Privacy Policy

Who We Are

Em-Me Cleans is a cleaning business providing domestic and commercial cleaning services across Bedfordshire and Stevenage.

For the purposes of applicable UK data protection law, Em-Me Cleans is responsible for deciding how and why your personal information is used.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we use your information, please contact us:

Email: contact@emmecleans.co.uk

Business address: 24 Clifton Fields, Clifton, Shefford

Information We Collect

We only collect information that we reasonably need to respond to enquiries, arrange and provide cleaning services, process bookings and payments, maintain the security of our website and operate our business.

Depending on how you use our website or services, this may include:

• Your name
• Your email address
• Your telephone number
• Details about the cleaning service you are interested in
• Information you provide in your enquiry, including details about your property or cleaning requirements
• Your property address where this is required to provide the cleaning service
• Information needed to arrange access to your property, such as key, entry or access instructions
• Booking and appointment information
• Payment, card or bank details where applicable, in connection with an online booking or payment
• Technical information such as IP address, browser type, device information and website security logs

Information You Provide Through Our Contact Form

Our website includes a contact and quote enquiry form, built using the WPForms plugin. When you submit the form, we collect your name, email address, telephone number, your property address where provided, the service you are interested in, and any additional information you choose to include in your enquiry.

We use this information to respond to your enquiry, discuss your cleaning requirements, provide information about our services and, where appropriate, arrange a booking.

WPForms is a technical plugin that captures your submission and delivers it to us. It does not use your enquiry information for its own separate purposes.

Please avoid including unnecessary sensitive or confidential information in the enquiry form.

Property Addresses & Access Information

If you book a cleaning service with us, we will need the address of the property where the service is taking place.

We may also need information about how our team can safely access the property, such as key arrangements, entry codes, alarm instructions or other access information.

This information is used only where reasonably necessary to arrange and provide the cleaning service and to enable our team to attend the correct property. It is stored securely and is not used for any purpose other than planning and carrying out your clean.

You should only provide access information that is necessary for us to carry out the agreed service.

Our Lawful Bases for Using Your Information

Under UK data protection law, we need a lawful basis for processing personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on the following lawful bases:

• Contract: where processing is necessary to provide a service you have booked or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.
• Legitimate interests: where processing is reasonably necessary for us to run and protect our business, communicate with customers, prevent fraud or maintain website security, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Legal obligation: where we need to process or retain information to comply with a legal or regulatory requirement.
• Consent: where we specifically ask for your consent for a particular use of your information.

Bookings & Payments Through Square Appointments

We use Square Appointments to manage online bookings and take payments. Where you book or pay through Square, Square will process the information needed to do this, which may include your name, contact details, property address and card or bank details.

If you choose to save your card details with Square for future bookings, this is optional and is done at your discretion. Saved card details are stored and secured by Square, not by Em-Me Cleans; we do not see, collect or store your full card or bank details ourselves.

We do not ask you to send your full card number, security code or other payment credentials to us through our website contact form or by email.

Information processed through Square is handled in accordance with Square's own privacy policy and terms, and Square may also process information to prevent fraud, provide its services and meet its own legal and regulatory requirements.

Bookings Made Through Other Channels

If you book a cleaning service with us by phone, email, or any means other than Square Appointments, we will still need information such as your name, contact details and property address in order to arrange and carry out the service.

This information is stored securely and is used only to plan and deliver your booking, for example so that our team knows where the appointment is taking place. It is not used for any unrelated purpose.

Emails & WP Mail SMTP

When you submit an enquiry through our website, the information you provide is sent to us by email so that we can respond to your request.

Our WordPress website uses WP Mail SMTP to help deliver website emails reliably through our configured email service.

WP Mail SMTP acts as a technical service used to facilitate email delivery. Information contained within an email may therefore pass through the email infrastructure used to deliver that message.

We do not use your enquiry information for unrelated purposes simply because it has been submitted through our website.

Website Hosting, WordPress, cPanel & LiteSpeed

Our website is built using WordPress and is hosted using UKNode hosting infrastructure and cPanel.

We also use LiteSpeed technology to help improve website performance, caching, page delivery and server efficiency.

Our hosting and website systems may process technical information such as IP addresses, browser information, device information, server logs and information relating to requests made to our website.

LiteSpeed and related caching or optimisation functionality may temporarily process or store technical website data in order to improve performance, reduce loading times and deliver cached versions of website content.

This information may also be used to operate the website, diagnose technical problems, maintain backups, monitor performance and protect the website against security threats.

Website Security & Wordfence

We use Wordfence security tools to help protect our WordPress website against malicious activity, spam, attempted unauthorised access and other security threats.

Security tools may process technical information such as IP addresses, browser information, login activity and security events in order to identify and prevent suspicious or malicious activity.

This processing is carried out for the legitimate interest of protecting our website, business systems and users from security threats.

Search Engine Optimisation & Rank Math SEO

Our website uses the Rank Math SEO plugin to help manage technical search engine optimisation, such as page metadata, sitemaps and structured data.

Rank Math primarily processes website content and technical configuration rather than personal information about visitors. Depending on the features enabled, it may work alongside technical or analytics information already described in this Policy, such as IP address or browser information, to help us understand and improve how our website performs in search results.

Font Awesome & Google Fonts

Our website uses Font Awesome and Google Fonts to display icons and text in a consistent style.

Depending on how these services are loaded on our website, your browser may connect to Font Awesome's or Google's servers to retrieve icon or font files. This can involve technical information such as your IP address and browser information being transmitted to the relevant service.

Font Awesome and Google Fonts are third-party services and their own privacy practices may apply to information processed through their infrastructure.

Cookies & Similar Technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies.

Some cookies may be necessary for the website to function properly, remember certain settings, provide security or support services such as online bookings.

Third-party services used on our website, including Square Appointments, Rank Math SEO, Font Awesome and Google Fonts, may also use cookies or similar technologies according to their own policies.

Where applicable, non-essential cookies will be handled in accordance with applicable UK privacy and electronic communications requirements.

You can also manage or block cookies through your browser settings. Blocking certain cookies may affect how parts of the website function.

Who We Share Your Information With

We may share personal information with trusted third parties where this is necessary to operate our business or provide our services.

These may include:

• Square, for bookings, appointments and payment processing, including any card or bank details you choose to provide or save with Square
• WPForms, for capturing and delivering website enquiry form submissions
• Our hosting and server providers, including UKNode and services associated with cPanel and LiteSpeed
• Email delivery and communication providers used with WP Mail SMTP
• Wordfence and relevant security service providers
• Rank Math SEO and related website optimisation tools
• Font Awesome and Google Fonts, for displaying icons and fonts on our website
• Other technical service providers who help us operate, maintain or secure our website
• Professional advisers, insurers or service providers where reasonably necessary
• Government bodies, regulators, law enforcement or other authorities where we are legally required to do so

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

International Transfers

Some third-party technology providers we use may process or store information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with applicable data protection law.

Because the exact location and processing arrangements of third-party services can change, we recommend reviewing the relevant provider's current privacy information for further details.

How Long We Keep Your Information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including providing services, managing customer relationships, dealing with enquiries and meeting legal or accounting obligations.

Enquiry information may be retained for a reasonable period after the enquiry has been dealt with so that we can maintain appropriate business records and respond to follow-up questions.

Customer, booking and property access information may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary to manage our relationship with you and comply with applicable legal, accounting, insurance or dispute-resolution requirements.

Card or bank details you save with Square are retained and managed by Square in accordance with Square's own policies, not by Em-Me Cleans.

When personal information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to securely delete it or anonymise it.

Keeping Your Information Secure

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

These measures include website security tools, access controls, secure hosting, caching and performance systems, and appropriate security practices.

However, no website, email system or internet transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Your Data Protection Rights

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have rights in relation to your personal information, including the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you
• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
• Ask us to delete your personal information where there is no good reason for us to continue processing it
• Ask us to restrict how we use your information in certain circumstances
• Object to certain types of processing
• Request a copy of certain information in a portable format where applicable
• Withdraw consent where we are relying on consent as our lawful basis

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal conditions and exemptions.

How to Make a Privacy Request

If you would like to exercise a data protection right or ask us a question about how we use your information, please contact us at:

contact@emmecleans.co.uk

Please provide enough information for us to understand your request and verify your identity where reasonably necessary.

Complaints

If you have concerns about how we have handled your personal information, we would encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve the issue.

You also have the right to complain to the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), if you believe your personal information has been handled unlawfully.

You can find information about making a complaint on the ICO's website.

Children's Information

Our website and services are not directed specifically at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children for marketing purposes.

If you believe that a child has provided us with personal information unnecessarily, please contact us so that we can consider whether it should be removed.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our business, website, services, technology or applicable legal requirements.

The latest version will be published on this page and the effective date will be updated accordingly.