Privacy Policy

Merton Cleaners Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Merton Cleaners collects, uses, stores and shares your personal data when you use our services. It applies to all Merton Cleaners customers in our service area, whether you contact us online, by post or in person, or use any of our cleaning services.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a fair, transparent and lawful way, in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation GDPR and other applicable data protection laws.

Who we are and scope of this policy

Merton Cleaners is a cleaning services provider serving residential and commercial customers in our local area. For the purposes of data protection law, Merton Cleaners is the data controller of the personal data described in this Privacy Policy. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data.

This Privacy Policy applies to all personal data we process about current customers, previous customers, potential customers who make enquiries, and individuals who interact with us in connection with our services within our operating area.

Personal data we collect

We only collect personal data that is relevant and necessary for providing and managing our cleaning services. The types of personal data we may collect include the following.

Contact and identity information such as your name, title, and any company details you provide if you are a business customer.

Contact details such as your billing address, service address, and any alternative contact address you provide.

Communication details such as your preferred contact method and the content of messages or correspondence you send to us, including queries, instructions and feedback.

Service information such as details about the cleaning services you request, access instructions for the property, information about specific requirements or sensitivities, and records of services provided.

Payment and transaction information such as payment method, billing history, amounts paid, and any notes relevant to invoicing or refunds. We do not store full payment card details where payment is processed securely by third party payment processors.

Online interaction data where relevant, such as information you provide through website forms or other online tools used to request quotes or make bookings.

Lawful bases for processing your data

We will only process your personal data when we have a lawful basis to do so. Depending on the context, we rely on the following lawful bases.

Contract. We process your personal data where it is necessary to enter into, or perform, a contract with you. This includes arranging and providing cleaning services, managing bookings, taking payment, and communicating with you about your contract and services.

Legal obligation. We process certain personal data to comply with legal and regulatory obligations, for example accounting, tax, and record keeping requirements.

Legitimate interests. We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. These interests include managing and improving our services, handling customer enquiries and complaints, maintaining business records, protecting our business against fraud or misuse, and pursuing or defending legal claims.

Consent. In limited situations, we may rely on your consent to process your personal data, for example where required for certain types of optional marketing communications. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time by contacting us.

How we use your personal data

We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes.

To provide and manage cleaning services including taking and managing bookings, planning visits, carrying out work at your property, and following up as necessary.

To communicate with you including responding to enquiries, confirming bookings, sending service updates, and handling any complaints or requests.

To manage payments and accounts including issuing invoices, processing payments and refunds, and maintaining financial records.

To operate, maintain and improve our business including managing staff and contractors, scheduling work, maintaining business records, and reviewing and improving our services.

To comply with legal obligations including keeping records required by law, responding to lawful requests from authorities, and meeting our regulatory duties.

To protect our rights and interests including preventing misuse of our services, resolving disputes, and establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.

Data retention and storage

We keep your personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law.

In general, we retain customer records, including basic contact details and service history, for as long as you are an active customer and for a reasonable period afterwards, usually up to six years, to comply with legal, tax and accounting obligations and to handle any potential disputes.

Where we no longer need personal data, we will delete or anonymise it in a secure manner. Retention periods may vary depending on the category of data, the nature of our relationship with you, and any specific legal requirements.

Data processors and sharing of personal data

We may share your personal data with carefully selected third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These processors are only permitted to use your personal data in accordance with our instructions and for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, and they are required to implement appropriate security measures.

Types of processors we may use include providers of scheduling or job management systems, payment processing providers, accounting or bookkeeping services, information technology and cloud storage providers, and professional advisers such as accountants or legal advisers where necessary.

We may also share personal data where required by law, for example with regulatory bodies, law enforcement, or government authorities, or in connection with legal proceedings. If we are involved in a business reorganisation, merger or similar event, your personal data may be transferred as part of that process, in which case we will ensure it remains protected.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

International data transfers

Where any of our processors or service providers are located outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we will only transfer personal data when appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information, such as standard contractual clauses or an adequacy decision, in line with data protection law.

How we protect your data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or destruction. These measures include limiting access to personal data to those staff and contractors who need it to perform their duties, maintaining appropriate physical and electronic security, and regularly reviewing our security practices.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights in relation to your personal data. These rights are not absolute and may be subject to conditions and exemptions.

Right of access. You have the right to request confirmation that we process your personal data and to receive a copy of that data, together with information about how we use it.

Right to rectification. You have the right to ask us to correct or complete any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.

Right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you have the right to request that we delete your personal data, for example where we no longer need it for the purposes for which it was collected, or where you withdraw consent and there is no other lawful basis for processing.

Right to restriction of processing. You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we check its accuracy or consider an objection you have raised.

Right to object. You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis. We will stop processing your data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds which override your interests or we need to process the data to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Right to data portability. In certain situations, you have the right to receive the personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and to request that we transfer it to another controller where technically feasible.

Right to withdraw consent. Where we rely on your consent to process personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Exercising your rights and complaints

If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights, or if you have any questions or concerns about how we handle your personal data, you can contact us using the contact details provided on our website or in our customer correspondence.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe your rights have been infringed. We would, however, appreciate the chance to address your concerns directly before you approach the authority, and we encourage you to contact us in the first instance.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations or how we process personal data. Any updates will be made available through our usual communication channels. We recommend that you review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we handle your personal data.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Merton Cleaners customers in our service area and is effective from the date of publication until replaced or updated.