GDPR POLICY

GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION (‘GDPR’)
COMPLIANCE STATEMENT

INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE OF POLICY:
The EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) came into force in 2018 to standardise data protection laws and processing across the EU, giving people greater rights to access and control their personal information.

Under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), personal data is defined as: “Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (“data subject”). An identifiable, natural person can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular, by reference to an identifier such as an identification number, location data, an Online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.”

This policy applies to anyone who buys or uses the Company’s services (including viewing the website).

 

OUR COMMITMENT:
The Searson Family Funeral Service (“the Company”) is an independent, family-owned funeral directors. We offer all aspects of funeral services, including arranging and undertaking cremation and burial services (both locally and nationally)

We are committed to protecting all personal information we hold and take every reasonable measure to secure the personal data we process from unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. We recognise our obligations to update and expand this program to meet the requirements of GDPR. Care throughout our services is always the priority. We also pride ourselves on how we protect and manage your personal data, and we go to great lengths to ensure it is always handled safely.

All employees of the Company who interact with data subjects are responsible for ensuring that this notice is drawn to the data subject’s attention and that they consent to the processing of their data, which is, or will be, securely stored.
We understand that continuous employee awareness and understanding are vital to the continued compliance with the Regulation. If you have any questions about our GDPR compliance, please get in touch with our Data Controller, whose details are provided in this Policy.

COLLECTION AND USE OF PERSONAL DATA:
We collect personal data to fulfil and complete the services we have been contracted to undertake for you, including any related correspondence or liaison with third-party providers. The Company is committed to ensuring that the information we collect and use is appropriate for the purpose intended and does not constitute an invasion of our clients’ personal privacy.

The personal data we collect includes, but may not be limited to: full name, address, contact telephone number(s), email address, date of birth, religious beliefs, GP details, deceased person’s details (name, age, date of death), medical certificates and cause of death, funeral arrangements and service details, payment information, to comply with inspection or regulatory requirements.

We will only collect this information directly from our clients, or from funeral plan service providers or establishments such as nursing or care homes, where instructions have been left for them to contact us on your behalf.

The data will be used for the following purposes:
• To reply to enquiries about our services
• To communicate with you, as necessary, for the fulfilment of services that are requested or have been requested, or in association with said requests
• For accounting purposes - up to and including the settlement of the final account (and receipt if required)
• For associated services – e.g. funeral planning and liaison with third parties working on your behalf to facilitate contractual arrangements in undertaking funeral services requested.
• Information regarding funerals that are kept on file to assist families with future needs (e.g. if a similar funeral service is required for another family member)
• Feedback on our services and performance

 

OUR AIMS FOR PROCESSING YOUR DATA:
We will process your personal data to achieve the following purposes:
• To share information from an original enquiry received by telephone, email, online enquiry, online form, paper, letter or in person, or by a third-party source, to assist us with your enquiry for a funeral or associated service with colleagues as deemed necessary by us to facilitate the service(s) requested.

• To store your information, together with the deceased’s information, within our internal secure system for possible use of historical reference to funeral details which may be required for such use as: Coroner exhumation or enquiry, repetition and record of family service, graveyard/churchyard or crematorium records and site information, etc.
• To contact you by telephone, email, electronic and/or paper communication to make the necessary arrangements for funeral services requested on your behalf.

• To visit you at your home address or a mutually arranged, convenient location, to make funeral arrangements.
• To forward your details, as deemed necessary by the Company, to third-party suppliers including, if applicable, the crematorium or cemetery, minister and/or celebrant, doctors, coroner, florist, organist, direct funeral planning services, catering and such venues, print design companies, local or national newspapers (e.g. for the insertion of an obituary or “thank you” notice), charitable organisations regarding donation collections, vehicle hire companies, gravedigger, and freelance or temporary staff needed to facilitate the funeral service.
• To pass on customer or potential customer details to those organisations through whom we process pre-paid funeral plans or plan enquiries
• To maintain details of funeral services or funeral service enquiries, securely and electronically on a professional, cloud-based, ‘secure server’.
• To forward details to our debt collection agency if payment terms fail to be met in accordance with our payment policies and your contract with us
• To forward details to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to fulfil any claim for help towards funeral costs
• To forward details to a solicitor(s) to fulfil legal documents which may be required to fulfil funeral service, or, with the permission of our client, to pass on details for will or probate purposes
• Our personal and professional interest in ensuring client satisfaction to ensure our ongoing services are improved where necessary.
Every effort will be made to retain your personal and relevant information within the UK. We will only share your details outside of the UK if you request us to arrange repatriation or transportation of the deceased or their cremated remains to or from another country. In that instance, we would notify you of our intent to provide the information to a specialist repatriation company, an embassy, a Police force, or another third-party authority. We may also disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law, or if you violate our Terms of Service.

CONSENT:
Consent is required for the Company to process your personal data, which must be explicitly given. By consenting to this Policy, you are giving the Company explicit permission to process your personal data specifically for the purposes identified in this Policy. Although this notice is intended for clarity, upon request, we will further inform you how and why sensitive and personal information supplied to us will be used.

The Company will not pass on your personal data to third parties without first obtaining your consent. You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us in writing, electronically or by updating your preferences on our website.

 

RETENTION PERIOD:
Whilst we will not keep your personal information for longer than is necessary and relevant, the period for which we retain information varies depending on how it is used in managing and administering your contract with us. We will retain information about you whether or not you become a customer of ours, or after you have closed your account or terminated your services with us.

We retain this information to comply with legal obligations and to prevent and detect crime and fraud. We will only disclose this information to them when we are legally required to do so. Where we conduct a funeral, we will compile all personal information relevant to that funeral service and store it digitally to assist families with future needs (e.g., if a similar funeral service is required for another family member).

 

THIRD PARTY SERVICES:
In general, any third-party providers used by us will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to allow them to perform the services they provide to us.
However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for purchase-related transactions. We recommend that you read their privacy policies to understand better how your personal information will be handled.

Certain providers may be located, or have facilities located, in a different jurisdiction than either you or us. If you elect to proceed with a transaction that involves the services of a third-party service provider, then your information may become subject to the laws of the jurisdiction(s) in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

If and when we provide personal data and/or information to a third party, we will only do so once we have obtained your consent, unless there is a legal requirement to do otherwise.

 

INFORMATION SECURITY:
We take the privacy and security of individuals and their personal information very seriously and take every reasonable measure and precaution to protect and secure the personal data we process, ensuring it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, it is encrypted using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and stored in an encrypted form. Although no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we comply with all security requirements and implement additional, generally accepted industry standards.

 

COOKIES AND MARKETING PREFERENCES:
Cookies are files with small amounts of data, and they collect information about your use of websites, such as your connection speed, details of your operating system, the time and duration of your visit and your IP address.

Our website uses cookies, and the information they collect helps us understand how our site is used, including the number of visitors we have, the pages viewed per session, the time spent on particular pages, etc. This, in turn, helps us provide you with a better experience by allowing us to assess the level of interest in our website's content and tailor it accordingly. We will not attempt to personally identify you from your IP address unless required by law or regulation, or to protect our rights or those of our other customers.

If you are concerned about security, you can set your browser options so that you will not receive cookies. You can also delete existing cookies from your browser. However, you may find that some parts of the website will not function properly if you turn off cookies. Where you have agreed to us contacting you, we may contact you with details of products and services that we believe you may be interested in. If you change your mind and do not want to receive any marketing messages, you can write, email, or phone the Company’s head office, or, if using the website, change your cookie settings.

Notifying us to cease sending any marketing messages will not, however, prevent us from sending you any service-related messages, such as changes to our services or terms and conditions.

 

SSL CERTIFICATE (SECURE SOCKETS LAYER)
The Company’s website is protected using an SSL Certificate (Secure Sockets Layer). This is the standard security technology that establishes an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link ensures that all data passing between the web server and browsers remains private and integral.

 

DATA SUBJECTS' RIGHTS:
Whilst we have or are processing your personal data, as the Data Subject, you have the following rights:
• The right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you, the categories of personal data involved and how long we intend to store your personal data for
• The right to correct data that we hold about you that is inaccurate or incomplete
• The right to request your personal data be erased (where applicable) or to restrict processing in accordance with data protection laws
• To object to any direct marketing from us and to be informed about any automated decision-making that we use
• An explanation of the purposes of processing your data
• Any third-party recipients to whom your personal data has/will be disclosed
• The right to have the data the Company holds about you transferred to another organisation
• The right to lodge a complaint or seek a judicial review
Should there be any third-party involvement or dispute in the processing of your personal data, all of the above requests will be forwarded to the necessary interested parties

 

SPECIAL CATEGORY DATA:
Special category data is sensitive personal information requiring higher protection under UK GDPR Article 9, as its misuse poses significant risks to fundamental rights. It includes data revealing racial/ethnic origin, political/religious beliefs, trade union membership, genetics, biometrics (for identification), health, sex life, or sexual orientation.
Where we obtain and process any special category information, we do so in full compliance with Article 9 requirements and implement high-level encryption and protections for all such data. Special category data is processed only where necessary and only after we have first identified the appropriate Article 9(2) basis or the Data Protection Bill Schedule 1 condition. Where we rely on consent for processing, it is explicit and verified by signature on our application forms, with the right to modify or remove consent clearly signposted.

 

ACQUISITION / MERGER / TRANSFER OF BUSINESS:
If our business is acquired or merged with another company, your information may be transferred to the new owners so that they may continue to contact you.

 

AMENDMENTS TO DATA AND COMPLAINTS:
If you would like to access, correct, amend or delete any personal information we hold about you, please use the contact details provided below.
If you believe that your personal data has been, or is being processed, in an inappropriate manner, or you feel that your rights as described in this Policy have been infringed, you may lodge a complaint with:
Andrew J Searson (Data Controller)
The Searson Family Funeral Service
25-29 Park Parade
Leigh Park
Hampshire
PO9 5AA
Tel: 023 9247 7190
Email: info@searsonsfunerals.co.uk
You may be required to pay £10 to cover our processing costs. You will be asked to provide proof of your identity to ensure we are giving your information to the right person.

 

GDPR AWARENESS:
Searson’s Data Controller is responsible for promoting awareness of the GDPR across the company, identifying any gaps, and implementing any new policies, procedures, and measures as deemed appropriate to remain compliant with all necessary legislation and industry requirements.

The Company understands that continuous employee awareness and understanding are vital to the continued compliance with the GDPR, and all employees are aware of this policy.

 

SENSITIVE PERSONAL DATA:
You may want to make us aware of certain special information about you, such as your health or medical circumstances, or the fact that you are registered as a blind person, so that we can use this information to improve your services.

We need your consent to hold this data about you and to use it for your services with us. You can give your consent to us whenever you speak to us.
We use this information to help us tailor our service to your needs. You can withdraw your consent to our holding and using these special types of information at any time, but doing so may affect your service.
 

CHANGES TO THIS POLICY:
We reserve the right to modify this Policy at any time. Changes and clarifications will take effect immediately upon their posting on the website.