Privacy Policy

RTW House Sitters – Privacy Policy

RTW House Sitters (“we”, “our”, “us”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This policy explains how we collect, use, and store your information in relation to our house sitting and pet sitting services.

1. Who We Are

RTW House Sitters is a business providing house sitting and pet sitting services in the Royal Tunbridge Wells area. We act as a Data Controller under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

If you have any questions about this policy, please contact:

• Email: info@RTWhousesitters.com

2. Information We Collect

When you use our services, we may collect the following types of personal information:

• Contact details – name, phone number, email, address.
• Household information – property address, alarm codes, key details, access instructions, WiFi passwords (if provided).
• Pet information – name, breed, health conditions, dietary requirements, vet details.
• Booking and payment information – dates of service, invoices, bank details (if paying electronically).
• Emergency contacts – family, neighbours, or nominated keyholders.
• CCTV/Surveillance – where clients have CCTV in operation, incidental images/audio may be collected when attending the property.

We only collect the minimum information required to carry out our services safely and effectively.

3. How We Use Your Information

We will use your personal data to:

• Provide house sitting and pet sitting services.
• Maintain records of bookings and payments.
• Contact you about your booking or emergencies.
• Ensure the safety, security, and wellbeing of your property and pets.
• Meet our legal, insurance, and safeguarding obligations.

We will never sell or share your data with third parties for marketing purposes.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your information under the following legal bases:

• Contractual necessity – to deliver our services as agreed.
• Legitimate interests – to ensure security and proper care of pets/property.
• Legal obligation – to comply with tax, insurance, or regulatory requirements.
• Consent – where you have explicitly given us permission (e.g., to hold keys or use photos of pets for social media).

5. Storing & Securing Your Data

• All keys are coded and stored securely, never labelled with your name or address.
• Digital records (contact details, pet info, vet records) are stored securely with password protection.
• Paper notes (if used) are locked away when not in use.
• Access to your data is strictly limited to staff or contractors directly involved in providing your service.

We retain your data only as long as necessary:

• Booking records – up to 7 years (for HMRC/accounting).
• Pet/household info – for the duration of our service relationship.
• Keys – immediately returned or destroyed at the end of a service agreement.

6. Sharing Your Information

We may share data only when necessary:

• With a veterinarian in the event of a pet emergency.
• With insurers or legal authorities where required by law.
• With trusted contractors (e.g., backup sitters) – only with your prior consent.

7. CCTV & Surveillance

If your property has CCTV, we may be recorded when attending. We do not control this footage and recommend you review your CCTV policy. We will not use or share CCTV footage except where required by law.

8. Your Data Protection Rights

You have the right to:

• Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Request deletion of your data (where legally possible).
• Object to or restrict certain forms of processing.
• Withdraw consent at any time (for example, for photos of pets).

To exercise these rights, please contact us at info@RTWhousesitters.com.

9. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we use your data, please contact us first.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): www.ico.org.uk.

10. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version will always be available on our website or upon request.