Privacy Policy - Colliers Wood Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Colliers Wood Cleaners collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data. It applies to all Colliers Wood Cleaners customers in the area, including anyone who makes an enquiry, books a service, receives a quote, or otherwise interacts with our cleaning services. We are committed to handling personal information in a lawful, fair, and transparent way, in line with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Colliers Wood Cleaners provides domestic and commercial cleaning services to customers in and around Colliers Wood. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller when we decide why and how your personal data is processed. This means we are responsible for ensuring that your information is managed properly and that your rights are respected.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is necessary to provide our services, manage customer relationships, and meet legal obligations. Depending on your interaction with us, we may collect the following categories of information:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your phone number, email address, and service address.
Service information including booking details, cleaning preferences, instructions, and property access notes.
Payment information such as payment status, transaction references, and billing records.
Communication records including emails, messages, call notes, and complaint correspondence.
Technical data such as basic website or device information if you submit an enquiry online.
Marketing preferences if you choose to receive updates or promotional messages.

We do not intentionally collect special category personal data unless it is provided voluntarily and is necessary for a specific service requirement. If such data is ever supplied, it is handled with additional care and only where there is a lawful basis to do so.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data to deliver our services efficiently and responsibly. The main purposes for processing include:

responding to enquiries and providing quotations;
managing bookings, schedules, and service delivery;
processing payments and maintaining financial records;
communicating service updates, changes, or follow-up information;
handling complaints, feedback, or disputes;
maintaining records for administration, quality control, and training;
meeting legal, tax, and accounting requirements;
sending marketing messages where permission is required and has been given;
protecting against fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity.

We process data only to the extent necessary for these purposes. We do not use personal information for unrelated purposes without a valid legal basis and, where required, notice to you.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for every use of personal data. Colliers Wood Cleaners relies on the following legal grounds:

Contract

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

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 our services, maintaining internal records, preventing fraud, and responding to customer queries. We always consider whether the processing is proportionate and respectful of your privacy.

Legal Obligation

We process certain information to comply with legal and regulatory duties, including accounting, tax, recordkeeping, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Consent

Where required, especially for direct marketing by electronic means, we rely on your consent. You may withdraw consent at any time, and this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who help us run our business. These organisations act as processors or, in some cases, separate controllers. We ensure appropriate contracts and safeguards are in place before any sharing occurs.

Examples of processors may include:

Payment providers who handle card or electronic transactions.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers who support financial management and tax compliance.
Scheduling or administrative systems that help manage appointments and customer records.
IT and data storage providers who maintain secure systems and backups.
Communication services used to send booking confirmations or service updates.

We only share the minimum information necessary for each purpose. We do not sell your personal data. Where a third party acts on our behalf, they are required to protect your data, process it only according to our instructions, and keep it secure.

6. International Transfers

In some cases, a processor may store or access data outside the UK. If this happens, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent protection recognised under applicable law. These measures are designed to keep your personal data protected to a standard consistent with GDPR requirements.

7. Data Retention

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, the service provided, and any legal obligations we must meet.

Customer and booking records are generally retained for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards.
Financial and tax records are kept for the period required by law.
Communication records are retained as long as needed to manage enquiries, disputes, or service history.
Marketing records are kept 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. This ensures that unnecessary personal data is not kept indefinitely.

8. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, or alteration. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and limiting access to information on a need-to-know basis.

While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to maintain a high level of protection and regularly review our data handling practices.

9. Your Rights Under GDPR

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights apply to all Colliers Wood Cleaners customers in the area, subject to certain legal limits and exemptions. Your rights may include:

Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restrict processing – to limit how we use your data in specific situations.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to receive your data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will respond within the timeframes required by law. We may need to verify your identity before taking action to protect your information from unauthorised access.

10. Cookies and Online Enquiries

If you submit an online enquiry, we may collect limited technical information to help process your request and maintain site performance. Any cookies or similar technologies used should be limited to what is necessary, or used only where permitted by law and with appropriate notice or consent. You can adjust browser settings to manage cookie preferences.

11. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect data from children for marketing or service management purposes. If information relating to a child is provided as part of a service arrangement, we only process it where necessary and lawful.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect legal, operational, or service-related changes. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Colliers Wood Cleaners is committed to handling personal data with care, transparency, and respect. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, share it only with trusted processors where necessary, and keep it only for as long as required. Your privacy matters to us, and we aim to make sure every customer in the area can trust us with their information.