administration.
IT and cloud storage providers who support secure storage, email, or business systems.
Scheduling or administration tools used to manage appointments and customer records.
Professional advisers such as insurers, legal advisers, or accountants where necessary.

We may also disclose data where required by law, for example to a court, regulator, law enforcement authority, or tax authority. If we transfer data outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations or standard contractual clauses, where required.

7. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include restricted access, password protection, secure storage, staff awareness, and review of our data handling practices.

Although no system can be guaranteed 100% secure, we aim to protect personal data using safeguards that are proportionate to the nature of the information and the risks involved.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may not always apply in every situation, but we will assess each request carefully and respond in line with legal requirements.

Right of access – you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – in certain circumstances, you can ask us to delete your data.
Right to restrict processing – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to data portability – you can ask for certain data to be provided in a reusable format.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to deal with requests promptly and within the time limits required by law. If we cannot fulfil a request, we will explain why.

9. Marketing Communications

We may send service-related messages where necessary to deliver our services, such as appointment confirmations or updates. We will only send marketing communications where permitted by law. If consent is required, we will obtain it first. You can opt out of marketing at any time.

Your choice matters: you can tell us not to contact you for marketing purposes, and we will respect that preference.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adult customers and property-related service requests. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidentally provided by an adult customer and is necessary for a service-related purpose. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected data from a child without a valid reason, we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

11. 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. The latest version will apply to all customers in the area and will remain relevant until replaced by a newer version. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

12. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data, you have the right to raise a complaint with the relevant data protection authority. We would also welcome the opportunity to resolve concerns directly and encourage you to contact us through the normal business channels if you believe your data has been mishandled.

13. Summary of Key Points

We only collect data needed to provide carpet cleaning services and manage our business.
We process data under lawful bases including contract, legal obligation, legitimate interests, and consent.
We retain data only as long as necessary and dispose of it securely when no longer needed.
We use processors such as payment, IT, and accounting providers under appropriate safeguards.
You have rights over your personal data, including access, correction, deletion, and objection.

This policy is designed to be clear, fair, and compliant with data protection law. If you are a customer of Nags Head Carpet Cleaners, this policy applies to the personal data we process about you in connection with our services in the area.