Privacy Policy - Waterloo Cleaner

This Privacy Policy explains how Waterloo Cleaner collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data relating to all Waterloo Cleaner customers in the area. It applies to every customer, enquiry, booking, and service interaction connected with Waterloo Cleaner, whether services are requested online, by phone, by message, or in person. We are committed to handling personal data in accordance with applicable data protection law, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

1. Who We Are

Waterloo Cleaner provides cleaning services to customers in the local area. In the course of providing those services, we may process personal data about customers, property occupants, and other relevant individuals. This policy describes the types of data we collect, the legal reasons we rely on to process it, how long we keep it, the types of third parties that may process it on our behalf, and the rights available to individuals under GDPR.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We only collect data that is necessary for legitimate business and service purposes. Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of information:

Identity details such as your name and, where necessary, the name of another contact person.
Contact details such as phone number, email address, and service address.
Service information including booking preferences, cleaning instructions, property access notes, and service history.
Payment information such as billing details, transaction records, and payment confirmation. We do not intentionally store full card details unless required by secure payment processors.
Communication records including emails, text messages, call notes, complaint records, and feedback.
Technical data where applicable, such as basic website or device information used for security, troubleshooting, or analytics.
Special circumstances information if you voluntarily provide details that help us carry out services safely, such as access requirements or site-specific instructions.

We do not seek to collect unnecessary personal data. We also do not deliberately collect special category data unless it is expressly provided by you and needed for a clear operational purpose, for example to ensure safe and appropriate service delivery.

3. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and arrange services.
To provide cleaning services and manage service delivery.
To issue invoices, process payments, and manage accounts.
To communicate with customers about appointments, changes, service updates, or follow-up matters.
To maintain internal records, quality control, and customer support.
To handle complaints, disputes, and insurance-related matters.
To comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.
To protect the security of our business, staff, and customers.

We only use your data for the purposes that are relevant, proportionate, and necessary.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Waterloo Cleaner relies on one or more of the following lawful bases depending on the activity involved:

Contract

We process personal data when it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes taking bookings, managing appointments, delivering cleaning services, and processing payments.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include maintaining customer records, improving service delivery, preventing fraud, managing disputes, and ensuring business security. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we assess the impact on individuals and only proceed where appropriate.

Legal Obligation

We may process and retain certain information to comply with legal obligations, including tax, accounting, insurance, and regulatory requirements.

Consent

In some situations, we may rely on your consent, for example if you provide optional information or agree to receive certain forms of communication not strictly required for service delivery. Where consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or for as long as required by law. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the reason for processing.

Customer and booking records are generally kept for the duration of the customer relationship and for a reasonable period afterward for record-keeping, query handling, and service continuity.
Payment and invoice records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
Communication records may be kept for a period needed to manage customer support, resolve disputes, or demonstrate service history.
Legal and compliance records may be retained longer where necessary to meet statutory requirements or defend legal claims.

When data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, destroy, or anonymise it where appropriate.

6. Processors and Third Parties

We may use trusted third-party service providers, sometimes known as processors, to help us operate efficiently and deliver our services. These processors only process personal data on our instructions and must protect it appropriately.

Examples of processors may include:

Payment processing providers for secure transaction handling.
Accounting or bookkeeping providers for financial record management.
Scheduling or booking systems used to manage appointments.
IT, email, or cloud service providers supporting secure storage and communication.
Professional advisers such as lawyers, insurers, or auditors where necessary.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law, court order, or to protect our legal rights. We do not sell personal data.

7. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, secure systems, restricted permissions, and appropriate staff training. While no method of transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we work to reduce risks and keep data protected to a high standard.

8. International Transfers

If any of our service providers store or process data outside the UK or European Economic Area, we will take steps to 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.

9. Your Rights Under GDPR

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

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 data.
Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to restriction – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.
Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing where applicable.
Right to data portability – to receive certain data in a structured, commonly used format where technically feasible.
Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

These rights are not absolute. In some cases, legal obligations or legitimate business reasons may limit how we can respond to a request. We will explain any limitation if it applies.

10. Children’s Data

Our services are intended for adults or for properties managed by adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children except where it is incidental and necessary for service delivery in a household context. If we become aware that we have collected child-related data unnecessarily, we will take appropriate steps to remove it.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, business practices, or service arrangements. Any revised version will apply from the date it is published or otherwise communicated. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

12. Summary of Our Commitment

Waterloo Cleaner is committed to fair, transparent, and secure handling of personal data. We collect only what we need, use it for clear and lawful purposes, keep it no longer than necessary, and require processors to protect it appropriately. We also respect your rights and will respond to data protection requests in line with GDPR requirements. This policy applies to all Waterloo Cleaner customers in the area and is designed to ensure personal data is managed responsibly at every stage of the service relationship.