Privacy Policy - Professional Sofa Cleaning

This Privacy Policy explains how Professional Sofa Cleaning collects, uses, shares, stores, and protects personal data when providing services to customers in our area. It applies to all Professional Sofa Cleaning customers in area, including individuals who enquire about our services, receive quotations, book appointments, request support, or otherwise interact with us.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, where applicable. This policy sets out what data we collect, why we collect it, the lawful bases we rely on, how long we keep data, who may process it on our behalf, and the rights available to you.

1. Personal data we collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary for the provision of our services, administration of our business, and compliance with legal obligations. Depending on how you interact with us, the data we may collect includes:

Identity details such as your name.
Contact details such as phone number, email address, and service address.
Booking information including appointment dates, requested services, and customer preferences.
Payment information such as billing details and transaction references. Card details are typically processed by secure payment providers and are not stored by us unless necessary.
Communication records including emails, messages, feedback, complaints, and notes from customer service interactions.
Service-related information such as details about your sofa type, fabric, stain concerns, cleaning requirements, and any access or property instructions relevant to the work.
Technical data where applicable, such as IP address or device information if you interact with our digital systems or online forms.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you choose to provide it to us and it is necessary for a specific service request, for example where health-related access needs must be considered. If such information is provided, we will treat it with additional care and only use it where permitted by law.

2. How we use your personal data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and provide quotes.
To schedule, deliver, and manage sofa cleaning services.
To process payments, invoices, and refunds where applicable.
To maintain customer records and manage aftercare or follow-up support.
To handle complaints, claims, or service disputes.
To improve our services, customer experience, and internal operations.
To comply with accounting, tax, insurance, and other legal obligations.
To prevent fraud, misuse, or misuse of our services.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably determine that it is needed for a compatible purpose and such use is permitted by law.

3. Lawful basis for processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each processing activity. Depending on the context, we rely on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, delivering cleaning services, issuing invoices, and managing service-related communication.

Legitimate interests

We may process data for our legitimate business interests where these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This can include improving our services, maintaining records, managing customer relationships, preventing fraud, and securing our systems.

Legal obligation

We may process and retain certain data when required to comply with legal obligations, such as accounting, tax, insurance, or regulatory requirements.

Consent

In limited cases, we rely on your consent, for example where you agree to receive certain types of direct marketing or where you voluntarily provide optional information. You can withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.

Vital interests

In rare situations, we may process information to protect someone’s vital interests, for example if emergency access or urgent safety concerns arise during a visit.

4. How we share personal data

We do not sell your personal data. However, we may share it where necessary and proportionate to provide services or operate our business. Data may be shared with:

Payment processors to handle secure payment transactions.
Booking and scheduling providers that support appointment management.
IT and cloud service providers that host email, record-keeping, or business systems.
Accountants and professional advisers for tax, audit, insurance, or legal support.
Subcontractors or operational staff who assist with service delivery under our instructions.
Public authorities where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect rights, safety, or property.

Whenever we use third-party processors, we ensure they are bound by appropriate contractual and security obligations so that your personal data is handled only according to our instructions and applicable law.

5. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, insurance, or reporting requirements. The exact retention period depends on the type of data and the context in which it was obtained.

Customer and booking records are generally retained for a reasonable period after service completion to manage queries, claims, or repeat bookings.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law.
Communication records may be kept for a period needed to resolve disputes or maintain service history.
Marketing preferences are retained until you opt out or the information becomes outdated.

When data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

6. Processors and service providers

We may use third-party processors to support our business operations. These processors may include providers of:

Customer relationship management systems.
Appointment booking software.
Email and communication tools.
Cloud storage and document management systems.
Payment processing services.
Accounting and invoicing platforms.

Each processor is selected carefully and is expected to maintain appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard personal data. We only provide them with the data necessary for their specific task. Where required, we enter into written data processing agreements that address confidentiality, security, and lawful handling of information.

7. Data security

We take the security of personal data seriously and use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect it from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, password protection, restricted permissions, staff confidentiality obligations, and secure storage methods.

Although we do our best to protect your data, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If a data breach occurs that is likely to risk your rights and freedoms, we will take appropriate action in line with applicable law.

8. Your rights

Depending on your location and the legal basis for processing, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – 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 request transfer of certain data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority if you believe your rights have been infringed. We encourage you to raise concerns with us first so we can address them promptly and fairly.

9. Marketing communications

If we send you marketing information, we will do so only where permitted by law. You can opt out of marketing communications at any time. Where you object to marketing, we will stop using your data for that purpose without undue delay.

10. Children’s data

Our services are intended for adults and business or household customers arranging sofa cleaning. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children in a deliberate or targeted manner. If we become aware that we have received data relating to a child without appropriate consent or lawful basis, we will take appropriate steps to delete or protect it.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service arrangements. The updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise made available. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data.

12. Summary of key commitments

We collect only necessary personal data to provide and manage sofa cleaning services.
We process data lawfully using contract, legitimate interests, legal obligation, consent, or vital interests where appropriate.
We retain data only as long as needed and then delete or anonymise it securely.
We use trusted processors under written safeguards and only for specified purposes.
We respect your rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, object, and withdraw consent where applicable.

By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal data will be handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable data protection law. This policy is designed to ensure that every customer in our area receives transparent, lawful, and responsible treatment of their information.