Docklands Cleaner Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Docklands Cleaner collects, uses, stores and protects personal data about customers and prospective customers. It applies to all Docklands Cleaner customers located within our service area, including individuals and business clients who use, have used, or have expressed an interest in our cleaning services.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a lawful, fair and transparent manner in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Data Controller

Docklands Cleaner is the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means that we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data.

Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data when you contact us, use our services, visit our website, or otherwise interact with us:

Identification and contact data: name, title, postal address, service address, billing address, and communication preferences.

Contact details: email address and, where provided, telephone number or mobile number.

Service-related data: details of the cleaning services you request, property type and size, access instructions where provided by you, preferred dates and times, and any special instructions relevant to the services.

Account and transaction data: booking history, invoices, payments received, outstanding balances, discounts applied, and related correspondence.

Communications data: records of communications between you and Docklands Cleaner, including enquiries, complaints, feedback, and notes relating to your account or bookings.

Technical data: when you visit our website, we may collect technical information such as IP address, browser type and version, time zone setting, and basic analytics data regarding how you use our website. This may be collected via cookies or similar technologies where permitted by law.

We do not intentionally collect special categories of personal data such as information about health, unless you choose to provide such information where it is directly relevant to the performance of our services, for example to ensure safe use of cleaning products. In such cases, we will only use this information with your explicit consent or where otherwise permitted by law.

Purposes and Lawful Basis for Processing

We process your personal data for the following purposes and under the following lawful bases:

To provide cleaning services: to manage enquiries, provide quotations, confirm bookings, deliver cleaning services at your premises, and administer your account. The lawful basis is performance of a contract or taking steps at your request prior to entering into a contract.

To handle payments and billing: to issue invoices, process payments, manage refunds and deal with billing queries. The lawful basis is performance of a contract and compliance with legal obligations relating to accounting and taxation.

To manage customer relationship: to respond to your requests, handle complaints, record service preferences, and maintain internal records. The lawful basis is performance of a contract and our legitimate interest in managing our business and maintaining service quality.

To improve our services and operations: to analyse service usage, improve our processes, train staff and develop new offerings. The lawful basis is our legitimate interest in improving and growing our business, provided that your rights and freedoms are not overridden.

To send service communications: to send booking confirmations, reminders, updates about scheduled visits, and essential information about changes to our terms or policies. The lawful basis is performance of a contract and our legal obligations.

To send marketing communications: where permitted by law, we may send you information about similar services that we believe may interest you. The lawful basis is our legitimate interest in promoting our services or, where required, your consent. You can object to or opt out of marketing at any time.

To comply with legal obligations: to meet our obligations under applicable laws, respond to lawful requests from public authorities, and maintain appropriate business records. The lawful basis is compliance with legal obligations.

Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and to comply with applicable legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

Customer account and service data are generally retained for the duration of your relationship with Docklands Cleaner and for a period afterwards in accordance with limitation periods under applicable law, typically up to six years after the end of the relevant financial year.

Financial and transaction records, including invoices and payment records, are retained for the period required under tax and accounting legislation.

Enquiry and correspondence records for individuals who do not become customers are kept for a limited period that allows us to respond to follow-up enquiries and manage our business, after which they are securely deleted or anonymised.

Technical data and website analytics data are retained for shorter periods sufficient to analyse trends and maintain site security, after which they are deleted or aggregated so they no longer identify you.

Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your personal data with trusted third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These third parties are only permitted to process your data in accordance with our instructions and for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, and they are required to implement appropriate security measures.

Categories of data processors may include:

IT and hosting providers who support our business systems, website, and data storage.

Payment processing providers who handle card payments or online payment services.

Accountancy or bookkeeping service providers who assist with financial record keeping.

Customer management or booking software providers used to schedule services and manage bookings.

Where required by law, we may share personal data with public authorities, regulators, law enforcement bodies, or professional advisers. Such sharing will be limited to what is necessary in the circumstances.

If any transfer of personal data involves a destination outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with data protection law, such as standard contractual clauses or other recognised transfer mechanisms.

Security of Your Personal Data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure, or access. These measures include access controls, secure storage, staff training, and procedures for handling and responding to potential data incidents.

While we take reasonable steps to protect your personal data, no system or transmission of information via the internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights are subject to certain conditions and exemptions.

Right of access: you can request confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and obtain a copy of the data we hold about you, together with certain information about how it is processed.

Right to rectification: you can request that inaccurate or incomplete personal data about you is corrected or updated.

Right to erasure: in certain circumstances, you may request that we delete your personal data. This right is not absolute and may be limited by our need to comply with legal obligations or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Right to restriction of processing: you may request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we are verifying the accuracy of the data or considering an objection you have raised.

Right to data portability: where processing is based on consent or on a contract and is carried out by automated means, you may have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and to transmit it to another controller.

Right to object: you can object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including profiling based on those interests, on grounds relating to your particular situation. You also have an absolute right to object to direct marketing at any time.

Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe that your personal data has been processed in a way that does not comply with data protection law. In the United Kingdom, the supervisory authority is the Information Commissioner's Office.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or other factors. Any changes will apply from the date the revised policy is published. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we handle your personal data.