Privacy Policy - Finchley Cleaners

This Privacy Policy explains how Finchley Cleaners collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data when providing cleaning services. It applies to all Finchley Cleaners customers in the area, including individuals and households who request domestic, specialist, or regular cleaning services. We are committed to handling personal information lawfully, fairly, and transparently in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By using Finchley Cleaners, you acknowledge that we may process personal data as described in this policy. We only collect information that is necessary to deliver our services, manage our relationship with customers, comply with legal obligations, and improve the quality of our work.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

• Identity details, such as your name and title.
• Contact information, such as address, email address, and telephone number.
• Service details, including property access instructions, cleaning preferences, booking times, and special requirements.
• Payment information, where needed to process invoices, payments, refunds, or account administration.
• Communication records, including emails, messages, notes from calls, and service-related feedback.
• Technical data, such as basic website or device information if you interact with online systems used to manage enquiries or bookings.
• Any additional information you choose to provide, for example health-related access needs or instructions for working safely in your property.

We do not intentionally collect unnecessary personal data. Where we receive special category data, we only process it when required for the service and when a lawful condition applies.

2. How We Use Personal Data

Finchley Cleaners uses personal data for the following purposes:

• to provide cleaning services and manage bookings;
• to communicate with customers about appointments, changes, queries, and service updates;
• to prepare invoices, handle payments, and maintain business records;
• to record customer preferences and deliver services more efficiently;
• to respond to complaints, disputes, or service issues;
• to comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations;
• to protect the security of our staff, customers, and premises;
• to improve our services, training, and customer experience;
• to support legitimate business administration and continuity.

We will not use your personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons it was originally 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 use of personal data. Finchley Cleaners may rely 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 arranging cleaning services, confirming appointments, issuing invoices, and managing service delivery.

Legitimate Interests

We may process data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include service administration, record-keeping, internal quality control, fraud prevention, and responding to customer enquiries. We always consider whether our use of data is proportionate and respectful of privacy.

Legal Obligation

We process certain information where required to meet legal or regulatory obligations, such as accounting, tax, insurance, employment-related requirements, and compliance with lawful requests from authorities.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example where you voluntarily provide sensitive information that is not otherwise necessary for the contract or legal compliance. When consent is used, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect processing already carried out lawfully before withdrawal.

4. Sharing and Processors

Finchley Cleaners may share personal data with trusted processors and service providers who help us operate our business. These parties process data on our instructions and are required to keep it secure and confidential. Examples may include:

• payment service providers;
• accounting and invoicing systems;
• IT and cloud storage providers;
• communication platforms used for booking or customer messages;
• professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers;
• service partners who support scheduling, administration, or operational tasks.

We only share the minimum information necessary for the relevant purpose. We do not sell customer personal data. If data is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with data protection law.

5. Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, and reporting requirements. Retention periods depend on the type of data and the purpose for which it is used.

In general:

• Customer service records are kept for a period that allows us to manage recurring services, disputes, and account history.
• Financial and transaction records are retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws.
• Correspondence and complaint records may be retained for a reasonable time to evidence service handling and resolution.
• Consent-based information is kept only while consent remains valid or until it is no longer needed.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so it can no longer identify an individual. We review retention regularly to avoid keeping information longer than necessary.

6. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include restricted access controls, secure storage, password protection, staff confidentiality obligations, and careful management of any paper or digital records.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to maintain a high level of protection and to reduce risks wherever possible. If a data breach occurs and it is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will handle it in accordance with applicable law.

7. Your Rights

Under data protection law, 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 information.
• Right to erasure – to request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to restrict processing – 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 request transfer of certain data in a structured, commonly used format, where applicable.
• Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent.
• Right to complain – to raise concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your rights have been breached.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal limits. If you make a request, we may need to verify your identity before responding.

8. Children’s Data

Our services are primarily intended for adult customers. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children unless it is necessary for a service arrangement provided by an adult customer and only to the extent required for that purpose.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect legal, operational, or service-related changes. Any updated version will apply from the date it is issued. We encourage customers to review this policy periodically so they remain informed about how their data is handled.

10. Summary of Our Commitment

Finchley Cleaners is committed to treating personal data with care, respect, and accountability. We collect only what is needed, use it fairly, keep it secure, and retain it only for as long as necessary. We rely on lawful grounds to process data, use trusted processors where appropriate, and support customers in exercising their rights under data protection law. This policy applies to all Finchley Cleaners customers in the area and is designed to ensure transparency in every stage of our service relationship.

Effective from: the date of publication of this policy.