Merton Cleaner Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Merton Cleaner collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data relating to customers and prospective customers. It applies to all Merton Cleaner customers and prospective customers in our service area, regardless of how you contact us or use our services.

Merton Cleaner acts as the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. We are committed to processing your personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and applicable data protection laws.

Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all personal data we process in connection with the provision of our cleaning services, including domestic and commercial cleaning, one-off and regular contracts, and related customer support activities. It covers data collected when you contact us, request a quote, make a booking, receive services, or otherwise interact with Merton Cleaner.

Types of Personal Data We Collect

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

Identification and contact details, such as your name, title, billing address, service address, and any other contact details you choose to provide.

Booking and service information, such as details of the cleaning services requested, property type and size, access instructions, preferred dates and times, and any special requirements you mention.

Account and communication data, such as your communication preferences, records of communications between you and Merton Cleaner, including notes of phone calls and copies of messages you send to us.

Payment and transaction data, such as a record of payments made, the date, time, and value of each transaction, and any relevant invoice or reference numbers. We do not store full card details when payments are processed by third-party payment providers.

Technical and usage data, such as information about how you interact with our website or booking tools, including IP address, browser type, pages visited, and the date and time of your visit, where this is collected through cookies or similar technologies.

Feedback and review data, such as the content of any reviews, feedback, or complaints you submit about our services, including the date and outcome of any issues raised.

How We Collect Personal Data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us to request information, a quote, or a booking, when you provide details during the delivery of services, when you communicate with us for customer support, or when you provide feedback or submit a review.

We may also collect data automatically when you visit our website, using cookies and similar technologies to understand how our site is used and to help us improve our services. Where required by law, we will obtain your consent before using cookies that are not strictly necessary for the operation of our website.

Lawful Basis for Processing

We only process your personal data when we have a lawful basis for doing so. Depending on the context, we rely on the following legal bases:

Contract. We process personal data to take steps at your request before entering into a contract, and to perform our contract with you. This includes providing quotes, managing bookings, delivering cleaning services, and processing payments.

Legal obligation. We process personal data where necessary to comply with legal and regulatory obligations, such as accounting, tax, and record-keeping requirements.

Legitimate interests. We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, and these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include managing and improving our services, handling customer queries, ensuring security, preventing fraud, and maintaining business records.

Consent. In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of optional marketing communications or for non-essential cookies. Where processing is based on consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

Purposes for Which We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide and manage cleaning services, including creating and managing your bookings, organising cleaning schedules, allocating staff, accessing your property where agreed, and communicating with you about appointments.

To handle payments and billing, including issuing invoices, processing payments through our chosen payment processors, and managing any refunds or queries about transactions.

To communicate with you, including responding to your enquiries, confirming bookings, notifying you of any changes or issues with your service, and providing updates necessary for the performance of our services.

To manage customer relationships, including handling feedback, resolving complaints, maintaining records of your service history, and improving service quality.

To operate and improve our website and services, including monitoring website usage, performing analytics, and developing new features or offerings.

To comply with legal requirements and protect our business, including complying with legal obligations, exercising or defending legal claims, and preventing or detecting fraud or misuse of our services.

Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share personal data with trusted third parties where this is necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy and where we have a lawful basis to do so.

We may use third-party service providers as data processors to support our operations, including:

Payment processing providers, who handle payments on our behalf and process related transaction data.

IT and hosting providers, who support our website, booking systems, and data storage solutions.

Communication service providers, who facilitate the sending of messages and notifications to you.

Professional advisers, such as accountants or legal advisers, where necessary for their services to us.

These processors act only on our documented instructions, are bound by confidentiality obligations, and are required to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data.

We may also disclose personal data to public authorities, regulators, or law enforcement agencies where required by law or where necessary to protect our rights, property, or safety, or the rights, property, or safety of others.

International Transfers

Where we use service providers located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we take steps to ensure that your personal data receives an adequate level of protection. This may include relying on adequacy regulations, using standard contractual clauses approved by relevant authorities, or implementing other appropriate safeguards.

Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

In general, we retain customer records and transaction data for a period that aligns with applicable limitation periods and statutory retention obligations. Once personal data is no longer needed for these purposes, we will securely delete or anonymise it.

The specific retention period may vary depending on the type of data and the context of processing. Factors we consider include the nature and sensitivity of the data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure, and our legal obligations.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under data protection laws, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, you may have the right to:

Access your personal data and receive information about how it is processed.

Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

Request erasure of your personal data where there is no longer a lawful basis for us to continue processing it.

Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances, for example while we verify the accuracy of data you believe is inaccurate.

Object to processing based on legitimate interests, where you believe your rights and interests outweigh our own, and to object at any time to processing for direct marketing.

Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to another controller in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, where technically feasible and where the processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.

Withdraw consent where we rely on your consent for processing. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority if you believe that your personal data has been processed in a way that does not comply with data protection laws.

Security of Your Personal Data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures are designed to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risks presented by the processing of your data. However, no system can be guaranteed as completely secure, and you should take care when sharing personal data with us.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. When we make changes, we will revise the date of the latest update and, where appropriate, inform you through our usual communication channels.

Contact and Further Information

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or about how Merton Cleaner handles your personal data, or if you wish to exercise any of your rights, you can contact us using the contact details provided on our website or through the usual communication methods you use with us.