Privacy Policy - Acton Cleaner

Effective date: This Privacy Policy applies to all Acton Cleaner customers in the area and explains how personal data is collected, used, stored, shared, and protected when you use our cleaning services.

We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way. This policy is designed to comply with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. It applies to customers, prospective customers, and anyone who interacts with us in connection with our services.

1. What Personal Data We Collect

We only collect information that is necessary to provide and manage our services, maintain records, and meet legal obligations. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following types of data:

Identity and contact details

Full name
Address and service location
Email address
Telephone number

Service and account information

Service preferences and booking details
Information about access arrangements or special instructions
Communication records relating to quotes, bookings, complaints, and service updates

Payment and transaction data

Payment status and billing records
Limited payment-related information needed to process and confirm transactions

Technical and usage data

Basic device or browser information when you interact with digital systems
Cookies or similar technologies used for essential site functions, where applicable

Special category data

We do not intentionally collect special category data, such as information about health, religion, ethnicity, or political opinions. Please do not share such information unless it is necessary for the service and you choose to do so. If you do provide it, we will only use it where we have a valid lawful basis and additional legal safeguards.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data only for legitimate and necessary business purposes. These include:

Providing cleaning services and managing appointments
Responding to enquiries and issuing quotes
Processing payments, invoices, and refunds where applicable
Maintaining service records and customer history
Improving service quality and customer experience
Handling complaints, disputes, and customer support requests
Meeting legal, tax, accounting, and insurance obligations
Protecting against fraud, misuse, or security incidents

We do not sell your personal data.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for each use of personal data. We rely on the following bases:

Contract

We process your data when it is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract. This includes booking services, confirming appointments, and managing customer accounts.

Legal obligation

We may process data to comply with laws and regulations, including tax rules, accounting requirements, and record-keeping duties.

Legitimate interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms do not override those interests. Examples include improving operations, protecting our business from fraud, and retaining service records for quality assurance.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where additional optional communications or non-essential cookies are involved. If consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Vital interests

This basis is unlikely to apply in ordinary service delivery, but it may be used in exceptional circumstances where processing is necessary to protect someone’s life.

4. Retention of Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy. Retention periods depend on the type of data, legal requirements, and whether the information is still needed for service, accounting, or dispute resolution.

Customer and booking records: retained for the duration of the service relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards
Invoices and financial records: retained for the period required by tax and accounting law
Communication records: retained as needed to manage service quality, complaints, and legal claims
Consent records: retained as proof of your preferences until they are no longer needed

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

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us operate our business. These parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the service they provide. We only share the minimum necessary information and require appropriate data protection safeguards.

Common categories of processors

Payment service providers for transaction handling
IT and cloud hosting providers for secure storage and system support
Administrative software providers for bookings, invoicing, and customer management
Professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers where required
Insurance providers in connection with claims or incidents

Where a processor acts on our behalf, they are bound by written data processing terms and may only use your data according to our instructions. We may also disclose data where required by law, to protect our rights, or to respond to lawful requests from public authorities.

6. International Transfers

If personal data is transferred outside the UK or European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or other legally recognised transfer mechanisms. We take reasonable steps to ensure that your data remains protected to a standard consistent with applicable law.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, or alteration. These measures may include access controls, password protection, restricted permissions, staff awareness, and secure storage procedures. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to reduce risk as far as reasonably possible.

8. Your Rights Under GDPR

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal conditions or exemptions.

Right of access

You may request confirmation of whether we hold your data and obtain a copy of it.

Right to rectification

You may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

Right to erasure

You may request deletion of your data where there is no valid reason for us to keep it.

Right to restrict processing

You may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.

Right to data portability

You may request that certain data be provided to you or transferred to another controller in a structured, commonly used format.

Right to object

You may object to processing based on legitimate interests or to direct marketing, where applicable.

Rights related to automated decision-making

We do not normally use automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects. If that changes, we will provide the required information and safeguards.

You also have the right to withdraw consent at any time where processing relies on consent. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is required for a lawful service arrangement and provided by an appropriate adult. If we become aware that we have collected such data in error, we will take steps to delete it promptly.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

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

11. Summary of Our Commitment

We respect your privacy and will use your personal data responsibly, securely, and only for clear and lawful purposes. We collect only what we need, keep it only as long as necessary, and ensure that any processors we use are subject to appropriate data protection obligations. If you exercise your rights, we will respond in line with GDPR requirements and act transparently throughout.

In short: Acton Cleaner processes customer data fairly, lawfully, and with care, for all customers in the area.