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Privacy Policy
How The Pool Cleaning collects, uses, shares and protects personal data, and the rights you have over it.
Last updated: 15 October 2026
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Send Waqas a message through our contact form, or email us at info@thepoolcleaning.co.uk. Waqas reads and answers every message himself.
This policy explains how The Pool Cleaning handles personal data about homeowners and other people who ask for quotes, visitors to this website, and pool and hot tub technicians who join, or apply to join, our network. We follow the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 (as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).
The short version
- Our service is free for homeowners. We're a matching service, not a cleaning company.
- When you ask for quotes, we pass your request to no more than 2 local technicians.
- We keep quote requests for 12 months, then delete them.
- We never sell your data to marketers, and we don't send homeowners marketing.
- You can ask to see, correct or delete your data at any time.
1. Who we are
The Pool Cleaning is a free matching service that connects people who need pool or hot tub cleaning with independent local technicians. We are not a pool or hot tub cleaning company, and we don’t carry out any work ourselves.
The website is run by Waqas Arif, a sole trader based in Pakistan. We are not a UK company. Waqas Arif is the controller of the personal data described in this policy, which means he decides how and why it’s used.
You can contact us at any time through our contact form, or email us at info@thepoolcleaning.co.uk. Every message comes straight to Waqas Arif.
We are not required to appoint a Data Protection Officer. Waqas Arif deals with all data protection questions personally.
2. The data we collect
We only collect what we need to run the matching service. Most of it comes straight from you, through our forms or your messages. For technicians, some of it comes from public sources we check, such as Companies House and public review profiles.
Quote requests
When you use our quote form, we collect your name, email address, phone number and postcode; whether you have a pool or a hot tub; the service you need; when you’d like it done; anything you write in the message box; and a record that you ticked the box agreeing to your details being shared, with the date and time you sent the form.
Contact form
When you use our contact form, we collect your name, your email address, your phone number if you give it, the subject you choose and what you write. If you email us, we collect your email address and whatever you include in your email.
Technicians and prospective technicians
This part of the policy applies to pool and hot tub businesses. Our Terms for Technicians cover the business side of the relationship.
If you apply to join our network or receive leads from us, we collect your name, business name, whether you’re a sole trader or a limited company, your Companies House number and VAT number (if you have them), your base postcode and the areas and services you cover, your mobile/WhatsApp number and email address, your public liability insurance certificate and its expiry date, links to your public review profiles, and the results of our checks on your Companies House record or reviews. Once you receive leads, we also keep a record of the leads we send you, any credits, your invoices and your payment records.
Collected automatically
Like most websites, our host records technical information when you visit, such as your IP address, browser type, the pages you request and the date and time. Our Cookie Policy explains the small number of cookies and similar technologies the site uses.
Please don't send sensitive information
Our forms don’t need health details, financial details or anything about other people. Please leave them out of your message.
3. How we use your data and our lawful basis
UK GDPR requires us to have a lawful basis for each way we use personal data. This table sets them out.
| What we do | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Pass your quote request to up to 2 local technicians who cover your postcode and service | Contract: necessary to provide the matching service you asked for (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Reply to your questions, messages and complaints | Legitimate interests: running our service and helping you (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Check whether a technician contacted you after we sent your request (a service message, not marketing) | Legitimate interests: making sure the service works (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Keep records of requests, consent ticks and complaints | Legitimate interests: showing what happened if there’s a dispute (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Keep the website secure and block spam | Legitimate interests: protecting the site and its users (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Assess technician applications, send leads and account messages, and invoice technicians | Contract with the technician (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Keep invoices and payment records | Legal obligation: tax and accounting law (Art. 6(1)(c)) |
| Contact businesses about joining our network by phone (screened against the TPS and CTPS) or by email to limited companies | Legitimate interests: growing our network (Art. 6(1)(f)), following PECR |
What happens to a quote request, step by step
- You fill in the quote form and tick the box to confirm you’re happy for your details to be shared.
- The form sends your request to our email inbox, and a copy is stored on our website.
- We check the request and pick up to 2 technicians who cover your postcode and offer the service you need.
- We send them your request by WhatsApp and email, and note it in our lead log.
- The technicians contact you directly to discuss the work and give you a quote.
- After 12 months, we delete your request from every place we hold it.
We don’t make decisions about you based solely on automated processing. We don’t send homeowners marketing messages, and we don’t use your data for advertising.
4. Who we share your data with
The technicians we match you with
We send your quote request to no more than 2 independent local technicians who cover your postcode and offer the service you need. We send it by WhatsApp and email. Each technician sets their own prices.
Once a technician receives your details, they become a separate controller of that data: they’re responsible for how they use it. In their terms with us, technicians agree to use your details only to contact you about your request, never to resell them, and to delete them if you don’t go ahead with them. You can ask us which technicians received your request.
Service providers
We use a small number of providers to run the service. They handle data on our behalf:
- Hostinger: website hosting, the content delivery network and server logs.
- Google: Gmail for email, Google Sheets and Google Drive for our lead log, and Google Fonts for the website’s typefaces.
- WhatsApp (Meta): sending leads to technicians and talking to technicians in our network.
- Payoneer: sending technician invoices and receiving technician payments. This involves technicians only, never homeowners.
- WordPress plugins on our own hosting: Contact Form 7 sends form messages, and Flamingo stores copies of form submissions.
Other disclosures
We may share data if the law requires it, for example with the police or a regulator, or to protect our legal rights. If the business were ever sold, the data would pass to the new owner under the same protections. We never sell your data to marketers.
5. International transfers
We are based in Pakistan, so your data is accessed from Pakistan when we handle your request. The UK hasn’t made an adequacy decision for Pakistan. We protect your data by limiting access to the operator only, using two-factor authentication on our accounts, collecting only what we need and deleting it on schedule.
Some of our service providers, such as Google, Meta and Payoneer, may process data in the United States or other countries. Where they do, we rely on the safeguards each provider offers, such as the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum.
The technicians we pass requests to are based in the UK.
6. How long we keep your data
| Data | How long |
|---|---|
| Quote requests and consent records | 12 months, then deleted from our website (Flamingo), Gmail, WhatsApp and our lead log |
| Contact form messages and other enquiries | 12 months from our last contact with you |
| Technician account details | While you’re in our network, plus 12 months |
| Technician invoices and payment records | As long as tax and accounting law requires |
| Data needed for a dispute or complaint | Until it’s resolved |
7. Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to:
- access the personal data we hold about you and get a copy;
- correct data that’s wrong or incomplete;
- erase your data, in some circumstances;
- restrict how we use your data, in some circumstances;
- object to us using your data based on legitimate interests, and an absolute right to object to direct marketing;
- data portability: receive data you gave us in a common format, where we rely on contract;
- withdraw consent at any time, wherever we rely on consent.
Some of these rights have limits. For example, we may need to keep invoices for tax reasons even if a technician asks us to delete them, and we can’t delete details a technician already holds as a separate controller. In those cases we’ll explain why, and you can contact the technician directly.
To use any of these rights, send us a message through our contact form and choose “Privacy or data request”, or email us at info@thepoolcleaning.co.uk. It’s free. We’ll reply within one month, and we may ask you to confirm your identity first. If your request hasn’t been sent to technicians yet and you want to cancel it, just tell us and we won’t send it.
8. Complaints
If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your data, please contact us first so we can try to put it right. We’ll acknowledge your complaint within 30 days and tell you what we’re doing about it.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.
9. How we protect your data
We’re a small, one-person operation, and we keep our systems simple on purpose. Fewer tools and fewer people with access means fewer places your data can leak from. The website uses HTTPS encryption. We keep WordPress and its plugins updated, use two-factor authentication on our email, WordPress and WhatsApp accounts, and only the operator can access the data. If a personal data breach happens, we’ll report it to the ICO within 72 hours where the law requires, and tell you if it puts you at high risk.
10. Children
Our service is for adults aged 18 and over. We don’t knowingly collect data from children. If you think a child has sent us their details, contact us and we’ll delete them.
11. Cookies
Our Cookie Policy explains the cookies and similar technologies the site uses and how to control them.
12. Changes to this policy
We’ll update this policy when our service or the law changes, for example if we add a new tool, change how we send requests to technicians or start using analytics. The date at the top shows when it last changed. If we make a significant change, we’ll flag it on the website.
13. Contact us
For any privacy question or request, send us a message through our contact form and choose “Privacy or data request”, or email us at info@thepoolcleaning.co.uk. Read more about us, how the service works and our Terms of Use. Technicians should also read our Terms for Technicians.
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Technicians are independent businesses. Prices are set by the technician you choose.