Privacy Policy - Greenwich Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Greenwich Cleaners collects, uses, shares, stores, and protects personal data when providing cleaning services. It applies to all Greenwich Cleaners customers in the area, including residential and commercial clients, prospective customers, and individuals who communicate with us about our services. We are committed to handling personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using our services or contacting us, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this Privacy Policy.

1. Information We Collect

We only collect data that is necessary for operating our services, fulfilling bookings, and meeting legal obligations. The information we may collect includes:

• Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of your business or organisation.
• Contact details such as your address, telephone number, and email address.
• Service and booking information including requested cleaning dates, frequency of service, property access instructions, and preferences.
• Payment-related information such as billing details and transaction records. We do not deliberately store full card details where payment processing is handled securely by third-party payment providers.
• Communication records including enquiries, complaints, feedback, and service-related correspondence.
• Site and service information where relevant, such as property type, areas requiring cleaning, and notes needed to complete the work safely and effectively.
• Technical information if you visit any digital services we use, such as basic device or usage data collected for security and functionality.

We do not seek to collect sensitive personal data unless it is strictly necessary, for example, where information is required to ensure safe access to a property or to accommodate a specific request. If such data is ever provided, we will handle it with additional care and only use it for the purpose for which it was supplied.

2. How We Use Personal Data

Greenwich Cleaners uses personal data for the following purposes:

• to provide quotes, arrange bookings, and deliver cleaning services;
• to manage customer accounts and records;
• to communicate about appointments, schedule changes, invoices, and service issues;
• to process payments, refunds, and billing matters;
• to respond to queries, complaints, and requests;
• to maintain safety, security, and quality standards;
• to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
• to protect our business, staff, and customers from fraud, misuse, or unlawful activity;
• to improve our services and internal operations.

We will not use personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was collected unless we have a valid lawful basis to do so.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each processing activity. Greenwich Cleaners may rely on one or more of 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 handling service communications.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include improving our services, managing customer relationships, preventing fraud, securing our systems, and keeping accurate business records.

Legal Obligation

Some data must be processed to comply with legal duties, including tax laws, accounting requirements, health and safety obligations, and lawful requests from authorities.

Consent

In limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent, for example where we need permission to send certain non-essential communications. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

Vital Interests

In rare cases, we may process information to protect someone’s vital interests, such as if there is an emergency affecting health or safety.

4. Data Sharing and Processors

We may share personal data with carefully selected third parties who help us operate our business. These parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the nature of the service provided.

Examples of processors and service providers may include:

• Payment processors that handle secure transactions;
• Booking or scheduling systems used to organise appointments;
• IT, cloud storage, and software providers that support our administration and record-keeping;
• Accountants and professional advisers who support financial, tax, and legal compliance;
• Communication service providers used to send customer updates or manage correspondence;
• Maintenance or security providers where access or safety support is needed.

We require our processors to handle personal data securely, only on our instructions, and in compliance with data protection law. We do not sell personal data. We may disclose information to law enforcement, regulators, courts, or other authorities where required by law or where disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, property, staff, or customers.

5. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, and reporting obligations. The length of time we keep data depends on the type of information and the reason for processing it.

In general:

• customer booking and service records are kept for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards;
• financial and invoicing records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting law;
• communications and complaints may be retained for as long as needed to resolve the matter and maintain business records;
• information collected with consent is kept until consent is withdrawn or the data is no longer needed.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it or anonymise it securely. Where data is stored in backup systems, it will be removed in line with our normal deletion processes.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality expectations, and system protections.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to reduce risk and review our safeguards regularly. Our staff are trained to handle customer information responsibly and only access data when it is needed for legitimate business purposes.

7. International Transfers

If any processor or service provider stores or accesses personal data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other lawful transfer mechanisms recognised under data protection law.

8. Your Rights

Depending on the circumstances and the legal basis for processing, you may have the following rights under data protection law:

• Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification – to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain situations.
• Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
• Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format.
• Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
• Right to complain – to raise concerns with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your data has been handled unlawfully.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a rights request. Some rights are subject to legal exceptions and may not apply in every situation.

9. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is necessary in connection with a service request made by an adult customer and only to the extent required to fulfil that service safely and appropriately.

10. Changes to This Privacy 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 made available. We encourage customers to review this Privacy Policy periodically so they remain informed about how their information is used.

Last updated: this Privacy Policy is effective as of the date published and applies to all Greenwich Cleaners customers in the area.

Summary of your data rights: you can ask to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to certain uses of your personal data, and you may withdraw consent where consent is the basis for processing.