Privacy Policy

Last updated: 29 August 2026

This privacy policy explains how Marcus Bergin collects, uses and protects personal information when you visit marcusbergin.com, contact me through the website, download a guide, make a purchase or choose to receive email updates.

Marcus Bergin is the data controller responsible for the personal information described in this policy.

If you have any questions about this policy or how your personal information is used, you can contact me at:

Email: marcusbergingardening@gmail.com

Information I may collect

The information collected depends on how you use the website.

When you browse the website, certain technical information may be collected automatically. This can include your IP address, browser and device information, pages visited, referring website and information collected through cookies or similar technologies.

If you contact me, download a guide, place an order or use another feature of the website, I may also collect information you provide, including:

• your name;

• email address;

• billing or contact information where required;

• details of products or digital guides you order;

• messages or enquiries you send; and

• your marketing preferences.

I only ask for information that is reasonably necessary for the service you are using.

Orders and digital downloads

The website may offer free and paid digital products, including gardening guides.

When you request or purchase a digital product, I may collect information such as your name, email address and order details so that I can process the order and provide the product to you.

For paid products, payments may be processed by a third-party payment provider. Payment card information is normally handled by the payment provider rather than being stored directly by me.

Information relating to an order may also be retained where necessary for accounting, tax, record-keeping, fraud prevention or other legal requirements.

Email marketing

You may be given the option to receive gardening articles, news, new guides, podcast updates or other information from Marcus Bergin by email.

Signing up for marketing emails is optional.

Where consent is required, I will only send these emails if you have actively chosen to receive them. Obtaining a free guide does not require you to agree to receive marketing emails unless this is clearly stated and you separately choose to opt in.

You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by using the unsubscribe option included in the email or by contacting me.

Withdrawing your consent does not affect any processing that took place before you withdrew it.

How I use your information

Personal information may be used to:

• operate and maintain the website;

• provide free or paid digital products you have requested;

• process and administer orders;

• respond to questions or enquiries;

• communicate with you about an order or service;

• send marketing communications where you have chosen to receive them;

• understand how people use the website and improve its content;

• maintain the security of the website and prevent misuse or fraud; and

• comply with legal, accounting and regulatory obligations.

I do not sell your personal information.

Lawful basis for processing

Under UK data protection law, I need a lawful reason for using personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, I may process your information because:

Contract — processing is necessary to provide something you have requested or purchased.

Consent — for example, where you have chosen to receive marketing emails or accepted certain non-essential cookies. Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw that consent.

Legitimate interests — where it is reasonably necessary to operate, protect and improve the website and my activities, provided those interests do not override your rights and interests.

Legal obligation — where information must be retained or processed to comply with the law, including relevant financial and tax requirements.

The ICO requires organisations relying on legitimate interests to identify both the purpose of processing and the legitimate interest involved.

Cookies and website analytics

The website may use cookies and similar technologies.

Some cookies are necessary for the website and online store to function correctly. Others may help understand how visitors use the website or support analytics and other optional features.

Where required by law, non-essential cookies will only be used with your consent.

You can manage your cookie preferences through the cookie controls provided on the website and through your browser settings.

The ICO advises that visitors must be told about cookies and that consent is required for cookies that are not strictly necessary.

Who your information may be shared with

I may use trusted third-party companies to provide services needed to operate the website and related activities.

These may include providers of:

• website hosting and ecommerce services;

• email delivery and email marketing;

• payment processing;

• website analytics;

• IT, security and technical services; and

• professional accounting, legal or administrative services where necessary.

These providers may process personal information only where necessary to provide their services or meet their own legal obligations.

The website is currently hosted and operated using Hostinger.

International data transfers

Some companies that provide website, ecommerce, analytics, email or other online services may process information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, appropriate safeguards will be used where required by UK data protection law.

How long information is kept

Personal information is kept only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including any legal, accounting or reporting requirements.

Different information may therefore be retained for different periods.

For example, order and transaction records may need to be retained for longer than general website enquiries because of financial and legal record-keeping requirements.

Marketing information will normally be retained until you unsubscribe or otherwise withdraw your consent, subject to retaining limited information where necessary to record that you have opted out.

The ICO specifically identifies retention periods, or the criteria used to determine them, as information that should be covered by a privacy notice.

How your information is protected

Reasonable technical and organisational measures are used to protect personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or loss.

However, no website, online service or method of electronic transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Your data protection rights

Under UK data protection law, depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

• ask for information about how your personal data is being used;

• request a copy of personal information held about you;

• ask for inaccurate or incomplete information to be corrected;

• ask for personal information to be deleted in certain circumstances;

• ask for processing to be restricted in certain circumstances;

• object to certain uses of your personal information;

• request the transfer of your information in certain circumstances; and

• withdraw consent where processing relies upon your consent.

You will not normally have to pay to exercise these rights.

To make a request, contact:

marcusbergingardening@gmail.com

Complaints

If you have concerns about how your personal information has been handled, please contact me first so that I can investigate the issue.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection regulator.

Information Commissioner's Office

The ICO lists the right to complain to the supervisory authority as information that should be included in privacy information.

Links to other websites

The website may contain links to third-party websites, podcast platforms, social media services and other external websites.

Those websites operate under their own privacy policies. I am not responsible for the privacy practices or content of websites operated by third parties.

Changes to this policy

This privacy policy may be updated from time to time as the website develops, new services are introduced or legal requirements change.

The latest version will always be published on this page together with the date it was last updated.

Contact

For questions about this privacy policy, your personal information or your data protection rights, contact:

Marcus Bergin
Email: marcusbergingardening@gmail.com