Privacy Policy - Bloomsbury Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Bloomsbury Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing cleaning services. It applies to all Bloomsbury Cleaners customers in area, including prospective customers, current customers, and any individual who communicates with us about our services. We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable privacy laws.

1. Who We Are

Bloomsbury Cleaners is a cleaning services business that processes personal data in order to manage bookings, provide services, handle billing, maintain customer records, and improve operations. For the purposes of data protection law, we act as the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. This means we decide why and how personal data is processed.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the information that is necessary to provide our services and operate our business effectively. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identity details such as your name and, where relevant, the name of an authorised representative.
Contact details such as address, phone number, and email address.
Service information such as booking dates, service preferences, instructions, and property access arrangements.
Payment information such as payment status, transaction references, and invoice records. We do not normally store full card details unless provided through a secure payment provider.
Communication records such as emails, messages, complaints, feedback, and notes from service discussions.
Technical and usage data if you interact with us online, such as device information, log data, and basic analytics where applicable.
Special category data only where strictly necessary and usually only if you voluntarily disclose information relevant to access, safety, or service adjustments. We aim to avoid collecting such data unless there is a lawful reason and a clear need to do so.

We collect personal data directly from you when you make an enquiry, request a quote, book a service, make a payment, or communicate with us. In some cases, we may also receive information from third parties such as payment processors, subcontractors, property managers, or referral partners, where permitted by law.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage cleaning services.
To confirm bookings, issue quotes, and arrange visits.
To communicate with customers about appointments, service changes, or service issues.
To process payments, issue invoices, and keep financial records.
To respond to enquiries, complaints, and requests.
To improve our services, operations, training, and customer experience.
To comply with legal and regulatory obligations.
To prevent fraud, misuse, or other unlawful activity.

We will only use your personal data in ways that are fair, lawful, and transparent. We do not sell personal data to third parties.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis to process personal data. Depending on the context, Bloomsbury Cleaners 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 your booking, providing the cleaning service, processing payment, and handling service-related communications.

Legal Obligation

We process certain information to comply with legal duties, such as tax, accounting, record-keeping, and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Legitimate Interests

We may process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include improving services, maintaining internal records, protecting against fraud, and managing customer communications. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider whether the processing is necessary and whether your interests require additional safeguards.

Consent

In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily agree to receive certain optional communications or where a specific type of processing requires permission. When consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. 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 requirements. Retention periods may vary depending on the nature of the data and the reason for processing.

Customer and booking records are typically retained for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards to manage queries, disputes, and service history.
Financial and tax records are retained for the period required by law.
Correspondence and complaints may be retained for as long as needed to resolve issues and maintain a record of service interactions.
Technical logs and similar data are retained only as long as necessary for security, performance, or operational purposes.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete, anonymise, or securely archive it in line with our retention practices. We regularly review the information we hold to ensure it is not kept for longer than necessary.

6. Processors and Third Parties

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors or independent controllers where necessary for service delivery or legal compliance. Any processor is required to handle personal data securely, use it only on our instructions, and comply with applicable data protection obligations.

Examples of processors and third parties may include:

Payment service providers that process transactions securely.
IT and cloud service providers that host or support our systems.
Accounting and bookkeeping providers that assist with financial records.
Scheduling, customer management, or communication tools used for bookings and administration.
Subcontractors or team members who need limited access to customer information to perform services.
Professional advisers such as accountants, lawyers, or insurers where necessary.
Public authorities or law enforcement, where disclosure is required by law.

Where data is shared with third parties, we seek to ensure appropriate contractual and technical safeguards are in place. We only disclose the minimum information necessary for the relevant purpose.

7. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff confidentiality obligations, and regular review of business practices. While no system can be guaranteed completely secure, we work to reduce risks and respond appropriately to incidents.

8. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may apply depending on the circumstances and the legal basis for processing:

Right of access – you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure – in some cases, you can request deletion of your personal data.
Right to restriction – you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to data portability – you can request that data you provided to us be transferred to you or another service provider, where applicable.
Right to object – you can object to processing based on legitimate interests, and in some cases to direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, we will assess your request in accordance with data protection law. In some cases, we may need to retain certain information to comply with legal obligations or to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

9. International Transfers

Some of our processors or service providers may process data outside the UK. Where this happens, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect personal data, such as approved transfer mechanisms or equivalent contractual protections required by law.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or business practices. When we do, we will revise the policy to keep it current. We encourage customers to review it periodically so they remain informed about how personal data is handled.

11. Summary of Our Commitment

Bloomsbury Cleaners is committed to protecting personal data, using it responsibly, and respecting your rights. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, keep it only as long as necessary, and share it only with trusted processors or others where required by law. Our aim is to provide professional cleaning services while maintaining strong privacy standards for every customer in area.