Privacy Policy - Balham Cleaners

Last updated: This Privacy Policy explains how Balham Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing cleaning services to customers in the Balham area. It applies to all Balham Cleaners customers in the area, including individuals who enquire about services, book appointments, receive quotations, or otherwise interact with us.

1. Introduction

Balham Cleaners is committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We respect your privacy and aim to keep your information safe, transparent, and used only for clear and legitimate purposes. This policy describes the types of data we collect, the lawful bases on which we process it, how long we keep it, the third parties that may process it on our behalf, and the rights you have over your data.

2. Personal data we collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identity information such as your name and title.
Contact information such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as booking details, service preferences, instructions, access notes, and cleaning requirements.
Billing and payment information such as transaction records, payment status, and invoice details. We do not store full card details unless clearly necessary and permitted through a secure payment provider.
Communication records such as messages, complaint details, feedback, and notes from phone calls or emails.
Technical information if you interact with our digital systems, such as basic device or usage information collected for security and system performance.

We generally collect data directly from you when you make an enquiry, place a booking, request a quote, provide instructions, or communicate with us. We may also receive information from third parties where you have authorised them to act on your behalf, such as letting agents, landlords, building managers, or household representatives.

3. How we use your data

We use personal data only where necessary and for specific purposes, including to:

provide cleaning services and manage bookings;
communicate with you about service details, changes, or follow-up;
prepare quotations, invoices, and payment records;
respond to enquiries, complaints, and feedback;
manage service quality, scheduling, and operational planning;
maintain records required for accounting, legal, and business administration purposes;
protect our staff, customers, property, and business systems;
meet legal and regulatory obligations.

We do not use your data for unrelated purposes that are incompatible with the reason it was collected.

4. Lawful basis for processing

Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. We may rely on one or more of the following bases:

Contract – processing is necessary to provide services you have requested, manage your booking, and fulfil our obligations to you.
Legitimate interests – processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as service administration, quality control, business recordkeeping, and protecting against misuse, provided these interests do not override your rights and freedoms.
Legal obligation – processing is necessary to comply with applicable laws, including tax, accounting, fraud prevention, and other regulatory requirements.
Consent – in limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain optional communications. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Where we process special category data or other sensitive information, we will only do so if a lawful ground permits it and appropriate safeguards are in place. Customers should avoid sharing unnecessary sensitive information unless it is relevant to the service being provided.

5. Retention of personal data

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the context in which it was collected.

Customer and service records are typically retained for the duration of the business relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to handle follow-up matters, disputes, or repeat services.
Financial and invoicing records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Communications and complaint records may be kept for as long as necessary to resolve issues and demonstrate appropriate handling.
Security or system logs are kept only as long as needed for operational and security purposes.

When data is no longer needed, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or archived in line with our retention practices.

6. Processors and sharing of data

Balham Cleaners may share personal data with trusted processors and service providers who help us run our business. These parties act on our instructions and are required to protect your data appropriately. Examples may include:

Payment processing providers used to handle secure transactions.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers used for invoicing, financial records, and tax compliance.
Scheduling or administrative software providers used to manage bookings and service delivery.
IT, cloud storage, and security providers used to support data storage, system maintenance, and protection.
Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers where necessary.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law, court order, regulatory authority, or to protect our legal rights. We do not sell your personal data.

7. Data security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, staff confidentiality obligations, secure storage, and restricted internal use of data. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection appropriate to the nature of the information we process.

8. Your rights

Under data protection law, you have rights regarding your personal data. Subject to applicable legal conditions, these may include:

Right of access – you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – you may ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – you may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
Right to object – you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing, where applicable.
Right to data portability – you may request certain data in a structured, commonly used format where legally required.
Right to withdraw consent – if we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will review your request and respond in accordance with applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. In some cases, we may be unable to comply fully where legal obligations require us to retain or continue processing certain information.

9. Complaints

If you are concerned about how your personal data is being handled, you have the right to raise a complaint with the UK data protection supervisory authority. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any issue promptly and fairly. We take privacy concerns seriously and will investigate matters carefully.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations, or data processing practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is issued. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

11. Summary of key points

What this policy covers

This policy explains how Balham Cleaners handles personal data for customers in the Balham area.

Why we use data

We use data to provide services, manage bookings, process payments, meet legal obligations, and improve our operations.

Who may process data

Trusted processors may include payment, accounting, IT, and administrative service providers.

Your control

You have important rights over your data, including access, correction, deletion, and objection rights where applicable.

Balham Cleaners is dedicated to respecting privacy and handling information responsibly. We will always aim to process data fairly, lawfully, and transparently, with appropriate safeguards in place.