Privacy Policy - Cleaner Kingston

This Privacy Policy explains how Cleaner Kingston collects, uses, shares, stores, and protects personal data when providing cleaning services. It applies to all Cleaner Kingston customers in the area, including individuals, households, landlords, tenants, and business clients who use our services. We are committed to handling personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Cleaner Kingston is the controller of the personal data described in this policy. This means we decide why and how your personal data is used for the purposes of delivering our services, managing bookings, handling payments, and meeting legal obligations.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the data that is necessary to provide and improve our services. Depending on your interaction with us, this may include:

Identity details such as your name and title.
Contact details such as your address, email address, and telephone number.
Service information such as property access instructions, cleaning preferences, special requests, and appointment history.
Billing and payment information such as invoice details, payment status, and transaction records.
Communication records such as messages, complaint notes, feedback, and service updates.
Technical data such as basic website or device information if you interact with online forms or digital booking tools.
Optional information that you choose to provide, for example notes about allergies, pet presence, security access, or cleaning priorities.

We do not intentionally collect special category data unless you voluntarily provide it and it is necessary for the service, such as health-related access instructions or allergy information. In such cases, we will only use it where a valid lawful basis applies and appropriate safeguards are in place.

3. How We Use Your Data

Cleaner Kingston uses personal data for the following purposes:

To register and manage your booking.
To provide cleaning services at your property or premises.
To communicate with you about appointments, changes, updates, or service issues.
To prepare invoices, process payments, and manage accounts.
To respond to enquiries, complaints, and requests.
To maintain service quality, monitor performance, and improve our operations.
To meet legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
To prevent fraud, abuse, or unauthorised use of our services.

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected unless we reasonably determine that another compatible purpose is required or permitted by law.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. Cleaner Kingston relies on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process your data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, providing cleaning services, managing schedules, and issuing invoices.

Legal Obligation

We process certain information where necessary to comply with legal obligations, such as tax rules, accounting requirements, record keeping, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

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, maintaining service records, resolving disputes, and protecting our business from misuse.

Consent

Where required, we will ask for your consent before using your data for specific purposes. You have the right to withdraw consent at any time, although this will not affect processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

Cleaner Kingston may share personal data only when necessary and only with trusted third parties that help us operate our business. These parties act as processors or independent controllers depending on the service they provide.

Examples of processors may include:

Payment service providers who process card or electronic payments.
Booking and scheduling tools that help manage appointments and job allocations.
Accounting and invoicing systems used to maintain financial records.
IT and cloud storage providers that securely host our data and communications.
Communication service providers used for sending service-related messages.

We require processors to handle personal data securely, to use it only for the services we instruct them to provide, and to comply with data protection obligations.

We may also share data where necessary with professional advisers, insurers, legal representatives, or authorities if required by law or to protect our rights, customers, or operations.

6. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including to satisfy legal, accounting, and operational requirements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and the reason it was collected.

Booking and service records are kept for a period necessary to manage customer history and service follow-up.
Financial records are retained for the time required by tax and accounting law.
Communication records are retained for the time needed to handle enquiries, complaints, or disputes.
Consent records are kept so we can demonstrate when and how consent was obtained.

When personal data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you. Where possible, we apply a data minimisation approach so that only relevant and necessary information is retained.

7. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff confidentiality obligations, and limiting access to those who need the information to perform their duties.

While no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take reasonable steps to safeguard the data we hold and to reduce risk.

8. Your Rights Under GDPR

You have a number of rights over your personal data. Subject to legal limitations, you may request the following:

Right of access – to obtain confirmation of whether we process your data and to request a copy.
Right to rectification – to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – to ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to request that we limit the use of your data in certain situations.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability – to request that certain data be provided to you or another controller in a structured format.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent.

To protect your privacy, we may need to verify your identity before responding to a request. We aim to respond within the time limits set by law.

9. Cookies and Online Data

If you use any digital booking or enquiry tools associated with Cleaner Kingston, limited technical data may be collected automatically. This can include device information, browser type, log data, and usage patterns. Such data is generally used for website functionality, security, and performance monitoring. Where cookies or similar technologies are used, they will be handled in accordance with applicable law.

10. International Transfers

Where personal data is processed outside the UK or European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. This may include standard contractual clauses or other lawful transfer mechanisms designed to protect your personal data to an equivalent standard.

11. Children’s Data

Cleaner Kingston services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is provided by a parent, guardian, or lawful representative in connection with a service booking or property access arrangement.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data protection practices. Any updated version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated.

13. Summary of Our Commitment

Cleaner Kingston is committed to processing personal data in a way that is lawful, fair, transparent, and proportionate. We collect only what we need, use it for clear purposes, keep it for no longer than necessary, and protect it with appropriate safeguards. We also recognise and respect your rights over your personal data and will handle any request with care and diligence.

By using Cleaner Kingston’s services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be processed as described in this Privacy Policy.