Privacy Policy - Cleaners Wisscottage

This Privacy Policy explains how Cleaners Wisscottage collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data. It applies to all Cleaners Wisscottage customers in area, including individuals who book or receive cleaning services, request quotations, communicate with us, or otherwise interact with our business. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Cleaners Wisscottage provides residential and commercial cleaning services. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller when we determine why and how your personal data is used. This means we are responsible for ensuring your information is processed securely and only for legitimate purposes.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information that is necessary to provide our services, manage our relationship with customers, and meet legal or operational requirements. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of data:

Identity information such as your name, title, and, where applicable, business name.
Contact details such as address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as the type of cleaning requested, service dates, access instructions, property details, and customer preferences.
Billing and payment data such as invoice records, payment status, and transaction details. We do not store full card details unless a secure payment provider requires limited information for processing.
Communication records such as emails, messages, notes from calls, complaints, and service feedback.
Technical data where relevant, such as basic device or usage information collected through our digital systems for security and performance purposes.
Special category data only if you voluntarily provide it and only where it is necessary, for example information about allergies, mobility needs, or health-related access instructions that affect service delivery.

We do not intentionally collect more information than is needed. If we ever ask for additional data, we will explain why it is required.

3. How We Use Your Data

We process personal data for specific and limited purposes. These include:

providing cleaning services and managing bookings;
responding to enquiries and preparing quotations;
issuing invoices, managing payments, and maintaining accounts;
tracking customer preferences and service history to improve service quality;
handling complaints, disputes, and service follow-up;
meeting legal obligations, such as tax and record-keeping requirements;
protecting our staff, customers, and business against fraud, misuse, or security incidents;
improving our internal operations, training, and service delivery.

We will only use your data for the purpose for which it was collected unless we reasonably determine that we need to use it for another compatible purpose.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis before processing personal data. Cleaners Wisscottage relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes managing bookings, delivering cleaning services, communicating about appointments, and handling invoices or payments.

Legal Obligation

We may process information where necessary to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including financial records, tax obligations, and other statutory duties.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include service improvement, record management, fraud prevention, and protecting business operations.

Consent

Where required, we rely on your consent, particularly for optional communications or where special category data is involved and no other lawful basis applies. You may withdraw consent at any time, although this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties that help us run our business. These parties act as processors when they process data on our instructions, and they are required to keep it secure and confidential. Examples may include:

booking and scheduling providers;
accounting and invoicing software providers;
secure payment processors;
IT support, cloud storage, and data security providers;
professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers;
regulatory bodies, tax authorities, or law enforcement where required by law.

We do not sell your personal data. Any sharing is limited to what is necessary, proportionate, and lawful. If a processor handles data on our behalf, we ensure there is an appropriate written agreement in place to safeguard your information.

6. Retention of Personal Data

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including any legal, accounting, or reporting obligations. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the reason for processing.

Customer and service records are typically kept for the duration of the relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to address queries, complaints, or follow-up matters.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law.
Communication records may be retained for service quality, dispute resolution, and audit purposes.
Special category or sensitive information is kept only for the shortest period necessary and is deleted or anonymised when no longer needed.

When data is no longer required, we will securely delete, anonymise, or otherwise dispose of it in a safe manner.

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, secure storage, encryption where appropriate, and staff awareness practices. While no method of transmission or storage is completely risk-free, we take reasonable steps to protect the information we hold.

8. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have rights under the UK GDPR. Subject to certain legal limitations, these 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 - in some cases, you may request deletion of your personal data.
Right to restriction - you may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability - you may request your data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to object - you may object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent - where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

We will respond to rights requests in line with applicable legal timeframes. In some cases, we may need to verify your identity before actioning a request. Certain rights may not apply where we have a lawful reason to continue processing, such as compliance with legal obligations.

9. International Transfers

If any of our processors or service providers store or process data outside the UK, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent legal protections.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are not directed at children, and we do not intentionally collect personal data from children unless it is provided by a parent, guardian, or authorised adult for a legitimate service-related purpose. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without proper authority, we will take appropriate steps to remove it.

11. 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 protection practices. Any revised version will take effect when published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how their information is handled.

12. Summary of Our Commitments

In summary, Cleaners Wisscottage only collects personal data that is relevant and necessary for providing services, managing customer relationships, and meeting legal duties. We process information on clear lawful bases, limit access to trusted processors, retain data only as long as needed, and respect your rights under data protection law. This policy applies to all Cleaners Wisscottage customers in area and is intended to provide a clear and transparent explanation of how we protect your privacy.